Grandview & Stoney Swamp with JC Birding

February 19, 2026

 Following up on tips from a trusted source, we met today at Hastings Street in Nepean; Alan & Carol, Eleanor, Barbc and Bill.  We had already heard that a Boreal Owl was no longer being seen, but we decided to have a quick check anyway.  So, we moved to the hockey rink park and hiked back along the tail paralleling Grandview.

 

We hiked back to the junction of Trail 10 without seeing much. Then, sharp-eyed Eleanor spotted three Pine Grosbeaks buried in the shrubs.  They were feeding on buckthorn berries.

 

Our next birding location was Davidson’s Side Road to look for a reported Great Gray Owl.  But we were too late; our source emailed that it had not been seen this morning!  We drove very slowly all the way to Beetbox Farm to turn around, mindful of the children that were arriving for their home-schooling camp.  Bill spotted 3 Wild Turkeys at the farm.

 

Next, we checked Rifle Road, Lois, Shirley and Riverdown.  There was no sign of the owl, but lots of common species.  Barbc said that we had not seen a Ruffed Grouse for a long time -then, amazingly, one was spotted almost immediately in the open in a tree.  Bill had gone ahead and driven right past it.  Eleanor called and he turned around and came back just as it flew off. Darn, no photo.  Rick and Richard also arrived, and we had a good chat until we had to move along for a vehicle.

 

We all wanted a Black-backed Woodpecker, so we went from there to P11 on Hunt Club Road where 3 had been reported the previous day, and Eleanor had seen one on Tuesday.  But not today.  We hiked both arms of the tails without a sighting, except for a skulking quiet Pileated Woodpecker.

 

We checked our phones and saw that a Black-backed Woodpecker had been reported a few minutes ago at Old Quarry Trail.  So, off we went.  We had our lunch in the parking lot before heading out.  Then we saw Janet and Margaret coming off the trail with bad news – they did not see it.  We gave it a good try anyway, but also missed it. But Janet told us of her great trip with McNamarra FN to Barron Canyon, and this gave us an idea for our next outing.

The group dispersed at this point, but Bill headed out to Akins to see the Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspur, but dipped on the Snowy Owl.

 

It was a lovely mild day to be out birding with friends.

Bird List

1.    Mallard
2.    Wild Turkey
3.    Ruffed Grouse
4.    Rock Pigeon
5.    Mourning Dove
6.    Pileated Woodpecker
7.    Blue Jay
8.    American Crow
9.    Common Raven
10.    Black-capped Chickadee
11.    White-breasted Nuthatch
12.    Red-breasted Nuthatch
13.    Pine Grosbeak
14.    Snow Bunting
15.    Lapland Longspur
16.    Dark-eyed Junco
17.    Northern Cardinal