NeilyWorld  Birding Ottawa - Favourite Outlying Sites


LAKE DORÉ

Spring: ***  Summer: **  Fall: ****  Winter: *

        Independent Directions to this Site: Lake Doré is about 1.5 hours west of Ottawa by car. Take Highway 417 west, then continue west as it becomes Highway 17. Drive 90 kilometres from Ottawa to the Renfrew turnoff for Highway 60. Follow Hwy 60 a further 41 kilometres to Eganville and Highway 41. Take Hwy 41 (concurrent with 60 for the first 4 km) north for 8 km to reach the south end of the lake. (Alternately, follow Hwy 60 about 30 km to Kellys Corner and take County Road 5 straight to Highway 41 and the northeast corner of Lake Doré.
        Site Description and Birding Information: This site is a magnet for large numbers of migrating loons, grebes, cormorants, ducks and gulls, especially in the autumn months. Shorebirds can sometimes be found as well, such as Red Phalarope (Oct. 4, 2004). There appears to be a huge food supply here that these birds exploit. It's situation, near the Ottawa River migration route and off the end of a sharp curve in said river, might make it easy to see, especially for southward moving migrants. Inevitably, whenever large numbers of birds gather, less common birds also are attracted. Many interesting rarities have occured here. The best views are from Point Church Road on the east side of the lake. Bring your spotting scope for best viewing.
         A breeding pair of Olive-sided Flycatcher can be found most years about 0.6 km north on Lime Kiln Road, off Lake Doré Road on the west side of the lake.
         There is an excellent page on The Pembroke Area Field Naturalists website called Birdfinding in the Pembroke Area which contains an excellent description of the birding potential around Lake Doré and other nearby areas.
         Rare birds reported from Lake Doré include Black-legged Kittiwake (Sep. 15, 1985), Little Gull (May 19, 1987; Oct. 12, 1988; Sep. 21-28, 2003; Sep. 8, Oct. 3 - 4 (2), Oct. 26, 2004), Yellow-headed Blackbird (Apr. 13, 1988), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Aug. 27, 1989, Nov. 1, 1993 & Sep. 28, 2003), Razorbill (Dec. 1-5, 1989), Golden Eagle (Dec. 3, 1989), King Eider (2 - Nov. 21 to Dec. 2, 1992), Harlequin Duck (Nov. 3-11, 1993), Tundra Swan (4 - Nov. 11, 1993), Eurasian Wigeon (May 1, 1995), Ivory Gull (Nov. 12, 1995), Forster's Tern (Jun. 1, 1996), Parasitic Jaeger (Sept. 30 - Oct. 17, 2001; imm. - Oct. 4, 2004), Pomarine Jaeger (June 12, 2002), Sabine's Gull (juv. - Sep. 8, 2004).
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View of Lake Doré
View of Lake Doré


Map of Lake Doré Area
Map of Lake Doré Area


Copyright © 2000 - 2009     Larry E. Neily
Last update:  October 25, 2009