Birds

The birds of Renfrew County are relatively well known, thanks to more than 100 years of well-recorded observations by dedicated birdwatchers. These “citizen scientists” have identified over 300 species of birds and have recorded over 170 species as breeding in the County.

Seasonal bar charts showing when different species can be seen are freely accessible to members of the public on the Renfrew County Biotabase. If you register as a Biotabase participant you can access checklists for breeding birds, and all birds, recorded in the County; and also a checklist of Ontario birds.

The Macnamara Field Naturalists’ Club, based in Arnprior, hosts a wide variety of field trips, including the annual Pakenham-Arnprior Christmas bird count (100th anniversary in 2013) held annually on Boxing Day. A cumulative 120 species have been observed on this Count during the past century. Check the club’s website for details on outings and their regular meetings, held the first Tuesday of each month.

The Pembroke Area Field Naturalists Club (PAFN for short) organizes two annual Christmas counts - one centered in Pembroke and the other in Eganville – plus annual trips to birding hotspots such as Lake Dore, Westmeath Park, Petawawa Terrace Park, Shaw Woods, and the Pembroke waterfront. Club members publish The Swallow twice a year. Current and past issues are all available on the club’s website, which also has excellent links to resources for local birding and bird identification.

Two PAFN Directors – Manson Fleguel and Christian Renault – discuss birds and birding in Renfrew County in the following series of videos, produced and posted on YouTube by Cheryl Keetch:

Manson on enhancing your bird watching experiences with the use of binoculars and field guides:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbM4K6xbTjk&list=UUChc0jYxzO8X2VWsZQ2LwLA&index=1

Manson talks about favourite birding locations in Renfrew County, and what you might find there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaAExWTt2h0&list=UUChc0jYxzO8X2VWsZQ2LwLA

Manson discusses some birds found in Renfrew County during fall migration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxqdp-9YoF4&list=UUChc0jYxzO8X2VWsZQ2LwLA

Manson discusses ducks seen on Lake Dore during spring migration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSYijPh7BrI&list=UUChc0jYxzO8X2VWsZQ2LwLA

Manson talks about birding experiences and birds on and around Lake Dore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDLDRrtxHU&list=UUChc0jYxzO8X2VWsZQ2LwLA

Christian discusses owls that we find in Renfrew County:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMP4LRoJxig&list=UUChc0jYxzO8X2VWsZQ2LwLA