Friday, May 24, 2013

Billings Bridge, Ottawa

Billings Bridge over the Rideau River
Ottawa
20 May 2013

    While visiting Ottawa this past long weekend, my sixteen year old grandson, Sam, wanted to go down to the Billings Bridge to hone his bass fishing skills, which are quite prodigious. He is the youngest member of the Bass Anglers Association of Ottawa and is enrolled in five tournaments this year. If you are keen on fishing watch out for the name Sam Cudmore; I am sure he is destined for greatness. He even has videos on U Tube.
    Ironically, Sam's little brother Will, who is not especially interested in fishing, grabbed one of Sam's rods and promptly landed a good-sized Smallmouth Bass.
    It goes without saying that we took our binoculars with us and were very pleasantly surprised to find the bridge a very birdy spot. The highlights were the sheer numbers of Mallard ducklings and the presence of four handsome male Wood Ducks and one female. 
    Between watching Sam fish and observing the birds we passed a very pleasant couple of hours along the Rideau River.

                                                    The Billings Bridge

                                                                Sam Cudmore fishing

                                            Will Cudmore with Smallmouth Bass

                                                      Female Mallard and ducklings

                                                      Female Mallard and ducklings

                                         Male Mallards resting on the river bank

Mallard Ducklings

                                                                                       Male Wood Duck

                                                                                       Male Wood Duck
   

                                                                                       Male Wood Duck

                                          Female Wood Duck

                                                                        Male Wood Duck in tree


David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

2 comments:

  1. You seem to like animals. So why the need to kill fish?

    ReplyDelete
  2. They catch and release, but you are right, this would not be my activity, but my grandson is passionate about fishing.

    ReplyDelete

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the land on which we are situated are the lands traditionally used by the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People. We also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of the Indigenous Peoples with whom we share this land today. We are all treaty people with a responsibility to honour all our relations.

Followers