Eastern Ontario Birding

Eastern Ontario Birding Guided birding tours throughout eastern Ontario, lead by Jon Ruddy Welcome to Eastern Ontario Birding! I specialize in birding tours throughout eastern Ontario.

My name is Jon, and I am an Ottawa-based professional birding guide and Kowa Sporting Optics brand ambassador. The year 2022 marks my seventh year as a professional bird guide, and I continue to fall more in love with birds by the day. A little bit about me: I am a real Bird Nerd at heart and enjoy reading older texts in search of fascinating tidbits about bird behaviour, migration, breeding biolo

gy and general avian natural history. While in the field, I take every opportunity to share the information I have learned through study. Before the inception of Eastern Ontario Birding, I worked as a field ornithologist. I have conducted bird surveys in eastern Ontario, southern Ontario, James Bay, the Okanagan Valley and throughout Manitoba. Throughout that same timeframe, I led bird hikes for both the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club (OFNC), Macnamara Field-Naturalists’ Club (MFNC), and Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO). I found that I derive no greater pleasure than seeing birders light up as they observe interesting bird behaviour, a particular species for the first time, or admire beautiful plumage details. As soon as a birder becomes a client, they are included in the group emails I share with clients. Looking forward to birding with you in 2022! Jon Ruddy
Owner & Guide at Eastern Ontario Birding

Another lovely week in the field spent with birding friends, new and old. Many highlights this week, including fine vie...
03/28/2025

Another lovely week in the field spent with birding friends, new and old. Many highlights this week, including fine views of five species of gulls. To see several Glaucous Gulls up close was a real treat! See you next week Eastern Ontario birders :)

With waterfowl flyover season in full swing, we need all eyes on deck…❤️🙌🤭🙏
03/24/2025

With waterfowl flyover season in full swing, we need all eyes on deck…❤️🙌🤭🙏

Peak Spring Migration with Eastern Ontario Birding:Peak spring migration tours are right around the corner! Treat yourse...
03/20/2025

Peak Spring Migration with Eastern Ontario Birding:

Peak spring migration tours are right around the corner! Treat yourself to some fantastic birding in both southwestern and southeastern Ontario this May! In addition to the list of tours you'll see on this poster, I have other exciting peak spring migration birding tours lined up for late May.

For more information and registration, please see: https://eontbird.ca/?page_id=7

For any and all inquiries, please send me an email at [email protected].

Good birding,
Jon Ruddy
Owner & Guide
Eastern Ontario Birding

03/20/2025

A “Birder’s Mind” Series:

Tip # 2: Possibilities Everywhere…

Tonight’s tip for greater birding success is to keep an open mind and bird each bird/site with an “anything’s possible” mindset! Whether something has been done before, or whether a bird has been seen before at a certain site, isn’t your primary concern when you’re on the bird, or when, for example, counting thousands of individuals of birds (when this seems unlikely to impossible at a certain site, etc). Keep an open mind, and rise up to the challenge when presented with one. Birds are best approached from a case by case basis, and your baseline to work from is: birds have wings; they end up places…and you strive to identify them when they do.

Good birding!
Jon Ruddy
Owner and Guide
Eastern Ontario Birding

03/19/2025

“A Birder’s Mind” Series:

Over the next week, I’ll be sharing some insights on how you can improve your birding success by improving and strengthening your birding mind!

Tip # 1: Birding in the Moment…

One way to improve your success in the field is by concentrating on the moment; focusing your attention on the very thing you’re looking at, or, looking for. If we view the mind in terms of having a “battery life,” we only have so much mental energy to put forth in the field each day before needing a recharge. By focusing on the day itself, you’ll be better able to concentrate your mental energy on the task at hand, and, as a result, you’ll birdwatch at a higher and more observant level, and turn up more birds (sometimes rarer ones, too) during your outing!

Good birding
Jon Ruddy
Owner & Guide
Eastern Ontario Birding

03/15/2025

Changing seasons — Frontenac Arch

While driving home from "work," I saw this cool bird soaring over a road near home! Golden Eagle.
03/14/2025

While driving home from "work," I saw this cool bird soaring over a road near home! Golden Eagle.

03/12/2025

An amazing waterfowl day at presquile provincial park today!

Recently, while hiking north of Gananoque Ontario, I encountered a kill site. The depredated animal was a Ruffed Grouse....
03/10/2025

Recently, while hiking north of Gananoque Ontario, I encountered a kill site. The depredated animal was a Ruffed Grouse. The pedator was perhaps a large hawk or owl; maybe a goshawk, as they regularly hunt Ruffed Grouse. The feathers looked quite different to the typical rufous/brownish Ruffed Grouse feathers. The bird was a grey morph! These are the tail feathers. Hopefully it has passed its genes onto other Ruffed Grouse in the area. What a sight this bird would’ve been! Hopefully other grey morphs are in the area, and will one day delight a birder or photographer.

Good birding,
Jon

🙌🙏
03/09/2025

🙌🙏

Great Gray Owls are on the move back north as they leave their winter territories. For every Great Gray that we birder a...
03/07/2025

Great Gray Owls are on the move back north as they leave their winter territories. For every Great Gray that we birder and photographer knew about this winter, you can be sure there were plenty of others that happened to evade our detection! It’s a great time of year to see Grays in unusual sites as they stop for a day or two before continuing north.

Good birding,
Jon

03/05/2025

Back in the field tomorrow! Can’t wait. See you tomorrow, Kingston.

Springtime Birdwatching season!My March to May tour schedule is viewable here: https://eontbird.ca/?page_id=7Good birdin...
03/03/2025

Springtime Birdwatching season!

My March to May tour schedule is viewable here: https://eontbird.ca/?page_id=7

Good birding,
Jon Ruddy
Owner & Guide
Eastern Ontario Birding
eontbird.ca

Vacation Notice:Thanks, everyone, for a wonderful January and February in the field. From now until March 3rd, however, ...
02/22/2025

Vacation Notice:

Thanks, everyone, for a wonderful January and February in the field. From now until March 3rd, however, I will be enjoying “playtime.” It’s time for family time! See you in early March, and thank you for supporting Eastern Ontario Birding! 🙂

Blessings,
Jon (and Samar, and Lydia, too)

02/17/2025

Amherst Island “ice breaker” 🙌

The past few weeks have featured quite a few deep snow hikes in search of northern owls, with clients coming from here t...
02/17/2025

The past few weeks have featured quite a few deep snow hikes in search of northern owls, with clients coming from here there and everywhere to see them! That, coupled with all the shovelling of late, meant it was time to replenish energy stores with a delicious homemade stroganoff, courtesy of master chef Samar ❤️🙏.

Happy Valentines Day!
02/15/2025

Happy Valentines Day!

Address

88 Stradwick Avenue
Ottawa, ON

Opening Hours

Tuesday 7am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 6pm
Saturday 7am - 6pm

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Videos

Changing seasons — Frontenac Arch

An amazing waterfowl day at presquile provincial park today!

Amherst Island “ice breaker” 🙌

Peek-a-boo Saw-whet Owl!
Peek-a-boo Saw-whet Owl!

Peek-a-boo Saw-whet Owl!

The ferry over to Wolfe Island was a true icebreaker today! Gorgeous scenery and nice birding. Back along the St Lawrence River for tomorrow’s tour. Who knows what the day may bring. Good birding

What a treat for the birding group during this afternoon’s tour: a massive Snowy Owl flew toward a ditch to hunt something and then rested along the shoulder of a quiet country road after its unsuccessful attempt. I was able to digi-scope a photo using my iPhone and spotting scope. Who knows what tomorrow’s tour will yield… 🙂 Best regards and good birding.

Night Night, Snow Geese ❤️
Night Night, Snow Geese ❤️

Saying “Night Night” to the Snow Geese as they head to their evening roost site ❤️

Scarlet Tanager singing at dawn’s early light
Scarlet Tanager singing at dawn’s early light

Scarlet Tanager singing its dawn chorus in the Rideau Lakes region. A truly beautiful moment during today’s tour! #kowa

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