May 15, 2012 Bald Eagle nesting success.

The Bald Eagles at Shirley's Bay successfully hatched in late April and at least 2 young were observed being feed by the adults on May 4th and again on May 15th. Now we have our first documented breeding record for the Ottawa district. One adult landed at the nest and fed the young pieces of a small fish.

The nesting Bald Eagles now have two young.

Black-crowned Night-Heron and a pair of Wood ducks at Mud Lake. 

The Ovenbird is easier to heard than to see. Fortunately this individual  was not difficult to  locate as it sang .

May 13, 2012 Red-headed Woodpeckers at Constance Bay.

At least one adult Red-headed Woodpecker was present at the "old burn site" at Constance Bay. This is the 11th consecutive year the Red-headed Woodpecker at this site. Hopefully another adult will soon arrive. The majority of the dead trees, mainly popular have now fallen but there are still a number of suitable nesting cavities.  This is still one of the few breeding locations that remain in the Ottawa district. Since June 2002 the woodpeckers have been successful every summer raising a family. 

Directions: Constance Bay: RHWP: From Ottawa travel west bound on Hwy. 417 to the March Rd./Eagleson Road and exit right onto March Rd. Follow to Dunrobin Road and turn right continuing northwest through Woodlawn. At the hill turn right onto Constance Bay Rd following it for approx. 1.5 km. Turn left on Allbirch Road and drive 1.3 km to the " T " intersection. Turn left
on Bishop Davis Drive and then right on Bayview Drive. Follow Bayview Drive to Ritchie St. Turn right and go a short distance to Whistler Rd. Turn left and drive .3 km and watch for a gate on the right. The trail through the burn area is opposite the gate. Parking is limited. Please review the birding code of ethics. 

The Red-headed Woodpeckers are back for the 11th consecutive year. 

Loggerhead Shrike banding informatio update April 12, 2012

Of the 5 Loggerhead Shrikes observed on April 12th, 2 had no bands while 3 were colour banded. Out of the 3 colour banded individuals I was able to obtain banding information on two. The first one with left leg- orange over yellow and right leg white over metal/silver was banded in 2010 in the Napanee area while the 2 bird with left leg-green over blue and right leg- blue over metal/silver was banded in 2010-same area. A third bird, I was only able to see part of the band combination. On my next visit I'll try to check band combination again.  

April 12, 2012 Loggerhead and Northern Shrikes north of Napanee.

Spent the morning birding the area north of Napanee in search of Loggerhead Shrike. This area is the last stronghold in eastern Ontario for the shrike. Over the past 40 years there has been a steady decline along the north edge of its range. As a teenager in the Ottawa area back in the early 70's the Loggerhead Shrike was a regular summer sight along back roads in the Shirley's Bay, Carp,  Dunrobin, Constance Bay, Kilmaurs, and Kinburn  area west of Ottawa and numerous nesting sites south of the Ottawa Airport. Unfortunately during the 80's there was a steady decline which carried into the 90's and by 2000 the only active nests were in the south west of Ottawa near Franktown along Hwy. 15 and along Montague Boundary Road off Roger Stevens Road. Since 2000 there has been only a few confirmed sightings of the Loggerhead Shrike usually during mid April and one nesting on the Quebec side of the Ottawa 50km district. Ben and I observed one along Huntmar Road near Richardson Side Road on April 20, 2011 and there was another sighting recently in the Dunrobin area on April 14, 2012. While looking for Loggerhead Shrike I found at least 3 Northern Shrikes in the same habitat and was able to photograph two of the birds. 

I spent a couple of hours driving around the various back roads number of Napanee/Newburgh and located 5 Loggerhead Shrikes including 3 colour banded individuals. It was great to watch them hunt insects successfully. In the general area there was a good number of Eastern Meadowlark, American Kestrel, Eastern Bluebird, and Savannah Sparrows. 

Adult Northern Shrike perched.

Immature Northern Shrike hunting.

Loggerhead Shrike

Colour banded Loggerhead Shrike.

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Loggerhead Shrike

Loggerhead Shrike with grub in beak. 

Loggerhead Shrike sign. 

Loggerhead Shrike sits on fence post as truck passes by. 

Loggerhead Shrike hunting along road side. Unfortunately many shrikes are hit by fast moving vehicles along county roads. . 

March 27, 2012 Bald Eagle nesting at Shirley's Bay

After building a nest last spring but not nesting,  Bald Eagles have returned to Shirley's Bay. On March 20th I observed 2 adults around the nest and on March 21st, one of the adults was sitting on the nest. On March 27th one adult was still observed sitting. This is the first nesting record for the Ottawa district and it will be interesting to see how the eagles do. During the previous breeding bird atlas (2001-2005) no nesting was documented in the Ottawa area. Occasionally individuals are observed during the summer months along the Ottawa River and mutiplie birds by late August to early September.

After building a nest during the spring of 2011 the Bald Eagles have returned

Bald Eagle sitting on nest at Shirley's Bay.
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March 25, 2012 Presqu'ile Birding

Hi Everyone
Today at Presqu'ile P.P. we observed 2 Snowy Owls off Owen Point, 1 on Gull Island and the second on High Bluff Island. It was interesting that the first one was sitting very close to, two Ring-billed Gulls on a log-maybe the Snowy already had breakfast?? On Owen Point there was a Northern Shrike hunting a Song Sparrow. There were 4 Red-throated Loons on Popham Bay and one off the lighthouse. On a earlier visit to Presqu'ile on March 23rd, I observed a very early Caspian Tern off Owen Point ( not sure what the earliest record is for Ontario?), 1 Virginia Rail calling at the Marsh Boardwalk and a Yellow-rumped Warbler on March 22nd in a flock of Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets at Calf Pasture.
Good Birding, Bruce

Directions: Courtesy Fred Helleiner: To reach Presqu'ile Provincial Park, follow the signs from Brighton. Locations within the Park are shown on a map at the back of a tabloid that is available at the Park gate. Access to the offshore islands is restricted at this time of year to prevent disturbance to the colonial nesting birds there. Birders are encouraged to record their observations on the bird sightings board provided near the campground office by The Friends of Presqu'ile Park and to fill out a rare bird report for species not listed there.

March 23, 2012 Long-billed Dowitcher in eastern Ontario

The recent heat wave to hit eastern Ontario brought with it a number of very early arrivals including a Long-billed Dowitcher just east of Ottawa along Bearbrook Creek off Frank Kenny road. The dowitcher was first observed on March 21st and thought to be a Short-billed Dowitcher. After researching migration data on both short-billed and long-billed is was determined to likely be a Long-billed Dowitcher. The bird wasn't observed on March 22nd but was relocated on March 23rd. It was photographed and studied well and is the first record for March in Ontario with the previous record early date,  April 4th. There was also a Long-billed Dowitcher observed on March 22nd near Hillsman Marsh in southern Ontario and a  dowitcher reported in upper New York state. Another interesting observation was of a  Plegadis (Glossy/White-faced) Ibis on March 23rd  Presqu'ile  Provincial Park. This is another record early date  for any ibis in Ontario. Unfortunately the ibis wasn't relocated.