Halloween

Cold night in Canada

A surprisingly early taste of winter (before Halloween or the clocks going back) brought beautiful scenes and close birds. The remaining colour on the trees looked incongruous but lovely.

American Robin

Dark-Eyed Slate-Backed Snowbird Junco

Blue Jay

A late Grackle

Mer Blue

Mer Bleu is an area of bog left behind when the Ottawa River subsided, and has a depth of peat of up to 20m. The vegetation is, naturally, specialised, and at this time of the year the larches are a vivid yellow.

There is a large area of reeds, which must be great for birds in the spring and summer, but mostly deserted now. A sighting of a beaver lodge compensated.

This is the first American sparrow that I've seen - looking at the head markings and wing-bar I'd deduce a White-Crowned, but may well be wrong.

A Garter Snake crossed our path, seeking some warmth perhaps.

And the Chickadees here were shameless as usual.

Mud Lake and the Ottawa River

I was priviledged to be guided around the Britannia Conservation area by Dave, of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists Club. He is a man who knows everything about this local patch, and can charm the birds from the air.

The wet summer has prevented the usual sight of waders on the riverside, but there was still plenty to see, besides the many Canada Geese. Surf Scoters, Red-Necked Grebes and Bufflehead were among the highlights on the river, with Common and Hooded Mergansers, Wood Ducks and Ring-Necked Ducks on the lake; American Goldfinches, Cardinals and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets along the road, and Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Creeper and both Nuthatches in the wood.

Black Duck

American Robin

Green-winged Teal

Downy Woodpecker

A great couple of hours birding, with 32 species seen by Dave (and 31 by myself, as I missed the Pine Siskins). At the end, I was accepted by the local Black-Capped Chickadees, to the extent that they flew to perch on my hand too (and pecked it because there was no food there).

The Capital

Some of the leaves are still on the trees, giving the occasional stunning sight. The Canadian flag flies proudly atop the Peace Tower, by the Parliament buildings.

The Rideau canal connects the Ottawa River with the St Lawrence River - it is now mostly used as a leisure facility, including skating in winter, and it's just been partly drained in preparaion for this.

Near the Parliament buildings is a cat sanctuary, with numerous strays being fed by volunteers. This cat seems to be doing well on the food, but is developing rodent features.

Welcome to Ottawa

Hi and welcome to the Ottawa Squirrel Blog.

My backyard has numerous feeders, which brings birds and rodents in droves, and I'll try to snatch some photos of them as they pass through.