NeilyWorld  Birding Ottawa - Southeast - Mer Bleue / French Hill Loop

        Independent Directions to this Site: From Highway 417 (The Queensway) take exit 96 (Boundary Road). Proceed 2.0 km NNW on Boundary Road to Russell Road (Regional 26). Turn right or ESE onto Russell and drive 3.5 km to Milton Road (Regional 31). Turn left or NNW on Milton and go about 2.0 km to the bridge. Start here.

        Mer Bleue - French Hill Loop Route Directions: From the bridge at the Bear Brook at Milton Road site, continue along Milton Road, watching the fields on its west side for the next 3.9 km NNW to Smith Road.

        Site Description and Birding Information: The range expansion of the Sandhill Crane has been impressive throughout eastern Ontario. Ottawa residents have had the benefit of observing firsthand the increase in these majestic birds. They have chosen Mer Bleue as a breeding area and from one pair in the late eighties, they slowly expanded to half a dozen birds in the late nineties, to as many as 30 birds in the fall of 2001, and up to a record high 47 in the fall of 2005. This is the place to see these birds. Sometimes birders are lucky enough to spot them in the spring, when they have just arrived and have not yet settled into the business of nesting (late March and early April). But it is in the autumn (September through November) when you are most likely to find them. They bring their young out of the bog into the adjacent fields between Milton Road and Mer Bleue. Sometimes they stay well back toward the bog and are hard to spot, but with a scope one can nearly always find them. Other times, they are quite cooperative and feed in the fields near the road, providing excellent views.

        Numbers in the fall have increased so dramatically in the last few years that it is now speculated that this area is being used as a staging area in the fall but birds breeding elsewhere, as well as those breeding in Mer Bleue. High counts for the past three years are 74 (Nov. 13, 2006), 76 (Oct. 31, 2007) and 69 (Nov. 9, 2008).

         The first kilometre or so from the bridge is excellent for resting geese in spring, scan carefully for the Greater White-fronted Goose that is probably there with the hundreds and hundreds of Canada Geese. Even in the fall, this species is possible (one on Oct. 16, 2004). The fields near Smith Road have had shorebirds during fall migration (including Lesser Golden Plover and Cattle Egret in Sept. 1990). Watch for migrant American Pipit, Horned Lark and Lapland Longspur in the fields along Milton Road.

        Mer Bleue - French Hill Loop Route Directions: From the junction of Smith and Milton Roads, return SSE for the 3.1 km to Perrault Road. Turn left or east on it and drive 1.6 km to Trim Road and turn right or SSE on it. Proceed c. 0.5 km to the deadend and park. This is the next site on this loop, Bear Brook at Trim Road.