Hi Everyone This morning I counted 14 Snowy Owls roosting/hunting? on the ice on Lake Deschenes/Ottawa River. The lake/river is still mainly frozen and while most the farm land and open fields are now snow free. The owls were between Deschenes Rapids and just west of Aylmer Island. This is only the third time I’ve ever had a large number of Snowy Owls along the Ottawa River during spring migration. Last year in early April was the first time when I counted 12 owls and on April 6, 2015 (11) Over the decades I normally never looked closely at the Ottawa River in the spring for Snowy Owls.
Another highlight today were the numbers of Bohemian Waxwings in the area. I had one flock of 2500+ along the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway near Kitchississippi Lookout. Most of these birds were devouring the remaining Buckthorn berries and landing on the ground drinking water from the melting snow. There were numerous large flocks perched in trees and there was a rotation as birds flew down to eat in the low buckthorns while others that finished feeding flew back up high in the trees. I noted large flocks at various locations including Lemieux Island, Clyde Ave Woods, Britannia Conservation Area, Deschenes Rapids, Fletcher Wildlife Garden and Shirley’s Bay. Basically anywhere where Buckthorn Berries were available. Good birding, Bruce Directions: Directions: Both Shirley’s Bay and Andrew Haydon Park are located off Carling Ave. If you require additional information please email me privately. Bruce Di Labio P.O.Box 538 Carp, Ontario K0A 1L0 613-715-2571 Sent from Windows Mail _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
