The Sawmill Creek Ponds, just west of South Keys Shopping centre, are a series of manmade ponds constructed for storm water retention (and cleaning). Built in 2007, they have become naturalized and wildlife has moved in.
I dropped by at sunrise in early May hoping to catch a beaver up on land gnawing on a tree. No luck.
BUT I did spot a river otter in one of the ponds ! That was completely unexpected as there is nor river nearby. I have seen them at Petrie Island in the east end and have seen photos of them at Mud Lake in the west end, Both these locations are on the Ottawa River.
The otter was not particularly close and the light was not that good, so the pictures leave a little to be desired. The shape of the head and the heavy tail confirmed it as an otter as compared to a beaver or muskrat.
I was also surprised to see a sora - not a rare bird but rarely seen as it hides in the rushes and very difficult to see even if one spots some movement.
There were lots song birds around, and being warbler migration time, a good number of warblers. Not that I saw them, but the cell phone app Merlin identified them for me.....🙄
Someone has provided nesting boxes along the pathways, most of which are occupied by tree sparrows
Phoebes seem to be building a nest at the north end of the ponds so there a number of photo-ops (but not of the nest location)
A belted kingfisher flew by. Oddly the last two of the (distant) photos I managed seem to have it flying upside down!?
A spotted sandpiper performed a fly-past as I was watching the phoebes
There were at least three types of ducks at the ponds... (scroll over for ID)
Female common merganser
Female common merganser
Female hooded merganser
Female hooded merganser
male mallards
There were lots of geese on the pond....
... and in the air
With all the cattails and bulrushes, there are lots of red-winged blackbirds
I hadn't seen a rabbit yet this year, and was too slow to get this early riser cottontail in the open...
The pedestrian bridge at sunrise
