A dozen observers enjoyed a classic late fall day's birding in Renfrew County.
We started at Lake Dore, taking advantage of excellent early morning lighting,
where there were large numbers of Bonaparte's Gull, estimated at 150: the
headline bird was a crisp adult Little Gull which did several flybys. Other
birds included distant views of scoters (one each: Black, Surf, White-winged)
and the usual flotillas of Common Loon, with good numbers of Horned and
Red-necked Grebe about. Three Sandhill Cranes did a low level flyover of
Mountain Road, allowing excellent looks for several participants. Westmeath
produced good numbers of "bush" sparrows, but not the hoped for Nelson's;
perhaps too late in the day? The extensive mudflats there yielded shorebirds:
19 Black-bellied Plover, 4 Killdeer, 1 Golden Plover, 17 White-rumped Sandpiper
and one each of Dunlin and Pectoral; the Golden Plover put on a fine show for
participants, allowing for good studies. Bald Eagle, now a well established
breed
er in the area, showed well with one at Lake Dore and two at Westmeath. A
quick stop at the mouth of the Muskrat River in Pembroke produced no birds of
note, despite the presence of great habitat: for sure a place to keep an eye
on.
Mark Gawn
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