Upper & Lower Duck Islands

When I was a kid, I loved looking at maps. It’s something that I enjoy, even today.

I studied the map of Ottawa so thoroughly, dropping my finger on a spot, with my eyes shut, and then working my way back home. I did this so often and so carefully that I was sure that should I suddenly find myself dropped somewhere in the city that I could find my way home.

I tested myself with street names so that when I heard a name, I knew which part of the city to which it belonged. But I didn’t just study the city streets: I also looked at the Ottawa River.

For as long as I had been studying the Ottawa city map, I became familiar with the islands, and I was always fascinated with the Upper and Lower Duck Islands. Why where they named after ducks? They weren’t shaped like a duck.

Were they sanctuaries for ducks?

As a kid, I wondered if I’d actually be able to get to these islands, to see what they were about. Perhaps I’d have a friend with a canoe or a motor boat, and we could travel down the Ottawa River to check them out.

When I became an adult, other interests took my mind away from studying maps and my fascination with the islands on the Ottawa River. It was only when DW and I became interested in kayaking and exploring more waterways around us that I started thinking about these islands again.

Recently, we decided to go for a paddle somewhere new, somewhere relatively close, and I suggested the Upper and Lower Duck Islands. We called up our Paddlefolk and decided to head out.

We haven’t been in our kayaks as often as we have in previous years, and this was only our second outing of this season. But it was a perfect day to get out on the water.

As usual, I brought my video camera to capture the excursion. Take a look:

We were there from around noon until almost three. We saw some birds—no ducks—but I think it would be good to get there earlier, when birds are more active.

We’ll be back.

Actually, now that we’ve paddled this part of the Ottawa River, I’d like to try crossing over to the Quebec side and paddle around Kettle Island, which is only a bit upstream from the Upper and Lower Duck Islands, and we’d put our kayaks in at the same spot.

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Happy Monday!