Ottawa Area Birding: Constance Bay, Galetta & Arnprior with JC Birding

January 14, 2025

Birding Report by Barb Chouinard

Jane is still recovering so she did not join us today. Jane has to rest. We missed Jane today.

Guy met up with me at my house in Centretown. It was pleasant outside. My car thermometer registered -4.5. at 6:30 am. We had an early start. We met up with the Bowmans at the Park and Ride on Eagleson first and then Margaret and then Ian arrived. Standing outside in the open parking lot we noticed that here there was a strong bone-chilling wind. The wind stayed with us pretty well all day. In the parking lot we saw a murder of American Crows probably heading to their day area where they hang out all day after a night in a communal roost. We headed to Constance Bay for the Red headed Woodpecker. The drive there was very pretty with the quintessential Canadian winter scene: coniferous trees dusted with yesterday’s snowfall. The roads were good. We checked out the feeders on Bayview Drive on the way to Bruce DiLabio’s cottage and his bird feeders. The Red headed Woodpecker is often seen here and frequents bird feeders on Bayview Drive. At Bruce’s feeders we could see Black capped Chickadees, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers visiting the suet and seed feeders. Also we viewed White breasted Nuthatches and a single Brown Creeper. I was cold so I stayed in the Bowman’s vehicle but some of us walked further up the road to the dead end and the bush. They heard bird calls there. They could hear a Pileated Woodpecker and Guy saw it and managed to get a photo. Barbara Bowman was out taking photos so there are likely very nice winter photos of the day.

Other birders appeared. Jeff Skevington was on a walk and Martha and Colin drove up also looking for the Red headed Woodpecker. They talked about their recent trip to see the Rosy Finch in Matachewan, Ontario. This is a long drive on Highway 11 and Highway 66. They said they arrived and the bird showed up within 5 minutes. They continued their drive north to Cochrane. After an overnight they went south on 655 to a remote logging road to Detour Lake. This was about 100 km on a deserted road with no services but during the week there are lots of logging trucks and trucks supplying the gold and other minerals mine up there. They said they were stopped and snowmobilers stopped to ask them if they were OK. This roadway was particularly great for birds with two species of ptarmigan and three grouse species along with other birds. It was not a gold motherlode but a bird motherlode. Jeff Skevington also did this portion of the trip. Something to remember for the future.

We then decided we had spent a good portion of time at Bruce’s feeders and we dipped on the Red headed Woodpecker. We then drove the rest of Bayview Drive looking at feeders. At one of the last houses, we stopped as there were small birds flying around. This was a flock of American Goldfinches. A lady came out of the house to talk to us asking what were we looking at that she could not see. We told her American Goldfinches.

We continued and did a loop taking the roadway through the Torbolton Forest and Bill pointed out that the Red headed Woodpeckers nested in this area. We did one more pass-by Bruce’s feeders and dipped again with the Red headed Woodpecker. We headed toward Galetta with a drive by to Fitzroy Harbour. In prior years maybe 2 or 3 years ago, a stop on the main road by a brown cabin type household had a good number of Evening Grosbeaks at a tree with some berries. We passed by and there was no activity. Leaving the village we saw a Northern Cardinal.

At Galetta, there is a small house with an amazing feeder set-up. Here we had American Goldfinch and half a dozen Blue Jays. We went down this road and through the railway underpass. We saw a single Rock Pigeon on the line. Kind of unusual to see just one pigeon. Also on the way back to the Galleta Road we saw a European Starling. We would see large numbers of Starlings at the Arnprior Refuse Depot in Braeside.

After a quick stop at Tims in Arnprior, it was perfect timing for a rest stop. Thanks Bill. Almost each of us picked up a coffee or a carb. I had a savoury 4 cheese bread stick. It was hot and delicious and I scoffed it down before we left. From here we headed to the Madawaska down from the hydro dam in Arnprior. We thought we had our two vehicles following us on Madawaska Drive but nope. We lost Ian and Margaret. We pulled over and waited and Ian’s vehicle arrived and was behind us. Bill called Margaret to find out where she was and she was lost. Bill’s directions got her to us. We could now drive and park along the river.

This roadway is along where the Madawaska River flows over the dam and down a little ways into the Ottawa River. This was an area of open water with a couple of dozen of male Goldeneye and two females that we could see. There were Canada Geese on the water along with several Common Mergansers (female) and a couple of dozen Mallards. Margaret called out Otter and we all watched two Otters swimming, feeding and actually chewing and then diving again for food. It was wonderful to watch them feed and dive over and over again. Bill and Barbara had been here a week ago and saw a group of four otters doing the same thing. We were a little sheltered from the bitter wind here and the sun was trying to come out but as we walked to the point and a little beyond we got the full bluster of Ottawa River winds coming from the north. We turned back and walked to our vehicles. Margaret said goodbye to us. She had to head home.

Now for some reason I could not download a Facebook posting from Mike Runtz. It seemed the posting was about his recent visit to this same place on the Madawaska. Thankfully, Bill managed to get this facebook page opened when he arrived home and it was interesting because we saw pretty well the same birds as Mike Runtz had seen. He had also seen the Peregrine Falcon on the steeple of the Catholic Church on Albert Street which we did not know about this location.

Ian and Guy continued with us as far as the Arnprior Refuse Depot in Braeside. We had lunch here and Ian and Guy said their farewells to us. While we had our lunch, we watched a little hill of garbage and the Crows and Ravens and the flocks of Starlings flying around. Suddenly there was a lift-off of birds and a very fast Bald Eagle quickly flew over our vehicle. I had a good look at the moving eagle it was close: a beautiful mature Bald Eagle. We stuck around a while hoping that the eagle would return but no luck there. We remarked that that we did not see any gulls. We headed down some country roads which had drifting snow and it had started snowing.

We headed back to Arnprior to the Antrim Truck Stop restrooms and Bakery. The bakery had pretty well empty shelves. Bill got the last scone. I had to buy a large flat of marshmallow and peanut butter squares and a large Cinnamon Bun for Norm. We did take a short drive around the Arnprior airport and the very frozen headponds. No birds.

Time to head home. We lamented that we had not yet seen a Red tailed Hawk. Within 10 minutes just around Panmure Road we spotted a Red tailed Hawk along the highway. Yes! Good to see one!

By 3 pm we were at the Eagleson Park and Ride and we said our farewells. It was a quiet day of birding but with beautiful winter views. Thanks for driving Bill.