For our last day at the Park, we got to sleep in. We would not be meeting Jeremy Bensette until 8:30 at the tram stop.
Once again, there were Ottawa birders on the hike – this time Michelle and Paul Martin. Jean Iron was there too, of course.
This day, the forecast was more accurate. A very light drizzle at times did not bother us much.
Imagine our surprise when there were no birds at all at the tip – a first!
We slowly made our way back to the tram stop, and we did see a few warblers. Yeah! The group saw a Black-billed Cuckoo, but when we hurried back to join them, it was almost out of sight.
An interesting mammal was a Little Brown Bat outside the washrooms.
We took the tram back to the Visitor Centre, and had our lunch in the classroom again. Jeremy came on the next tram and joined us.
We checked out the fish in the pond out front, then birded around the edge of the parking lot. It was surprisingly good for woodpeckers, eagles and Northern Harriers. Jeremy was interested to show us a rare Sulphur butterfly, so had us check the common one for comparison.
We drove to Northwest Beach to look for the rare butterfly, but did not see it. But we did see some good hawks – a Sharp-shinned and a Cooper’s along with a very close Northern Harrier which we were unable to photograph. We birded along the edge of the parking lot and got some good warblers, a Gray Catbird and another juvenile Sapsucker.
A young family noticed us and came over. Jeremy was very welcoming and even lent the young lad his binoculars.
At this point, our group of four seniors were exhausted. So, we thanked Jeremy for a great day and headed to Leamington. On the way, Bill noticed an adult Bald Eagle sitting on a mound of vegetation in the marsh.
Colin and Bill drove to Pizza Pizza to buy a takeout supper, then gassed up the car for our return trip the next day.
We enjoyed our pizza and reflected on our good day of birding.
