Watts Creek

June 18, 2015

We went on a hot afternoon, not expecting too much, but always hopeful.

There were several European Starlings near the parking area, including some young ones.  A little further on, we saw an American Kestrel patrolling the fields.  We hiked up to the junction of the trails and saw a cooperative Swamp Sparrow at the creek.

OFNC Gatineau Park Birding with Justin Peter

June 13, 2015

We met at P8 in the Park, where chickadee was gathering nest material inside a post by the road gate.

We hiked along the Parkway to the large pond south of P8.  On the way we had a good bird, a Black-billed Cuckoo.  On the pond there were a number of ducks, a Pied-billed Grebe and a Belted Kingfisher.  We moved to P9 where a Blackburnian Warbler was in the parking lot.  Last sop was Champlain Lookout, where we went for a hike.  We had a cooperative Red-eyed Vireo and Black-throated Blue Warbler.

More Common Mergansers

June 8, 2015

Another male showed up with his mate right in front of our place.

First Loon Count of the Season

June 3, 2015

We finally got some good weather and were able to do a loon count in our new Legend Boat.

In Sylvestre Bay, we saw a male Common Meerganser.  We have been seeing a lot of these guys this year.  Normally, once finished mating, they take off for parts unknown.

We saw a total of 16 loons, which is a little above average.  On the reserve, near where a pair of Herring Gulls always nest, we observed two Common Loons exhibiting obvious pair behaviour, with the male (presumably) doing it's distraction display.

We saw three other possible pairs, but they could be simply hanging out - who knows at this stage.  A female was sitting on eggs at the traditional spot at Seagull Rocks, which were barely out of the water.  The water is unusually high this year.

When we left the cottage, we saw a good sized Snapping Turtle out on the main road.  We stopped to make sure she was safely off the road.

A Marbled Godwit

June 1, 2015

A Marbled Godwit was reported on ebird, originally by Rick, on Greenbank Road by Barnsdale, where a pond exists near a construction site.

We finally made the trip, and lo and behold, it was still there giving us great views.  Thanks, ebird!

Sparrow Field behind the Airport

May 28, 2015

We had just returned from the Huron Fringe Birding Festival, and were looking forward to Gord Belyea's OFNC sparrow walk behind the airport.  Then, horrors!  All birding in that area has been cancelled due to trespassers (presumably dirt bikers) ruining it for all of us.  Transport Canada has put up big new signs to keep us out.

We decided to investigate for ourselves.  We found the new signs on the east side of Bowesville Rd, but there were none across the road on the west side.  We drove to the High Road end, and there were no new signs there either.  We birded from the road for a bit seeing Bobolinks and an Eastern Bluebird, as well as several Tree Sparrows in the nest boxes.

We then drove back over to Leitrim Road and parked at the lot for the bike trail.  This trail bisects the area and is legal to walk on to get into the heart of the sparrow fields.  There is even an newly-constructed overlook.  We heard Field Sparrows, but the rain chased us out before we saw too much besides a Common Yellowthroat.  But there certainly is potential.

More Cottage Birding

May 17, 2015

This is what you might call incidental birding.  We were poking around doing various things when an interesting bird would show up at the feeders, or start singing up at the top of the hill.  When hiking over to see neighbours, we often encounter warblers along the road at this time of year.