Fletcher, Frank Ryan & Mud Lake with JC Birding

 March 10, 2023

BarbC, Eleanor & the Bowmans met at Fletcher at 8:00 am.  The road in was full of potholes.  It was well below zero, so the trails were really firm - time to wear our spikes!

We went first to the trees west of the pond to look for the Bared Owl.  Not finding it, we tried next the woods by the back feeder.  The only birds we saw were a few chickadees and cardinals.  The cold seemed to go right through us.

Heading back, sharp-eyed Eleanor spotted 6 Pine Grosbeaks in an old crabapple tree.  One of them was a young male.

That great find warmed us up, and we went to the backyard feeder where we padded our list.

Ottawa--Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Ottawa, Ontario, CA

Mar 10, 2023 8:07 AM - 9:37 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.04 kilometer(s)
10 species

Downy Woodpecker  4
American Crow  3
Black-capped Chickadee  14
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Pine Grosbeak  6     Feeding In fruit tree. 1 male, 5 female-type
House Finch  2
Dark-eyed Junco  2
White-throated Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  6
 

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S130641974

After some discussion, we decided to go to Frank Ryan and afterwards to Mud Lake.

There was no sign of the Barred Owl at Frank Ryan either.  The city had put up barricades with signs, presumably in an attempt to protected the nesting site of the owl.

Ottawa--Frank Ryn & Elmhurst Parks, Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Mar 10, 2023 10:21 AM - 11:15 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.65 kilometer(s)
9 species (+1 other taxa)

Mourning Dove  7
gull sp.  1     Flyover
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
American Crow  6
Black-capped Chickadee  10     Estimate
White-breasted Nuthatch  2
American Robin  2
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S130641954

At this point, BarbC decided that she would go and do some shopping, while Eleanor and B&B headed over to Mud Lake at Britannia Point to have lunch.

We checked the river for the scaups, but all we saw were Common Goldeneyes and distant gulls.

Barbara had gone ahead to the base of the ridge, so we joined her and watched the parade of Mallards.

Along the way, Eleanor had spotted 4 Cedar Waxwings.  We walked down to the river again and spotted a lone Canada Goose and a strange hybrid Mallard.

Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Mar 10, 2023 12:17 PM - 1:01 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.773 kilometer(s)
10 species

Canada Goose  1
Mallard  100     Estimate
American Black Duck  1
Common Goldeneye  8
Herring Gull  X
Downy Woodpecker  1
American Crow  X
Black-capped Chickadee  X
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
Cedar Waxwing  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S130641990

The list is not long, but we enjoyed a fine day of winter birding.