Fourteen birders turned up to search for some of west-end Ottawa's breeding bird specialties and to catch what movement there was along the Ottawa River. The entire morning was overcast, not so great for breeding birds but not bad for bird movement.
We made a quick stop at the west end of Andrew Haydon Park along the Ottawa River, where we searched in vain for a Red Knot that had been reported the nigh before. We had a single Dunlin, a Semipalmated Plover and 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers. >From there it was off to the Dunrobin area. Our first stop was at Constance >Creek along the Thomas Dolan Parkway, just north of the Dunrobin road. >Highlights were Least Bittern, American Bittern, Virginia Rail and Common >Moorhen (all heard only). Next we drove south along the Thomas Dolan Parkway up onto the Carp Ridge, an outcrop of the Canadian Shield. The ridge is the only location for breeding Golden-winged Warblers on the Ontario side of the Ottawa-Gatineau region, and by far the most dependable area for Eastern Towhee in the entire region. We stopped for Golden-winged Warbler first. One bird sang persistently but just didn't want show itself, except for the quickest views in flight. We had better luck with the towhees, with most participants getting a pretty good look at a male. A few people also managed to get a look at a Field Sparrow. A number of other breeding species were noted, but the morning was definitely quieter than usual. We headed for Constance Bay. On our way, we made a stop along Dunrobin road, just before the Constance Bay exit. Here we had excellent views Eastern Meadowlark and Bobolink, and pretty good looks at 2 Upland Sandpipers. We then headed to a small burnt area in Constance Bay for what may be the last Red-headed Woodpeckers in the entire Ottawa-Gatineau region. With a lot of patience, we were rewarded with an excellent look at a Red-headed Woodpecker, a lifer for two of the participants. Nearby, we found a male Common Golden-eye along the Ottawa River. We headed back to the west end of Andrew Haydon Park. The highlight was a Caspian Tern, rare in Ottawa. Also putting in an appearance were a Black-crowned Night Heron, a Common Merganser and a Hooded Merganser. Our final stop was Britannia Point to look at the action over the Deschênes Rapids. There were about 15 Bonaparte's Gulls and 7 Ruddy Turnstones, which landed on the exposed rocks in the rapids. This was in addition to the hundreds of nesting Ring-billed Gulls, a number of Double-crested Cormorants and a Black-crowned Night Heron, two species that have only recently begun to breed in the area. (No Arctic Terns this time, but the next few days look promising.) Our final tally was 77 species. Reported by Bernie Ladouceur Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard Blue-winged Teal Common Golden-ye Common Merganser Hooded Merganser Ruffed Grouse Wild Turkey Double-crested Cormorants American Bittern Least Bittern Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Osprey Virginia Rail Common Moorhen Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Semipalmated Sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Caspian Tern Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Red-headed Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Alder Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Purple Martin Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee House Wren Veery American Robin Gray Catbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing Golden-winged Warbler Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Ovenbird Common Yellowthroat Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Bobolink Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Baltimore Oriole Purple Finch _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
