After a missed flight, rescheduling, and eight extra hours of travel, I finally made it home late Sunday night from 10 days in Ottawa, 3 of which were dedicated birding days.
The first day of birding was spent in the field with Larry Neily (www.neilyworld.com) looking for regional specialties and birds I missed last time I was in Ottawa. We managed to pick up several of them, starting with Ovenbird and Ruby-throated Hummingbird, progressing through Eastern Towhee and Scarlet Tanager, and finishing off with four of my top targets - Least Bittern, Red-headed Woodpecker, Sedge Wren, and an Upland Sandpiper that I first spotted on a telephone wire as we drove by.
Day two was spent driving south to Chaffey's Locks and Skycroft, where I was told that birding along Opinicon Rd would provide easier access to some of my targets. After many kilometres of slowish birding, we stumbled upon a pair of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, another of my top targets. The other birds I was after proved elusive, and we were about to turn around when we ran into Jeff Skevington and his dad, Richard, both from Ottawa. I had pulled over to ask them if there was anything good around, to which Jeff replied "the usual". It turned out that at that particular spot, the usual was Golden-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, and Yellow-throated Vireo, the remainder of my targets for the day. We had incredible looks at the Golden-winged Warbler and, further down the road, Cerulean Warbler, but we never got any closer to the Vireo than hearing it sing. We also added a Pine Warbler, which flew across a lake to check out Jeff's iPod, and one new Canada bird (Red-shouldered Hawk).
The plan for day three was Gatineau Park, where I hoped to clean up the missing warblers and maybe add a few other birds. Getting out of the car at the Champlain Lookout, my first two birds were Chestnut-sided Warbler and Least Flycatcher, two more targets! We added Veery along the way, but despite hearing in the neighbourhood of 20 Wood Thrushes, we couldn't get a visual. The park provided great looks at many other species, but the thrill of the day came along when least expected. We had pulled over to try out one of Quebec's roadside poutine stands and, having finished lunch, were getting back into the car when a distinctive, long-tailed bird flew overhead, and into a tree across the road. I fumbled getting my binoculars out of the car and ran across the highway, ending up with fantastic looks at a Black-billed Cuckoo!
All in all a great trip, with 16 lifers and 2 new for Canada.
But....... technology makes it impossible to adopt an "ignorance is bliss" approach, and I was well aware of everything I was missing here, from the Brewer's Sparrow that I heard about upon landing in Ottawa on June 3, the Lazuli Buntings, etc, etc.
I tried yesterday for the Chat, with no luck (it was seen an hour before I got there and several hours after I left), but did add Willow Flycatcher for 198. I also tried today for Great Egret with no luck.
5 missed rarities in a week away, now its time to play catch-up!
Good birding,
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