Evening on Conroy Island
Birders flock to Ottawa River to spot nesting water birds,
Bird activity along the Ottawa River continues to increase as each week goes by. On Aug. 7, I visited the Deschenes Rapids towards dusk. This is the location of Conroy Island, which is like a miniature version of Gull and High Bluff islands off Presqu’ile Provincial Park. Those areas have a large number of colonial nesting water birds, which includes Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Black-crowned Night-Heron and Ring-billed Gull, as does Conroy Island. In addition, Presqu’ile has breeding Caspian and Common Terns.
With the lower water levels, there were many exposed rocks for a variety of water birds to rest on, including gulls, terns, cormorants, ducks and shorebirds. As the evening progressed, I counted 19 Great Egrets coming to roost on Conroy Island. This was the site of the first Ottawa-Gatineau district nesting record for this species last summer. It is speculated that they nested again this summer.
Another species that had a successful breeding season was the Black-crowned Night-Heron. A total of 18 juvenile birds were observed, so watch out in the surrounding wetlands and shorelines for these herons. As the name suggests, the Night-Heron does much of its feeding at night and at dusk and dawn. If the river level is low, the area between Britannia Pier and Andrew Haydon Park is a good location to watch for these birds at dusk.
With the increase of breeding birds on Conroy Island, the Doublecrested Cormorant is doing very well. I counted 250+ cormorants resting on the rocks or feeding young that were still in the nests. The Double-crested Cormorant population has exploded over the past four decades and continues to increase. It’s amazing to think that this species was rare during the 1960s in the Ottawa-Gatineau district. In fact, in the 1969 Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the Ottawa Region by Ron Pittaway, the cormorant was considered a rare spring and fall migrant.
I can still remember the excitement on Sept. 23, 1972, of seeing a flock of 27 Double-crested Cormorants at Shirley’s Bay, a record high at the time. Nowadays it isn’t uncommon to see feeding flocks of 250+ or to count more than 500 roosting along the river. Now, with breeding colonies, I’m sure the numbers will continue to increase.
There were thousands of Ringbilled Gulls loafing on the water above the Deschenes Rapids and towards the Champlain Bridge. On the exposed rocks at the rapids, 23 Great Black-backed Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 50+ Herring Gulls, three Bonaparte’s Gulls and 10 Caspian Terns rested. Again, a few of these species have had an increase in numbers during spring and fall migration over the past four decades. It was amazing at dusk when suddenly all of the gulls from below the rapids took flight and began to fly west towards Lake Deschenes, where they would roost for the night.
With lower water levels on the Ottawa River, the Shirley’s Bay area continues to attract migrating water birds. On Aug. 12, there was a nice selection of shorebirds with an increase in juvenile plumaged birds. A total of 11 species were observed, including three juvenile Short-billed Dowitchers, two Baird’s Sandpipers, one Greater Yellowlegs, 20+ Lesser Yellowlegs, 30+ Semipalmated Sandpipers, 50+ Least Sandpipers and four Semipalmated Plovers.
Both herons and egrets are attracted to the shallow water and nine Great Egrets, including one individual with a red leg band (unfortunately too far out to read even with a scope) and six Great Blue Herons were feeding.
(Access to Shirley’s Bay is restricted. You must obtain permission from the Range Control Office before entering the area. Please call 613-991-5740 for permission.)
I’ve received numerous reports of Osprey from all over the region. It appears they’ve had a great breeding season. The Osprey, or Fish Hawk, specializes in fish. Watch for Ospreys as they hover over lakes and rivers, then plunge feet-first to catch fish in their talons.
The southbound warbler movement continues with numerous Yellow, Black-and-white, Yellowrumped and a few sightings of Baybreasted and Tennessee Warblers. With cooler nights on the way, more migrants will be passing through from the north. The dawn chorus is now quiet compared to the songs of May and June. There are still some bird sounds that can be heard as you walk through the Britannia Conservation Area, including Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Wood-Pewee, American Redstart and Song Sparrow. It won’t be long before the woods are quiet again.
I had a number of reports of “bald” birds this past week, including Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle and Blue Jay. This is normal during the summer months and varies from bird to bird. Some birds gradually lose their head feathers while a small percentage lose them all simultaneously. There is no external cause; it is just the way that particular bird moults. Their head feathers will be replaced over a couple of weeks.
Hawks are on the increase locally, with all the young now fully fledged. There have been numerous reports of Merlin and a few sightings of Cooper’s Hawks in our area. Watch for these birds of prey around your feeders or in the neighbourhood.
Please send your bird observations and/or photographs to: bruce.
dilabio “Ottawa Citizen Birds.” Please provide date, location and photographer’s name. The birding Code of Ethics and guidelines of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club can be found at www.ofnc.ca/birding/Code-of-Conduct.pdf. To reach the Wild Bird Care Centre for orphaned and injured birds call 613-828-2849. Report bird bands to: www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/bblretrv/