I have had the pleasure of observing the Great Gray owls that have come to our city (Ottawa) over the past 5 months starting in December 2004 and now into April 2005. Along the way I have taken a few photos to record the experience. Some of the areas where I saw Great Gray Owls were along March Valley Road (a very popular spot for seeing Great Grays for a few months at least), Kinburn and Dunrobin, Kilmaur and Dunrobin, Thomas A. Dolan and Greenland and in Gatineau Park. There were also sightings along the Parkway near Greens Creek but I never went there myself.
Here is a gallery of Great Gray Owls taken over the past few months. http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/great_gray_owls W.H. Ottawa, Ontario. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Apr 8 21:19:41 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from tomts13-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts13.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.34]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B3B2A63473 for <[email protected]>; Fri, 8 Apr 2005 21:19:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: from personaldil636 ([64.230.108.4]) by tomts13-srv.bellnexxia.netSMTP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for <[email protected]>; Fri, 8 Apr 2005 21:29:28 -0400 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "fromont" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ontbirds" <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 21:29:27 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 X-Mailman-Approved-At: Sat, 09 Apr 2005 07:07:48 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Great Gray Owls Ottawa X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 09 Apr 2005 01:19:42 -0000 Two Great Gray Owls were seen late today on Kilmaurs Side Road just off Dunrobin. The first owl was perched on a post by the road near house number 1192 on Kilmaur. It was already there by the time I arrived at around 7:10-7:20pm It was actively listening for prey. It gradually flew from post to post further into the property at 1192 Kilmaur. One of the occupants of the house came out to take pictures of it. After this I spotted another Great Gray Owl perched on another post by the side of the road. There is a line of posts that divide the property between 1180 and 1192 and this is where the owl was perched. Didn't take long for it to start flying from post to post closer to house number 1192 Kilmaur. There is a sloped ditch in front of the property and at one point I was amazed to see this Great Gray Owl dive from its perch right into the side of the ditch (lots of dry grass) closest to the road. I heard a big thud! It was amazing to see. It did not catch anything but obviously must have heard something there. It gradually moved from post to post southward along Kilmaur near 1192 Kilmaur. It was still there by the time I left (was starting to getting dark). On the way back home I turned off on Thomas A. Dolan and headed up to Greenland. I turned left onto Greenland and I couldn't believe what I saw....a Great Gray Owl perched right by the road. It was dark by now (close to 8pm) but I could still see the owl. There was a Great Gray Owl located in this very spot during the winter so this could be the same owl. On the way back up to Thomas A. Dolan I took a quick look at the Osprey platform and it seems to be still empty. I continue to be amazed to see Great Gray Owls still in the outlying Ottawa area this late. What are the chances some of the lingering owls might breed here? Directions to Dunrobin/Kilmaur from the east. Take the 417 westbound and get off at the March Road exit and head direction North. Continue on March Road past klondike and eventually you'll come to Dunrobin. Turn right on Dunrobin and continue past Woodlawn. Continue on Dunrobin going past the Constance Bay turnoff and up a hill. The next intersection you see is Kilmaur. Turn left on Kilmaur and house 1192 is not far down the road on the left side. Directions to Thomas A. Dolan from the east. Take the 417 westbound and get off at the March Road exit and head direction North. Continue on March Road past Klondike and eventually you'll come to Dunrobin. Turn right on Dunrobin and continue until you see Thomas A. Dolan (there is a small store and gas station at the corner of Dunrobin and Thomas A. Dolan. Turn right on Thomas A. Dolan and continue past the creek to Greenland. Turn left on Greenland and the owl was perched on the left side not far from this intersection. G. Gray. Ottawa, Ontario. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Apr 9 07:50:24 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from mh1.kwic.com (mh1.kwic.com [205.150.58.4]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9EE7B643DA for <[email protected]>; Sat, 9 Apr 2005 07:50:24 -0400 (EDT) Received: from ronridout (ct-7-sim-ppp13.kwic.com [209.205.36.23]) by mh1.kwic.com (8.11.6/8.11.6) with SMTP id j39C0ET41222 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 9 Apr 2005 08:00:14 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0 (32) Date: Sat, 09 Apr 2005 08:05:05 -0400 To: [email protected] From: Ron Ridout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-RAVMilter-Version: 8.3.1(snapshot 20020109) (mh1.kwic.com) Subject: [Ontbirds] Migration (including Lincoln's Sparrow) and Work at Long Point X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 09 Apr 2005 11:50:25 -0000 I'm always intrigued by the vagaries of migration from one location to another. I noted with interest Alan Wormington's post about the "generally poor" migration at Pt Pelee on Wednesday. By contrast, the wooded areas on Long Point were alive hundreds (if not thousands) of early spring migrants the same day, mainly Golden-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers. At our Old Cut Field Station, an impressive 344 birds were banded. At some point this spring the situation will undoubtedly be reversed. We often think of migration occurring over a broad front but at times it seems to be very focussed. Ironically, with the exception of a record-early Lincoln's Sparrow on Thursday (the bird was well-observed and even sang!), there were no rarities to match Alan's two. With the moderator's permission, a somewhat brief explanation about a temporary situation here at Long Point is owed to participants on this forum. Visiting birders have noticed (several with dismay) some work going on at the wetlands at BSC's headquarters in Port Rowan. The intent of this work is to lower the bottom of the upper cell of the wetland to allow for deeper water when it is flooded. As it was originally designed, the water depth in the upper part of this cell was too shallow to control invasive emergent vegetation such as cattail and phragmites. Over the past two years, the entire upper half of the cell had been become choked with catttail and canary reed grass (both of these species will grow in water depths up to 70 cm). Since the purpose of the cell is to be managed as a seasonal open mudflat for shorebirds, it was necessary to scrape out the invading cattails and deepen the cell so it can be flooded to a depth of almost 100 cm. I'm hopeful that this will keep the invasive plants at bay. Water level control is just about the only tool available to wetland managers when it comes to keeping invasive plants such as cattail, phragmites and canary reed grass under control. Recent studies have shown herbicides such as Roundup and 2-4 D to be extremely harmful to amphibians. While I had hoped to have the work completed last fall, the weather over this past winter did not cooperate and we were forced to wait until this week to finish the job. With a little luck, we should be done soon. As soon as the equipment is out of there, I'll be flooding the pond to its full depth until next spring. This will encourage the growth of submergent vegetation which is a critical component in attracting migrant shorebirds. Sorry for the long-winded explanation but I know a number of people had been wondering what the heck we were doing. Please address any further questions to me personally. Thanks Ron Ron Ridout Bird Studies Canada P.O. Box 160 115 Front St. Port Rowan, ON N0E 1M0 Phone: W:519-586-3531 Fax: 519-586-3532 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Apr 9 08:04:33 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from james.hwcn.org (james.hwcn.org [199.212.94.66]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3F7A263B5A for <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Sat, 9 Apr 2005 08:04:26 -0400 (EDT) Received: from localhost ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) by james.hwcn.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA20172 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 9 Apr 2005 08:14:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2005 08:14:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Mike Street <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] In-Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Subject: [Ontbirds]Re: Access to Point Pelee from westbound Highway 401 X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 09 Apr 2005 12:04:33 -0000 Thanks very much to Raymond Marentette for helping many of us save some time. Birders wanting to go directly to Leamington can also take 401 Exit 56 (on the west side of Tilbury), then Regional Road 46 to Comber and Highway 77 into Leamington. Mike Mike Street Ancaster, Ontario, Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED]
