A good outing although cool with that wind. There is a strong possibility that Sandhills may nest this year down my way at Cooper Marsh. We're hoping. I am aware of the GHO nest at Petrie Island but have never been there. Is it easily visible just driving around?
Brian Morin On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 9:17 PM, mark gawn <[email protected]> wrote: > A dozen OFO members enjoyed a sunny day birding sites east of Ottawa. > First up, Petrie Island, a former sand mine now conservation area. There, a > short walk produced Common Loon and a woodpecker concert, culminated by an > impressive Pileated drum solo. Next up, Mer Bleu, a relic bog conveniently > transected by a boardwalk. Emily B got us on the target bird, a beautiful > Eastern Palm Warbler. This species is an exceptionally rare breeder in > Ontario with only two known breeding stations, of which Mer Bleu is one. > Further on we picked up another, which entertained the group by singing > from nearby Black Spruces. The cattails surrounding the bog produced two > vociferous Virginia Rails which sadly declined a viewing. A flock of > sparrows near the car park compensated by providing views of a leaf raking > Fox Sparrow, among many soon-to-depart American Tree Sparrow. Nearby fields > along Smith Road allowed distant and fleeting views of a pair of Sandhill > Crane, a local breeder; better still was a large flock of Snow Geese along > Frank Kenny Road, estimated at 1,500. As most of the geese were white > phase, and due to the presence of some smaller birds, we assumed this flock > to be mostly Greater. Our final stop was at the Giroux Road ponds which > held an assortment of duck chief among which, Bufflehead and Ring-necked > Duck. While in general there were few migrants, an active Great Horned Owl > nest, complete with downy owlet, was a highlight for many. Many thanks to > Bernie Ladoucer for co-leading and e-bird scribing. > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > _______________________________________________ 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
