Ottawa Fine Feathered Friends

Ohhhhhh so cooooooool!  Saw a flock of snow buntings in the field near the parking lot at CHM!!!  Didn't have my binoculars with me, but for sure that's what they were based on not only their calls, but also how the flock flutters and swirls around like gently swirling snow.  So cool.  At first I didn't know what they were, but when the flock flew up and around and back down, I immediately thought wow, they look like snow.  My guess was snow buntings, so I looked them up in the Audubon app.  Sure enough, the description says how the flock looks like snow!  Then I listened to the calls on the app, and compared with the birds themselves -- yup. So, so cool.  So them again on our way back to the car.  What a treat as the flock swirled up and back down a few times.  Gorgeous!!!

Big pure white wading bird, with orange beak and black legs.  

Finally!  After quite a few times hearing catbirds, spotted one today.  And without the binoculars in tow either -- s/he was in a low tree.

Most of the water at Morris Island CA was still frozen and snow-covered, but there were some parts that were open.  That's where I saw a ring-necked duck, hanging out with some hooded and common mergansers and Canada geese.  Very cool! Then, on the drive back, I saw some people pulled over at the side of the road, next to a flooded farm field full of Canada geese.  As a slowly drove past, I saw they had some serious bird-watching equipment set up, so of course I had to stop and see what the excitement was about, as surely it wasn't just the Canada geese.  They pointed out the Ross's goose, the lone white bird among the Canada geese.  Cool!

The pine grosbeaks were fearless, stayed eating the crabapples as we came right under the tree and hung out for a while!

At a shallow, very slow-moving part of the creek. At first I was trying to figure out if it was a Lesser or Greater Yellowlegs, but then I decided no -- it's a Solitary Sandpiper.

^^^

Almost totally missed the indigo bunting!  Saw a bird in a tree, heard some generic cheeping, decided to take a peek through the binoculars and whoa!  Super cool!

 ^^^

Merlin alerted me, then I snuck a peak. Also saw/heard yellow warblers and american redstarts.

A bunch of them!  Very neat.  Thanks to the laser scope story for keeping this species in my brain. Also some baby Canada geese!

2 or 3 Belted Kingfishers!  What a neat looking bird.  Spent 10-15 minutes hanging out watching them, at the field by the creek. Northern Harrier was soaring -- the white band on the top side by the tail, and the underside markings, make me pretty confident of the i.d.

Loved seeing all those ducks!  M & F Hooded Merganser; F Common Merganser; M & F Bufflehead.  Super neat!

^^^

Two, I think both males?  For sure at least one was male.  Didn't notice them at all until I looked far from shore through my binoculars.

A fine male, who I didn't notice for the longest time as I thought he was a she mallard.

At the bird feeder tree in the camp HQ area.  Several of them, unmistakeable.  Lifer!