On November 17th in the afternoon a group of Macnamarans, led by Michael Runtz , travelled to four areas around Arnprior which are known to be good sites for birding –  excellent at this time of year with migrant waterfowl and shorebirds joining our resident birds.  We went to the head pond of the Madawaska River, the airport, Marshall’s Bay and the Ottawa River at the mouth of the Madawaska.  We were lucky to find 26 species on that very dull rainy afternoon. Some highlights were:  Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Bonaparte’s Gull, Dunlin (and unfortunately we found one that had been killed at the side of the road), Red-breasted Merganser (Six of them were very close for a long time and provided very good pictures!), Common Loon (6 of them too).  And a group in one car was lucky enough to spot a Red-tailed Hawk enroute.

The day ended with a group dinner at PJ’s – a very productive and fun afternoon!

Photos by Ian Somerville