Ottawa Area Birding: Petrie Island to Alfred Lagoons to Crysler with JC Birding

August 12, 2025

Birding Report by Jane Burgess

We changed our outing from Chrysler to Petrie Island and Alfred. B. Morin had posted that Chrysler was a disappointment, not much water running. We met Alan, Carole and Ian at Petrie Island, we were a bit late due to the traffic on the 417. I had asked Carole to maybe find the least bittern and the rusty blackbirds before I got there. She texted me while we were enroute to say the Least Bittern had been seen intermittently, fingers crossed it would still be there. As we were about to turn onto the road to Petrie Island a very large grater was turning and was making its way down the hill. Oh dear are we going to have to contend with that large machine. And of course there was a 2 foot wide pile of stone etc that he was grating.

When we arrived there was a small group of people at the northeast of the marsh before the bridge. I slowly made my way there, oh oh I left my camera in the vehicle. I went back to the vehicle to discover Barbara had forgotten her camera at home. While walking to the group of people we saw two Great Blue Herons and some flocks of Mallards. Seeing Carole she said the Least Bittern was in and out of the reeds. I checked the reeds and saw a Virginia Rail foraging in plain site. I mentioned it to Carole and some people came over and one lady said no, a Gallinule. I said nothing and Bill said there are two birds - a Virginia Rail and a Gallinule. He mentioned more than once that a Common Gallinule is a rail.

I walked over to another group of people but no Least Bittern there. I heard Alan calling me and I walked quickly, well as quick as I could. over there and yes beside the reeds I saw the south end of the Least Bittern going north. Such beautiful colours, but not great photos. But there were many photo opts of the bird, so lucky. But apparently it had been showing itself like this for many days.

We stayed in the general area for at least an hour and a half. Another bit of 'excitement' was that a snapping turtle had caught a mallard and I watched just for a few minutes the mallard struggling and his other Mallard buddies quacking away, obviously upset. I did not watch too much, I was not interested in seeing the poor Mallard being tortured in its death struggle.

And the grater, while annoying, made many passes while we birded, but it did ot have any detrimental effects on the birds whatsoever.

Ian, Bill, Barbara and I left Petrie Island and headed to Alfred Lagoons. Carole and Alan said the heat was just too much for them. By this time it was about 30 degrees by then and going up to maybe 35 or 36. Not sure what one would call people who bird in this extreme heat -- determined, avid, irresponsible, compulsive, driven.. Well we must be determined, avid, hot stuff birders!!! because at one point we were very hot, but I was never uncomfortable.

We drove down Peat Moss Road and there was a gate open just before the lagoons. None of us have ever taken it because there is usually a locked gate restricting entry. Yes it said No Trespassing, but...oh come on Bill just do it. Well the first bird of interest we see is a Ross's Goose or was it a Domestic Goose swimming with three Mallards. Well we have to take a photo of that, I think we all got a few photos each before the birds flew. We drove a bit further up and wow so many shorebirds -- Least Sandpipers dominated the group, Killdeer, Semipalmated Sandpipers and a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers and White-rumped Sandpipers. No Yellowlegs. The nice thing about this group of sandpipers is that they stayed put, with a few flying in and out. Meanwhile Ian had not joined us, he was photographing a couple of birds closer to the entrance. I walked down to join him, maybe 4 or 5 Spotted Sandpipers. I walked back to the vehicle and told Bill I was walking to the end of the lagoon. Nothing. We turned the vehicles around and went to the true entrance to the lagoon.

There was a time we had to park quite close to the road, but now they have made a road up to the viewing stand with a very large parking lot. So not so far to walk. While we were on the other side of the lagoon we noted there was not a lot of water fowl. But once the scopes were up, there was quite a diversity of waterfowl -- Rudy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Goldeneye, American Widgeon, Hood Merganser, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Ring-neck Duck. Canada Geese and a very nice add Snow Geese--4 or 5 of them. Overhead a few Tree Swallows were flying. All in all pretty good. Looking at the waterfowl from the covered viewing stand was very comfortable weatherwise, but I did drink 1/2 a bottle of water on my return to the vehicle.

We all kept very well hydrated during the day.

We walked back to the vehicles, Bill suggested we go back to the other side -- oh Bill you are such a badass. But when we returned to the entrance, a large truck was parked and then backed into the lagoon, presumably to dump its septic tank material. Should we wait or leave? Let's go to Tim Horton's for a break.

When we returned the truck was gone and the gate was still open. Most of the shorebirds were gone, but there were plenty to look at -- Bill spotted Semipalmated plovers, good one. In the other pond we spotted Northern Shovellers.

While driving down Peat Moss Road we spotted a Northern Harrier. I remarked to Bill that we have not seen a Turkey Vulture yet. We did eventually get one, I wondered if they had started heading south, Bill did not think so. But he did say at his cottage all the Terns had left, he named a date, but can't remember it. We stopped to check out a big bird in a tree, which turned out to be a Common Raven.

We made a brief stop at Saint Isidore, where we got a Wood Duck. There is a farm near the road that usually has some exotic birds, but I could only see the Muscovy Duck. Barbara pointed out the little mule that looked so lonely, then for her enjoyment it rolled in the dirt. Bill then went in the next entrance and he walked up a very steep incline to find nothing but a Green Frog.

We stopped at Fournier Skate Board Park for lunch. As Bill and Barbara got to the covered pavilion, maybe 10 to 15 Rock Pigeons flew out from the rafters. Bill had packed three chairs, thank you Bill. We had our usual interesting discussion while a couple of the Pigeons returned then immediately left, guess they did not like the company or maybe it was the topic of conversation.

Time to leave, we headed to Chrysler, thank goodness this was not our major destination of the day. There was just a trickle of water flowing under the bridge with maybe 1 Killdeer and 1 Common Grackle to be seen. Okay we will go to the dam surely we will see some Yellowlegs, nope, but what we did see were two people working on the dam site, so if there were shorebirds there at one time, not now.

Time to head home, but we should stop at St Albert for ice cream. Wow, has that changed, I have been there since the fire, my oh my the building is huge, with a store, cafeteria and of course ice cream and you can even have a tour of the cheese factory. The ice cream was delicious.

I was so thankful that Bill was driving, I think I had maybe three mini catnaps on the way home from a good day of birding and friendship.