Bird-Friendly Ottawa — Birding and Safe Bird Habitat

Palm Warbler (photo credit: Emilia Michaud).

Come join us to visit a great accessible birding spot right in the centre of the city. This walk starts at the University of Ottawa's new Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Building, one of Ottawa's most bird-friendly buildings. We'll cross the Rideau River and visit the Hurdman Woods, where birders from the Ottawa Field Naturalist club and Bird Friendly Ottawa will join us to help us identify some of the early migrating song birds and water birds that can be seen there. Along the way, we will stop at Hurdman Station to talk about some threats that buildings can pose to migrating birds, how these can be mitigated, and what the organizations that are working together are doing to reduce these threats.

Before you come:

Check out e-bird to see what other birders are reporting they see in our area.

You can also download the Merlin app to your phone. We can show you how to use this to help you identify birds you spot.

If you have a pair of binoculars with 8X magnification, you may want to bring those along. But don't worry if you don't have your own pair, as there will be a number of binoculars available to share.

Carte indiquant le point de départ

Trajet

We'll meet in front of the University of Ottawa's new Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Building at 200 Lees Ave, just across from the Lees LRT station.. Our first stop will be at the northwest corner of the FHS building. From there, we will proceed across the new Hurdman Bridge (LRT bridge), crossing on the north side of the bridge, and making a sharp left from the bridge onto the Rideau River Eastern Pathway (part of the Rideau Winter Trail) and continung north for about 250 m. At that point, we will stop for a chance to listen for and look for birds. From there, we will turn right on the connecting path and walk over to Hurdman station. After Hurdman station, we will take the nature path through Hurdman woods (just north of the Hurdman station). For those who find the nature path difficult to traverse, an alternate paved route is available. We'll stop to listen and view birds at various points along the nature path. We'll re-group at the Rideau River footbridge, and see whether we can spot waterfowl on the river. Crossing the bridge, we will return to 200 Lees Ave., where the walk will end.

Accessibility notes: Most of this route is paved, although some of the pavement is in poor shape. About 500 metres of the path is unpaved, with a wood-chip surface. A longer alternate route on a paved path is available to avoid the unpaved portion.

Au sujet du guide

Deborah Doherty is a bird lover and the co-chair of Bird Friendly Ottawa. She is passionate about preserving and restoring our natural environment for generations to come. Deb loves the beautiful birds that live and visit our community during their spring and fall migration. This walk is takes place in a special part of her community along a portion of the Rideau River Eastern Pathway that is part of the Rideau Winter trail. Deb has lived, worked and played along the Rideau River for almost 40 years. As a retired adult educator and a life-long learner, she knows the importance of taking time to smell the flowers and listen to the birds. She loves exploring nature and sharing the gifts of nature in our urban environment.

The Bird Friendly City certification program is a campaign by Nature Canada that aims to empower local groups to make positive change to protect bird populations in their city. Visit the Bird Friendly Ottawa website to learn more.

Sheila is a member of the Ottawa Field Naturalists Club birding committee.