Hi Everyone
The Little Egret continues to draw birders to Ottawa, Canada’s capital. On July 3, 25 birders/photographers viewed the Little Egret for 20 minutes. Today, July 4, 16 birders/photographers were fortunate to view the egret for only 14 minutes. The early morning routine of stopping at Andrew Haydon Park continues, arriving around 5:15 a.m. and feeding for 15 minutes and occasionally staying up to an hour. Not sure how long this behavior will last. No guarantee with vagrant birds. If any out of town birders are considering making the drive I’d recommend to be at the site by 5:00 a.m. I haven’t received any evening observations. The observations at Andrew Haydon Park coincided with the water level dropping along the Ottawa River starting on June 23. Though the egret has been in the area for over a month since the initial discovery by Ben Di Labio on June 2 along the Carp River at Carp, sightings have been infrequent but on June 24 it spent most of the day feeding at Andrew Haydon Park and then switched over to Britannia Point. Starting June 29 it has been seen daily, early morning only, at Andrew Haydon Park before flying southward and disappearing. I haven’t received any daytime observations after it leaves the shoreline for parts unknown. Remember, if you are contemplating trying for the egret Sunday morning or early next week, make sure you arrive early. If you have any questions please email me privately. I’ll be at Andrew Haydon Park at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Good luck, Bruce Di Labio Michael Tate Directions: From southern Ontario take Hwy 401 east to Hwy 416 and travel north towards Ottawa. Take Hwy 417 east and exit at Holly Acres Road. Turn left and follow Holly Acres Road north to Carling Ave. Go though intersection into Andrew Haydon Park and turn left. Follow road to the furthest west parking lot. Park and follow path to Ottawa River shoreline. The Little Egret has been feeding at the mouth of Stillwater Creek. Bruce Di Labio P.O. Box 538 Carp, Ontario 613-715-2571 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
