The OFO Convention

Hundreds of Canada Geese stage in Ottawa during fall migration, giving birders an opportunity to sort through them for different species and odd forms.

Between September 26 and 28, 2014, the Ontario Field Ornithologists hosted their annual convention in Ottawa. While the evening programs included banquets and social events such as the OFO Annual General Meeting, “Birds and Beers”, “Birding Jeopardy” with Sarah Rupert, presentations from Bruce Di Labio and keynote speaker Chris Earley (whose books I own!), and the presentation of the Distinguished Ornithologist Award, the majority of the daylight hours were spent birding Ottawa’s hot spots with leaders provided from the OFNC, the Club des ornithologues de l’Outaouais, Bird Studies Canada, the Pembroke Area Field Naturalists, the Innis Point Bird Observatory, and the Wild Bird Care Center. I was co-leader with various other OFNC members for trips on each of the three days, with full day trips to the East End on Friday and Sunday and an afternoon walk along the Ottawa River on Saturday.

The weather was fantastic all three days, and although most birders would agree that a cold north wind would have helped to bring in the migrants, I don’t think too many people complained about the hot, sunny 27°C afternoons.

In Search of the Boghaunter

Hudsonian Whiteface

The Ebony Boghaunter is a rare dragonfly that spends its life in the forested sphagnum bogs of the northeast. It is a small dragonfly, approximately 1.1 to 1.4 inches in the length, and is black with white rings near the base of the abdomen. The face is dark metallic brown; males have bright green eyes while females have gray eyes. In Ottawa their flight season occurs in May and June, making them one of the earlier species on the wing. Because of their preference for acidic bogs, fens and wetlands dominated by sphagnum, they are not easy to find. Fortunately eastern Ontario is home to two large bogs, Mer Bleue and Alfred Bog further east, both of which have boardwalks that provide access onto the bog. Mer Bleue is close to the city and the only place I’ve ever seen them. These small emeralds are not as skittish as other dragonflies; look for them perching on tree trunks or on the boardwalk itself where they can be easily approached.

Easter Reptiles and Amphibians

Mating Wood Frogs

The last day of my four-day Easter weekend dawned cool and overcast. Deb and I headed out to the east end together to check out a couple of trails near the Mer Bleue Bog. We started off at the boardwalk where we were greeted by the songs of at least two Fox Sparrows in the dense vegetation beyond the parking lot. Two Eastern Phoebes were attempting to catch flies in the open area between the parking lot and the picnic shelter, while a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was tapping nearby. We didn’t see a lot on the boardwalk; only the usual early marsh birds were present, as well as a pair of Wilson’s Snipes which we heard calling from the marsh. The most interesting birds were three Common Ravens flying over together while being chased by a couple of crows. One of the ravens did a barrel-roll trying to evade the crow, reminding me what magnificent fliers they are.

Petrie Island and Mer Bleue

Belted Whiteface

I was off work on Friday, July 5th, so when Chris invited me to go out dragon-hunting with her, Bob and Mike Tate, I jumped at the chance to spend some time with them in the east end. I did not know that it would be the last time that the four of us would go dragon-hunting together or the last time I would see Bob.

We started off the morning at Mer Bleue. It was very warm and humid, and thick, dark clouds kept blocking out the sun. Although it constantly looked as though it might rain at any time, we were lucky that it held off until the afternoon, after our outing had ended.

Happy World Wetlands Day!

While most people know February 2nd as Groundhog Day, few people realize that it is also World Wetlands Day. World Wetlands Day originated in the Iranian city of Ramsar on February 2, 1971 with the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, an international treaty that promotes the conservation of wetlands and their resources. The first modern treaty designed to protect natural resources, 2,083 sites comprising 488 million acres of land have been designated as wetlands of international significance under the Ramsar Convention.

The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”. “Wetlands” is a term that is defined broadly by the treaty, and includes lakes, rivers, swamps, marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas, tidal flats, near-shore marine areas, mangroves and coral reefs, as well as human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans.

Mer Bleue
Designated as a Ramsar Convention Site on September 26, 1995

Mer Bleue Part II: Wildlife

Balder’s Arctic

Two unique butterflies and one rare dragonfly call the Mer Bleue bog home: the Brown Elfin, Balder’s Arctic (formerly known as Jutta Arctic) and the Ebony Boghaunter (formerly known as Fletcher’s Dragonfly). When I visited the bog a year ago I only found two of those species – the Brown Elfin and the Ebony Boghaunter. This time I spent a little more time on the southern section of the boardwalk, accompanied by the songs of the Lincoln’s Sparrows and Palm Warblers, both of which breed in the bog, as I rambled along. I saw a number of small moths flying amongst the vegetation, and every time one came close to me I got my hopes up that it was the small Brown Elfin butterfly. Then I saw two larger, darker butterflies battling together above the bog. They flew toward me, too busy pecking away at each other to notice me, coming close enough to touch. I didn’t get a good enough look at them to identify them before they drifted away.

Mer Bleue, Part I: Ecology

Pink Lady’s Slipper

One place I wanted to take my mother and stepfather but didn’t have time was Mer Bleue, the second largest domed bog in southern Ontario and one of the most beautiful and unique parts of the city’s Greenbelt. Featuring a northern ecosystem more typical of the Arctic than the Ottawa Valley, the Mer Bleue bog is the only wetland in Canada’s Capital Region internationally recognized under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Sphagnum moss, also known as peat moss, forms the heart of the 3,500-hectare bog. This plant thrives in the cool, acidic, oxygen- and nutrient-poor conditions that characterize northern bogs. When it decomposes, it forms layer upon layer of dead organic matter (called peat), the bog substrate. Because the sphagnum moss tends to grow fastest in the center of the bog, the peat accumulates below and the water table rises. The high water table allows wetland plants to keep growing and for peat to accumulate, increasing the size of the dome over thousands of years. The Mer Bleue bog is about six metres thick in the center of the dome and has taken thousands of years to develop.

Petrie Island and Mer Bleue

The next day the clouds moved in. I drove east to Petrie Island in search of marsh birds and migrants. When I stopped by the marsh along the causeway, however, the water levels were still high. I didn’t hear or see any rails, bitterns or Marsh Wrens; there were a few mallards and Tree Swallows, a single Great Blue Heron and that was about it. A couple of Yellow Warblers were singing in the shrubs and a pair of Red-wings were mating on the ground. Then I noticed a dark bird flying over the water on the other side of the causeway; it was my first confirmed Black Tern in Ottawa! I watched its graceful flight for a while before it vanished over the marsh.

Mer Bleue on the First Day of Spring

Deb and I returned to the east end on Sunday.  Now that the Canada Geese have arrived in massive flocks, we wanted to check out the traditional spring flooding areas along Milton and Frank Kenny Roads to see if we could come up with a Snow Goose, Killdeer or some puddle ducks among the flocks.  We found the geese without any problem….there must have been over 5,000 at each spot along the Bear Brook floodplain!  Despite spending a great deal of time scanning the flocks, however, the only other species we could come up with was Ring-billed Gull.  We didn’t even see any mallards.

There were a few other birds of interest around, including a couple of flocks of Wild Turkeys, a single Horned Lark on Giroux Road, and a couple of Red-tailed Hawks at the same spot on Russell Road although on opposite sides of the road.  We also had our first muskrat of the year swimming in a water-filled ditch on Milton Road and three deer on Giroux Road.