Hello Took a spin around the Quebec side of the river to see hawks and did we ever. At the Deschenes rapids Quebec side, we saw a lone Lesser Scaup, some Bufflehead and Common Mergansers along with the usual Goldeneye and gull species.
Along Bailie Rd. we found our first of five Eastern Phoebes on the day, along with the usual suspects. In Luskville we found 22 Rough-Legged Hawks, 4 Red-tailed Hawks, 7 Northern Harriers, a Kestrel and a Northern Shrike. We also saw a Sandhill Crane fly over, which makes me believe that it is one of the group that nests on Calumet Island. We also saw our first Eastern Meadowlarks of the season. at the Eardley-Masham road, while looking for the eagles we saw last week, we spotted 2 more Red-tails plus numerous Turkey Vultures, still short of the 42 we had last week, but still, large numbers. However we were quickly distracted by the Snow Buntings and Evening Grosbeaks that started to sing around us. With time running down, as we had other places to be this afternoon, we took off without seeing any eagles. Blitzing through the last part of our run, we did Steele line, which they were grading at the same time, so for all those Ottawa-area birdwatchers who intend to take a chance up on the Steele Line for eagles, this week and next will be good for cars. Back to the birds, we saw only two more Red-tailed Hawks, but we were no longer looking up, as we saw our first Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallow for the year. In all, 52 species, not bad for a rushed trip. David Morin _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
