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October has provided a great deal of excellent birding here in Ottawa, some of the sightings of rare seabirds far from home likely the result of wild storms and strong winds.
Here’s a good example: On Oct. 22 while birding near Lac Deschênes on the Ottawa River, Mark Gawn spotted a strange black and white bird that he identified as a juvenile razorbill, the first ever recorded in Ottawa. And there was more. Flying right behind the razorbill was a northern gannet, another unusual seabird for the Ottawa area.
The razorbill stayed around Lac Deschênes, fishing and feeding, for the rest of Oct. 22 and most of the next day. The best viewing was from the Quebec side, where more birders gathered to watch it. Tony Beck saw it first from his balcony and was able to photograph it on Oct. 23.
Late on the afternoon of Oct. 23, Gawn and Jean Dubois came upon another rare bird, which they identified as a western grebe, about a kilometre east of Lac Deschênes.
But the big excitement was over the razorbill, a member of the family alcidae that includes the auks, murres and puffin — “northern counterparts of the penguins,” according to the Sibley Guide to the Birds. Of course, alcids can fly — unlike penguins, which can only: “fly” under water when they are fishing.
Alcids are black and white birds that stand upright like penguins when they come ashore to breed. Some nest in crowded colonies on the tops of cliffs or in burrows, like the puffins. When not breeding, alcids spend most of their time out on the open ocean.
The razorbill is distinguished by its short neck and rather long pointed tail. Their bills are stubby and flat — broader than the thinner, pointed ones characteristic of murres — with thin white lines on the adult. These lines are missing in the juveniles.
It was a good week for Gawn, who also saw three red-throated loons on Oct. 22. The next day, he came across 65 horned grebes and 57 red-necked grebes. The western grebe he spotted might have been associated with these flocks of grebes on Lac Deschênes.
Beck also reported seeing common loons, Brant geese, long-tailed ducks, three species of scoters and mergansers along with numerous other ducks and gulls. The razorbill, the red-throated loon and the long-tailed duck were added to his balcony list, which now stands at 120 species.
Kim and Brendan Toews also saw the razorbill at 8:15 a.m. on Oct. 23 at the Deschênes Lookout, where the bird dived several times for fish. Kim added the red-throated loon to her life list. The couple also saw Brant geese, ducks and gulls, an American pipit and a common loon.
Ray Holland reported another unusual bird, the black-legged kittiwake, circling over the Ottawa River near Dunrobin last week. This is a small gentle gull that calls its name, a very different bird from the large predatory gulls like the herring gull and the great black-backed gull.
In the woods around Mud Lake in Britannia, Tom Levecseri found a very co-operative Carolina wren. It was quite unafraid and seemed happy to pose for a picture. In Andrew Haydon Park, Jim Cumming saw a double-crested cormorant in flight.
The northern shrike visits our area in the winter and can often be seen hunting small birds at local feeders. The one seen recently by Stephen Phillips in Stittsville was preening after a heavy shower. In Kanata, he saw a single golden-crowned kinglet foraging for food with a small flock of juncos and a catbird.
On Oct. 23, a few red-winged blackbirds came in for food at a feeder belonging to Dave Eaves in Harrowsmith. They are still passing through on migration.
Mary Baxter was out on the Ottawa River around Upper Duck Island on a two-and-a-half-hour “end of fall paddle” and came across dozens of ring-billed gulls on a small spit of sand with one very large great black-backed gull sitting in the middle of them. Two great blue herons were also there along with two turtles sunning themselves on the rocks.
Shelley Ball had a close encounter with a beautiful small bird that had stunned itself flying into a window. It was a cold, wet day so she picked it up and cradled it in her hands to warm and dry it. Looking closely, she realized that it was a black-throated blue warbler, surely one of the most beautiful of these tiny birds. After 10 minutes of rest and recovery it was ready to continue its southward journey.
The feeders at St. Isidore are busy. Marie Malette reported pair of white-breasted nuthatches and a downy woodpecker every day. On the ground underneath, four juncos spend most of the day. A pair of cardinals has returned after an absence of several months.
I have no room this week for information about winter feeding and feeders. I will try next week. In the meantime, good birding during this first week of November.
Send birding reports and specify location to 613-821-9880 or email elegeyt@rogers.com. The Wild Bird Care Centre for orphaned and injured birds is at 613-828-2849.
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