Today Martin Mallet, Jamie Morris-Pocock and I birded along the Ottawa River from Remic Rapids west to Shirley's Bay, as well as the Deschenes Rapids from the Quebec side and the Moodie Drive Quarry Ponds. The weather was lovely and clear but the sun produced a lot of haze and shimmer at long range, complicating the viewing of distant waterfowl, particularly those pesky flocks of Goldeneye that could hide a Barrow's.
Checking the Moodie Quarry Ponds on our way into town in the morning, we found 4 Cackling Geese in the N pond, as well as 2 Ruddy Ducks among the healthy assortment of waterfowl in the more southerly pond. No sign of the Long-billed Dowitcher. At Remic there was no sign of the adult male Barrow's reported earlier this week, but some Pine Siskins could be heard overhead as we scanned the river. The stretch of river between Remic and Andrew Haydon Park was very quiet, with only the expected small flocks of Common Goldeneye with Bufflehead and scaup mixed in, along with a few Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks. The highlight of the morning's birding along that river stretch was a lone Brant, improbably sitting on the grass in the median of the Ottawa River Pkwy. between Deschenes Lookout and Kitchissippi Lookout. Of course, there was no opportunity to stop and gaze at that location. If all 3 of has had not seen it I would be sure it was a hallucination, being such an unusual location for a Brant. Upon reaching Andrew Haydon Park in the afternoon, the number of birds present improved. 4 Snow Geese (2 ad., 2 juv.) were resting on the sand bar at Ottawa Beach, and a Red-necked Grebe was offshore. Further west in the ponds in Andrew Haydon, we observed the Cackling Goose photographed by Patrick Blake, as well as the Dunlin. The Cackling was definitely as small and stubby-billed a Richardson's-type as I have ever seen. As depicted in Patrick's photos, the bird seemed to have an issue with its neck, the right side bulging out awkwardly. Perhaps a tumor? At any rate, it may not be in good health which could explain its lack of association with other, more mobile geese. >From the Shirley's Bay boat launch, 2 Horned Grebes and a Red-necked Grebe seen close to shore. Walking out along the dyke, we found several Northern Shoveler and Gadwall among the more common suspects in the sheltered bay to the west of the dyke. Among the more common divers was a huge raft largely composed of Ring-necked Ducks at the end of the dyke. Out in the river on the eastern side, we found 2-3 Black Scoter, another Red-necked Grebe and several more Horned Grebes. Our only Common Mergansers of the day were also seen here. While at least 2 Common Loons were present, no other loons were found. There was a large flock of gulls feeding at the edge of visual range downstream from the dyke - in that flock I briefly found 1 first basic Lesser Black-backed Gull despite the difficult viewing conditions. Walking back to the parking lot at dusk, an eagle soared overhead but was out of sight before an ID could be made. DIRECTIONS: from the excellent Neily World site. Selected locations listed below, browse website for others. Moodie Drive Ponds: http://ca.geocities.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/stony8.htm Ottawa Beach: http://ca.geocities.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/orwo13.htm Andrew Haydon Park: http://ca.geocities.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/orwo14.htm Shirley's Bay Dyke (****NOTE: CALL THE RANGE OFFICE FOR PERMISSION BEFORE WALKING OUT ON THE DYKE***): http://ca.geocities.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/orwo22.htm Good birding, Chris Kimber Dept. of Biology Queen's University Kingston, ON _______________________________________________ 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
