The Ottawa River is an IBA (Important Bird Area) especially during the spring and fall migrations. The river acts a bit like a highway, funneling the birds down from the boreal forest towards warmer weather. In Ottawa there is a number of small islands in the river that act as rest stops for these birds. Recently I went down to the river to try to spot some of the migrating birds. My first stop was the Deschênes Rapids Lookout, which as the name suggests looks out over the rapids. There wasn't much at this spot other than a few song sparrows. This spot was under the flight path for Ottawa Airport, which meant I got to try my hand at some plane photography for the first time. I will say its interesting but not something I'll get into. The second stop of the day was to Bates Island. I had last visited in March of this year. I was able to spot a few birds on this island, including a large flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, a White-breasted Nuthatch and a chickadee, along wit...
McManus Lake was glass calm on my most recent canoe trip. There wasn't a single bit of breeze, but yet it wasn't too hot either. It was the perfect canoe tripping day. I started my most recent canoe trip from access point 21: McManus Lake. This was going to be a short trip, with just one night day on Smith Lake before heading home again. I made to the access point around 10am after a brief 15- minute stop in Pembroke to add a little extra range to my car. The road in was delightful to drive on as it had just been graded recently, so it was smooth sailing. I made the mandatory stop at the Sand Lake Gate to register and was on my way again in no time. After turning off of the Barron Canyon Road onto the McManus Lake road, the road quality went down slightly. The road itself was fine for the most part with only a few washboard sections, but the biggest change was how narrow the road got at times, only wide enough for a single car. Once I had everything loaded into t...