Grasshopper Sparrow seen on a recent OFNC field trip to the open area south of Ottawa airport

Grasshopper Sparrow seen on a recent OFNC field trip to the open area south of Ottawa airport

by Heather Oake Pickard

I attended the excellent OFNC event held yesterday (May 28) in the fields near the airport – a guided birding trip for rare sparrows and other local birds. Many thanks to trip leader Gord Belyea and his assistants.

Highlights for me included great looks at Grasshopper Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, and Alder Flycatcher. I saw 44 species of birds and enjoyed the vocalizations and songs of many of them.

Here is a photo I took of a Clay-colored Sparrow. What a beautiful sparrow it is!

Clay-colored Sparrow, photographed south of the Ottawa airport by Heather Oake Pickard

Clay-colored Sparrow, photographed south of the Ottawa airport by Heather Oake Pickard

Bobolink on a fence south of the airport, photo by Heather Oake Pickard

Bobolink on a fence south of the airport, photo by Heather Oake Pickard