Birds seen at Ottawa National Wildlife Area 10/14/06

 

The BSBO walk at Ottawa took place today as 6 brave (translated as crazy) souls hiked out onto the cold, windy dikes of the refuge. Through a mix of sun and big, fluffy, white clouds we saw a variety of birds that exceeded our expectations.

 

Winter Wrens, Song Sparrows, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Swamp Sparrows, White-Throated and White-Crowned Sparrows, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, and Golden-Crowned and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets were seen on the way to the estuary. Several Bald Eagles and Three Red-Tailed Hawks soared around us as we looked for some of the smaller birds, But, the big surprise awaited us as we rounded the corner and got our first look at the Crane Creek Estuary. Shorebird Habitat!!!! Several days of steady, brisk Southwesterly winds had blown all of the water out (presumably to become snow in Buffalo). Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Dowitchers, and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and the three common species of gulls (Herring, Ring-billed, and Bonaparte's), covered the resulting mudflats. The highlight though was the first year Peregrine Falcon that sat on one of the rocks watching the proceedings. His dark plumage almost fooled us until he turned his head to reveal his strong peregrine face pattern.

 

Waterfowl were plentiful with American Wigeon being the most common. Also seen were Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Mallards, Green-Winged Teal, American Black Ducks, Gadwall, and Blue-Winged Teal.

 

Remember, because the boardwalk will be closed for the next couple of weeks after (10/15), there will be no BSBO Friday walks. Next Saturday, however, we will hike at Ottawa again. Meet at the BSBO Nature Center at 8:00 AM on Saturday Morning.

 

Paul Sherwood

Naturalist

Black Swamp Bird Observatory

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