Hello Ontbirders Much bird activity was noted this morning along the Ottawa River, west of Ottawa.
At Ottawa Beach (Andrew Hayden Park) a juvenile Peregrine made a couple of passes terrorizing the ducks and gulls. At the time, only one Lesser Yellowlegs was visible on the sandbar. An adult male Lesser Scaup was in the bay not far from the sandbar. There was much songbird movement near the waterfowl hide (including several juvenile warblers of various species). The highlights included one Wilson's Warbler, one Canada Warbler, one Philadelphia Vireo and two Lincoln's Sparrows. Shirley's Bay finally has some significant shorebird habitat. Many birds can be viewed from the base of the dyke. Among the many highlights were one Great Egret and one juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron. Also of mild interest, an adult Sora, and an adult Virginia Rail came out into the open allowing a side-by-side scope viewing. An adult male Merlin made a few uninspired attacks toward the shorebirds. However, for the most part, they seemed unconcerned. The migratory shorebirds included the following: 24 Lesser Yellowlegs (mostly adults) 14 Semipalmated Sandpipers (only one adult) 17 Least Sandpipers (only two adults) 8 Greater Yellowlegs (all adults) 7 Pectoral Sandpipers (all juveniles) 4 Solitary Sandpiper (ages uncertain) 1 Stilt Sandpiper (adult) 1 Black-bellied Plover (adult) Cheerio & Good Birding Tony Beck http://www3.sympatico.ca/beck.tony/ Directions courtesy of Neily World: http://members.rogers.com/larry.neily/birding.htm Ottawa Beach: >From Highway 417 (The Queensway) take exit 129 (Greenbank & Pinecrest Roads). If travelling west, the 0.3 km offramp dumps you right or north onto Pinecrest Road. If driving east, a 0.3 km offramp brings you to Pinecrest/Greenbank Road, where you will turn left or north onto Pinecrest Road and in 0.4 km join the westbound offramp traffic. Both groups will now follow Pinecrest Road north 1.0 km from here to Carling Avenue. Turn left or west on Carling and go 1.7 km to the turnoff for the parking lot for Ottawa Beach on the right or north. Turn right into the lot. Shirley's Bay: >From Highway 417 (The Queensway) take exit 134 (Moodie Drive). If travelling west, the 0.4 km offramp dumps you right or north onto Moodie. If driving east, a 0.3 km offramp brings you to Moodie Drive, where you will turn left or north onto it and in 0.5 km join the westbound offramp traffic. Both groups will now follow Moodie Drive north 1.3 km from here to Carling Avenue. Turn left or northwest on Carling and go 2.2 km to Rifle (Range) Road. Turn right or north onto Rifle Road and travel 2.0 km to the boat launch parking lot. Park here to visit this site on foot. Warning: Permission to access the dyke must be obtained by contacting the DND's Connaught Firing Range Control Office at (613) 991-5740 or the Range Warden at 991-5741. On weekends contact the Duty Officer at 724-8716. If the dyke is the primary goal of your day's birding, it would be wise to call ahead as there are no phones at the boat launch. Shooting is often in progress and some of the bullets could stray toward the dyke. Remember they are there because they need the practice. As far as I know no birders have been winged yet and the DND has enough trouble with PR that they will do everything they can to avoid it. Please don't enter the area without permission, and please abide by Range Control's instructions. They will tell you whether or not walking the dyke is allowed. If they say no, DO NOT ENTER!, you may be shot (you just never know how good the guy practising might be), or you may be corralled by the military police (MP's). Disregarding the DND's safety measures could also jeopardise all birder's access. However, that being said, it's usually okay to bird from the gate at the base of the dyke.
