[Ontbirds]Sightings east of Ottawa

[Eve Ticknor]

 From the 417 I drove north to Fournier where the best place for me  
to see thousands of Snow Geese was Lefebvre Rd.
Earlier I drove around Riceville and to Bourget where I saw a male  
Belted Kingfisher by the road, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails,  
a Common Raven, Horned Larks and Savannah Sparrows.
Continuing to Alfred from Fournier, I went to the Lagoons where I was  
delighted to see lovely signage welcoming birders with open arms!   
The first cell to the right of the parking lot had open water and  
several Redhead Ducks.  The first cell to the left has mostly open  
water and lots of vegetation.  The back cell has mostly ice except  
around the edges.  Many Canada Geese were in the field east of the  
Lagoons.  When up on the tower, I could see small numbers of  
waterfowl, including American Coot, Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal,  
American Wigeon and lots of Red-winged Blackbirds.  A pair of  
Northern Harriers were hunting nearby.
I continued up the same road to the Ottawa River.  Just before  
getting there I saw a Rough-legged Hawk on my left and 2 possible Red- 
tailed Hawks in a White Pine.  Heat shimmers are active already!  I  
heard EAstern Meadowlark, too.

Back in Ottawa, down by the Crowne Plaza Hotel between 5:30 and 6 pm,  
Connor ( male Peregrine)  was on the east ledge and Diana ( female  
Peregrine) was on the antenna of the Carlisle Building.