Birding report: Pembroke
October 17th, 2010

Yesterday was spent on a day trip to Pembroke with the OFNC. The group was quite small. The leader hypothesized that since the Trail & Landscape with the trip description only came out very recently, a lot of people probably didn't find out about it until it was too late.

Part one was Lake Doré, which holds the distinction of being the largest lake in North America without islands. It wasn't all I had hoped for, which I think was a matter of luck. There are times it's blanketed with migrant water birds, but yesterday was not one of those times.

It was definitely the most grebey place I've ever been to, though. Grebes are strange-looking water birds superficially similar to ducks, with squat bodies, long necks, and often vividly colored breeding plumage--russet red being a popular color. (An excellent shot of a breeding Eared Grebe is at the top of this page.) For us here in the east, alas, grebes in breeding colors are a rare treat. They mostly breed out west, and unlike male ducks, who lose their colors in late summer but get them back sometime in fall, grebes don't get their colors back until spring. Only the fairly plain-looking (but very cute) Pied-Billed Grebe is regularly seen here in spring and summer. Others, mainly in fall.

Grebes are fish-lovers, which explains why Lake Doré is so attractive to them. At just about every one of our various vantage points, we saw individuals and/or small groups of Horned Grebes. We also saw a few Red-Necked Grebes, which was my first lifer of the day. Other high points on the lake included Common Loons (also now in their winter plumage), Bonaparte's Gulls (the most common gull on the water), and an otter, who was enjoying the abundance of fish about as much as the grebes and loons.

At the picnic area where we had lunch, we were surprised by a flock of Pine Siskins in the treetops. Siskins are northern birds related to goldfinches who sometimes wander south in the winter--perhaps this sighting bodes well for soon seeing siskins in Ottawa? We had a major invasion of them back in winter of 2008/09--I posted pictures then.

Part two was Shaw Woods, a small remnant tract of old-growth forest. This was the more enjoyable part of the day, for me. It wasn't what I expected from old-growth woods: I expected the trees to tower, to be immense, primeval. Not really. No truly huge trunks, and the trees weren't any taller than, say, the white pines at Mud Lake.

What it was was beautiful. Rich fall colors, a diverse mix of trees (birch, beech, aspen, balsam fir, hemlock...), and a cedar swamp that proved to be especially productive for interesting birds. Sightings included a Hermit Thrush, a Winter Wren, and the star of the trip, my first Gray Jay. (Incidentally, that hyperlink's to the surprisingly excellent Wikipedia page for Gray Jay. I recommend it.) Gray Jays are northern birds related to Blue Jays and Crows. They're big, fluffy, and gray and white, like mutant overgrown chickadees. Mostly they stick to the boreal forest and the high mountains. Algonquin Park is the only place at all close to Ottawa where Gray Jays are common. That was where I had expected to get my lifer.

Then I came home and crashed hard. I did this trip on zero sleep but enjoyed it anyway!

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