Fall Migrants

Black-bellied Plover

Although birders tend to refer to “spring” and “fall” migration, many birds begin heading south in mid- to late August, and a few (such as shorebirds which are unsuccessful in finding a mate) even begin migrating in July. In Ottawa, this southbound migration often overlaps with post-breeding dispersal, which means that even in July and August it is worth checking familiar places for birds that may be moving through. This year, southbound migration began for me on August 19th with a trip to the Rideau Trail off of Old Richmond Road. I usually start checking the boardwalk and hydro cut for migrants this time of year as the edge habitat and buckthorn bushes loaded with berries can be fantastic for warblers, flycatchers, thrushes and other migrants. Most of the birds I saw or heard were likely local residents, although the Black-and-white Warbler I heard singing here may have come from deep within the woods or elsewhere, and it was pretty neat to see an Ovenbird strolling along the boardwalk. A squeaky Rose-breasted Grosbeak and two Least Flycatchers calling made me think these birds were moving through, as this section of the trail is normally pretty quiet in the summer.

Shorebird Season

Long-billed Dowitcher

By Labour Day weekend shorebird migration is well underway and some of the less common species start to arrive in our region. While the Eagleson storm water ponds are a great spot to find common species such as both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers, the mudflats of the Ottawa River attract a variety of other birds, especially those that prefer tidal beaches and rushing water. Unfortunately, the water level of the Ottawa River depends not just the amount of rainfall we receive during the summer, but also the actions of the dam further upstream. We have received little rainfall this summer, as in most of our summers recently, however, this year the dam gates have remained shut so that the falling water levels have created the mudflats necessary to attract flocks of shorebirds. It has been great to see the sandbars emerge on the river on my daily bus commute along the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway, and I was thrilled to see the mudflats developing at Andrew Haydon Park in recent weeks. This past weekend I went looking for shorebirds early in the morning, and the huge exposed muddy beach at Ottawa Beach was the best I’ve seen it in years. As long as the dam gates remain closed, this part of the Ottawa River shoreline will remain the best spot for viewing hard-to-find shorebird species throughout the fall given its accessibility.

Shorebirding at Presqu’ile Provincial Park

Baird’s Sandpiper

On August 26th I joined Eastern Ontario Birding’s trip to Presqu’ile Provincial Park. The owner of EOB, Jon, is a friend of mine and got more than he bargained for when he agreed to pick me up at 5:30 am – as soon as he pulled up in front of my house a police car pulled up beside him to ask if he knew anything about a complaint that had been called in. Jon told the officer he was there to pick up a friend to go birding, and the police officer told him that he believed him (the eBird sticker on his car probably hadn’t gone unnoticed, and lent credibility to his statement). The police car drove off just as I was heading out the door, but we saw it stop with two other cruisers on Grassy Plains. Emerald Meadows is a quiet neighbourhood, and I certainly didn’t hear anything at 4:30 in the morning, but it made for a strange start to the day.

Black-bellied Plovers

By late May songbird migration has just passed its peak, and while most of the expected species have arrived back in our region, there is still a possibility of seeing something new. I headed out to the Eagleson Storm Water Ponds early on the morning of Saturday, May 26, hoping for something just as awesome as the Olive-sided Flycatcher or the Blackburnian Warbler I’d seen on May 21, but not really expecting much. Indeed, there were fewer songbirds than I was hoping for, with only three warbler species (Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, and Yellow Warbler), a singing Purple Finch, and a singing Red-eyed Vireo, all of which are common local breeders in our region. There were no unexpected flycatchers, grosbeaks, tanagers, wrens, mimids or other migrating species stopping over briefly at the ponds before continuing their journey elsewhere.

I wasn’t expecting any new shorebirds to show up, but when I arrived at the central pond and scanned the edges, I was shocked to hear the plaintive whistle of a plover and see a group of black and white birds on the far side of the channel. I got as close as I could and counted eight Black-bellied Plovers scattered in the muck – four males in near-pristine breeding plumage, three presumed females whose juvenile appearance was belied by the darkening bellies and faces, and one indeterminate bird in non-breeding plumage.

Black-bellied Plovers

This is only the second time I’ve seen this species at the ponds – the first time was on September 18, 2016, when I’d watched a juvenile bird fly in and land on the mudflats shortly before a flock of 39 (!!!) Killdeer flew in and immediately engulfed the plover. Spring sightings, however, are much less common, as water levels in our region are generally still too high to provide the extensive mudflats that attract most plovers and shorebirds. Conditions at the ponds have been good, however, as water levels are controlled less by runoff from melting snow and more by the amount of rainfall our area receives – we’ve only had one day of rainfall over 20 mm since the beginning of April, and a handful of days where the rainfall totaled more than 10 mm. As a result, the mucky pond edges and developing mudflats have attracted a good number shorebirds this spring, including Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Greater Yellowlegs, and the usual Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers.

Black-bellied Plovers

I took a few photos, but the distance and overcast conditions didn’t do these birds justice. I was surprised by how frequently they called, until I realized that they seemed bothered by the number of people walking along the trail above them. Whenever someone jogged past, they hustled off just a little further away, giving their whistled calls. I guess the amount of human activity proved to be too much, for they were gone by the time I circled back.

Black-bellied Plovers

The Black-bellied Plover is one of my favourite shorebirds, and one that I don’t see too often. It is the largest of the North American plovers, and with its black face and belly, white headdress, and sharp black-and-white checkerboard pattern on its back, definitely one of our most striking. As it breeds in the Arctic tundra, migration is the only time we see this species; look for Black-bellied Plovers on mudflats, beaches, or in plowed fields.

Fall Arrives

Mourning Dove

On the final Wednesday in September the weather finally changed. Once again the temperature climbed into the 30s, but a cold front passed through around 3:00, generating a powerful but short-lived thunderstorm that brought many tree limbs down. This was the first rain we’d had in three weeks. The temperature fell about seven degrees, and since then temperatures have been back to seasonal, falling to single digits in the night and rising to about 15°C in the day. It’s now necessary to wear a coat in the morning, but I find the change refreshing.

Encounter with a Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

After Saturday’s rather dull outing I decided to get up early on Sunday and hit the storm water ponds before heading out to Jack Pine Trail. I wanted to look for warblers and water birds – particularly shorebirds – before checking Jack Pine for warblers, thrushes, and other forest birds. If time permitted, I hoped to stop in at the Richmond Lagoons to see if the recent rains had refilled the ponds there. Unfortunately for my plans I had such a fabulous time at the storm water ponds that I didn’t make it to the other spots.

Late Season Dragon-hunting

Merlin

On Sunday of the Labour Day weekend Chris Lewis and I spent the morning and early afternoon looking for birds and bugs. We met at Mud Lake at 7:00 am to check out the warbler action, then headed over to Trail 10 once the day warmed up and the trails started becoming busy. Once we were finished there, we returned to Mud Lake to look for odes. It was a good morning with a lot of walking, and we saw a lot of different things.

Our first visit to Mud Lake lasted just over an hour. We started out at the ridge, where the sun was just hitting the highest branches of the trees. The warmth of the sun stirs the insects into activity, which then attracts all sorts of insectivores looking for food. We did see a good number of birds in the tree tops, including a couple of Nashville and Cape May Warblers, several Tennessee and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and at least three Eastern Phoebes. Warbling Vireos were still singing, and a couple of Red-eyed Vireos were foraging low enough in the trees to identify them without hearing their familiar song.

Summer at the Pond

Green Heron

I was car-less this weekend, as Doran spent most of it in Petawawa visiting friends. Unfortunately the best bird- and bug-watching trails are all difficult to reach by bus on a Sunday, so even a trip to one of the closer spots – such as Mud Lake or Andrew Haydon Park – was out of the question, as either would take two buses and much walking just to get there. And, given the high temperature forecast for today (almost 30°C) and the lack of air-conditioned food and washroom facilities nearby, I didn’t feel up to a long excursion. That left a walk around the neighbourhood as my only option, and fortunately the Emerald Meadows storm water ponds are close by. The ponds have been under construction for over a year now, but I haven’t seen any heavy machinery or workers there in ages, and none of the large gaps that appeared in the plastic orange fences surrounding the construction site have been repaired in weeks. As I’ve noticed people walking their dogs or jogging along the paths inside the construction zone, I thought it would be all right to take a look.

Presqu’ile Pit Stop

Monarch Butterfly

I left southern Ontario dark and early on Saturday, August 23rd. By 8:30 am I had made it to Brighton and decided to stretch my legs at Presqu’ile Provincial Park, a great spot to see shorebirds along Lake Ontario in the fall. It was cloudy but humid by the time I arrived at my first stop, Owen Point, and the mosquitoes were pretty nasty. I didn’t see much along the trail until I reached the last lookout, where I spotted an Empidonax flycatcher in the vegetation. It flew off before I could form any sort of impression of ID. A fellow birder kindly pointed out a couple of shorebirds at the tip of Owen Point and allowed me to spray up with his bug spray. I saw the Black-bellied Plover at the tip but couldn’t see the Ruddy Turnstone he had mentioned; at my feet, two Semipalmated Sandpipers and two Semipalmated Plovers were foraging along the water’s edge.

The Labour Day Long Weekend

Nashville Warbler

We had a gorgeous Labour Day weekend here in Ottawa, and I spent most of it birding. On Saturday Anouk and I spent some time along the Ottawa River. We met at Ottawa Beach, though the water was now too high to wade out to the spit in shoes. I had brought my boots, while Anouk took her shoes off and crossed the wet area in her bare feet. The water was still rising, but the small sandy spit (it couldn’t be properly called a mudflat anymore) had attracted about a dozen shorebirds including seven Semipalmated Plovers, one Spotted Sandpiper, two Least Sandpipers and two Semipalmated Sandpipers. The best bird of our stop at Ottawa Beach was a fly-by Caspian Tern, although half a dozen Blue-winged Teals flying low over the water were also fun to see.