Hi Everyone Spent most of the day birding in Renfrew County. Overall a great day despite the occasional showers and overcast conditions. Our first stop at Cobden/Muskrat Lake produced a few Common Loons and a small flock of Bonaparte's Gull along with one Eastern Bluebird. Our next stop was along the Ottawa River at Westmeath Provincial Park. This area is renowned for the Nelson's Sparrow during the fall and we weren't disappointed. During a 4 km walk we observed 13 Nelson's Sparrow and 1 Le Conte's Sparrow. The birds were found along the shoreline in the taller vegetation and when flushed would fly low for a short distance and land in some shrubbery giving us great views. There were also lots of White-crowned, White-throated, Song, Swamp, and Savannah Sparrows. Others birds noted include, 3 White-winged Scoter, 4 Red-breasted Merganser, 8 Black-bellied Plover and a few American Pipit and Horned Lark. Our final stop of the day was at Lake Dore. The viewing conditions were excellent and the highlight was a winter plumage EARED GREBE. We observed the bird from the Township Park near the intersection of Hwy.41 and CR9. Also on the lake, were 18 Red-necked Grebe, 28 Horned Grebe, 30+ Common Loon, 50+ Bonaparte's Gull, and 7 Surf Scoter. On our drive home we observed a flock of 300+ American Pipits near Renfrew on Goshen Road thanks to an American Kestrel. Good birding, Bruce and Ben
Directions: Lake Dore is located off Hwy 41 near Eganville/Golden Lake. Pembroke Marina is located in the town of Pembroke at the end of Albert St. Westmeath Provincial Park access point is at the end of Sand Point Road off CR 12. Walk along shoreline for 1-3 kms south. If you require additional information, please email me privately. At the Pembroke Marina Di Labio Birding Website Courses and Field Trips http://www.dilabiobirding.ca http://www.brucedilabio.blogspot.com Bruce Di Labio 400 Donald B. Munro Drive P.O. Box 538 Carp, Ontario K0A 1L0 Office 613-839-4395 Cell 613-715-2571 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
