Early Warblers

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Warblers are probably the most eagerly-awaited returning migrants for birders all over northeastern North America. As a group, the combination of song and colour is unmatched by any other type of songbird in our region, and many North American birders consider them the jewels of our region. Warblers are insect eaters, and as such, pass through Ottawa late in the spring migration season, with the hardiest species arriving in mid- to late April. The Pine Warbler is usually the earliest of these, closely followed by the Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers. About a week later the first Black-and-white Warblers, Nashville Warblers and Black-throated Green Warblers arrive. The Blackpoll Warbler is usually the last warbler to appear, stopping here only temporarily before continuing on to its breeding grounds in the black spruce and tamarack forests further north. This amazing species holds the record for the longest nonstop over-water flight by a songbird, taking up to three days in the fall to reach its wintering grounds in the southern Caribbean and northern South America.

Hello, birds of winter!

American Tree Sparrow

Our warm fall weather continued this weekend, with sunny blue skies and temperatures reaching above 20°C both days – it was 11°C higher than it should be this time of year. With the return of our rather late summer, it was a bit of a shock on Saturday to see that two of our common winter residents had arrived in the region: the Common Goldeneye, a diving duck that inhabits the ice-free portions of the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers all winter long, and the American Tree Sparrow, a small brown sparrow with a red cap that likes shrubby habitats and sometimes visits bird feeders in more rural areas.

I was still trying to bring my year list up to 200, and started the weekend off with a walk around the Eagleson storm water ponds. I was hoping for Cackling Goose, though a Greater White-fronted Goose would also have been nice – although much more rare than the diminutive Cackling Goose, it’s one I keep looking for every time large numbers of geese start gathering here before finally moving on. To my disappointment I found only three waterfowl species: Canada Goose, Mallard, and a few lingering Double-crested Cormorants. I was happy to see that the cormorants were still around, as every sighting could be the last of the year.

A Brand New Year List

Black-backed Woodpecker

When 2015 arrived, I was up and out the door before it fully got light. I was thinking of trying to track down the American Three-toed Woodpecker in Gatineau, but as it was a bit windy, I decided it might not be the best idea. Not only are birds harder to find on windy days, as they tend to seek shelter, it’s also hard to hear a woodpecker tapping softly over the sound of the wind and the creaking of the trees. Instead I stuck to my usual plan, trying to hit as many places as possible which included (1) open water; (2) mixed woodland; (3) open agricultural areas; (4) a landfill; and (5) an area with feeders. I started off the morning at Jack Pine Trail as I had seen a good variety of species there in the past week, and I figured I should easily be able to tally at least a dozen species.

In the Depths of Winter

Brown Creeper

It has not been a great winter for birding so far. Although the Harlequin Ducks are still hanging out at Deschenes Rapids and a Varied Thrush has been reported somewhere near Pakenham / Arnprior, there have been no rarities in our area. Redpolls, crossbills and even Bohemian Waxwings are completely absent, and with the freeze-up of our local ponds and rivers (except for the rapids along the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers), most of the gulls and water birds have left. All that remains are our hardy year-round residents and the usual winter residents: American Tree Sparrows, Snow Buntings, Snowy Owls, Northern Shrike and the like.

After the Storm

Bohemian Waxwing

March has arrived, and this year it came in like a lion. On Saturday the same weather system that triggered a number of tornadoes in the United States moved through Ottawa; 70 km/h wind gusts made birding virtually impossible, though the mild, 4°C temperature made it tempting! Birding in such conditions can often be rewarding, as sometimes birds carried on stormy weather systems end up far beyond their normal range. Indeed, one intrepid birder visiting Britannia Point on the Ottawa River discovered Ottawa’s first Heermann’s Gull roosting on the ice with several other gulls. This dark species breeds on the western coast of Mexico and ventures north to the United States after the breeding season; it is very rare in eastern North America. When the alert went out I joined the group of birders watching the gulls hunkered down on the ice. The wind was vicious and rattled my scope, but I did get a few good looks at a dark bird (gray both above and below) with a white head. The bird was too far away and the lighting too bad for me to discern any other features such as the characteristic red bill. The Heermann’s Gull settled in with the other gulls at dusk but has not been seen since.

Return to Mud Lake

American Robin

The next day I stopped by Jack Pine Trail on my way to Mud Lake where I hoped to relocate the Winter Wren. I wanted to head there first, but as Jack Pine Trail gets quite busy later in the day I figured I should make it my first stop so I would have a chance of seeing some wildlife!

This strategy didn’t pay off. Even though there were few people on the trail, I didn’t see any mammals other than squirrels. There were lots of deer tracks and even some Snowshoe Hare tracks, but no sign of the animals themselves. The diversity of birds was better: one Mourning Dove, a Downy Woodpecker, and two male Cardinals were all in the vicinity of the OFNC feeder; along the trail I encountered about four Blue Jays, both nuthatches, and a pair of juncos.

Spring Arrivals

After a week of above-zero temperatures (at least by day), the snow has started to melt and migration has begun in earnest. I went out yesterday at lunch to see if I could find any new arrivals.  Rather than heading out to Hurdman Park, I decided to visit Billings Bridge Park a little further upriver to see if I could find a few Red-winged Blackbirds to photograph or the first Wood Ducks of the year.

As I had noted during my outing at Hurdman, the Rideau River is unusually high.  Once again it has spilled over its bank along a small section of Billings Bridge Park, and the low-lying lawn there is under water as well.

Searching for Spring

The weather has been terrible this month.  Until Saturday, I had only been able to get out birdwatching once so far, back on March 1st when I spent a short lunch hour at Hurdman.  Since then, two storms have dropped a combined total of about two and half feet of snow on Ottawa, and the most recent storm was followed by a day’s worth of rain which has left the city a soggy, sodden mess.  Then I was hit with a sinus cold which left me without the energy to go anywhere even on the rare few days when the sun came out.

When I woke up on Saturday, the sky was still gray and gloomy, but I was tired of being cooped up inside and wanted to get out and work on my March list, which stood at a paltry 19 species. Since I still wasn’t  completely over my cold, I figured I would stay out just long enough to add another 10 common species to my month list.  If I could find a few of the Red-winged Blackbirds that had been reported, so much the better, but I was sure I could come up with at least 10 birds in the agricultural area between Kanata and Richmond, with a stop at Jack Pine Trail as necessary.