August 4, 2010 Dusk along the Ottawa River

Ben and I spent a couple of hours birding along the Ottawa River toward dusk. It can be an interesting time as birds come in to roost. with the low water levels there are lots of exposed rocks for and mudflats for water birds to rest or roost. Shirley's Bay had a good number of shorebirds , total 9 species with more juveniles. There were still a few Caspian Terns feeding over the bay. At Deschenes Rapids, with the exposed rocks there was an amazing amount of bird activity. The high light was 16 Great Egrets which appear to be roosting in the trees where the Double-crested Cormorants nest. It shows that the egrets are doing well and continue to expand northward. The first record of Great Egret in the Ottawa-Gatineau District was in August 1972, seen flying up river by Britannia Point. It would later be observed at Shirley's Bay. We also had 8 Caspian Terns resting with the 100's of Ring-billed Gulls and our first juvenile Great Black-backed Gull of the fall. Also had 34 adult Great Black-backed and 3 adult Bonaparte's Gull feeding over the rapids.

Good Birding, Bruce and Ben