- RBA * Ontario * Ottawa/Gatineau * 07 August 2005 * ONOT0508.07
- Birds mentioned Double-crested Cormorant LEAST BITTERN Great Egret Black-crowned Night-Heron Greater Scaup Ruddy Duck Merlin GRAY PARTRIDGE Virginia Rail Common Moorhen Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Tern BLACK TERN Great Horned Owl COMMON NIGHTHAWK - Transcript hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club date: 07 August 2005 number: 613-860-9000 for the status line : press 2 for rare bird alerts: press 1 to report a sighting: press # coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Can. Nat. Capital Reg.), E.Ont., W.Que. compiler : Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] transcriber: Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] internet : Gordon Pringle [EMAIL PROTECTED] OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE - SUNDAY AUG 07 3:00 PM This is Chris Lewis reporting. It was another lazy hazy hot weather week in Ottawa, and again most of the noteworthy reports came from the Ottawa River, mainly from Andrew Haydon Park and Shirley's Bay, where the mudflats are now quite extensive. The 3 Great Egrets at Shirley's Bay have not been reported since July 23rd, but 2 were seen flying into the Bruce Pit on Cedarview Rd. on the morning of Aug. 6th, and then left after 15 minutes, heading a southerly direction. On July 31st at Shirley's Bay there were 8 species of shorebirds including approx. 1/2 dozen Pectoral Sandpipers and an adult Baird's Sandpiper; on Aug. 6th there were 10 species including 6 White-rumped Sandpipers, and a Great Horned Owl was heard calling along the trail to the causeway. To access the Shirley's Bay causeway, please call the Range Control office at (613) 991-5740. On July 31st, at the west end of Andrew Haydon Park a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron was seen again, along with a few Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers and a juvenile Virginia Rail, and at the Des Chenes rapids there were 5 Bonaparte's Gulls with notably increased numbers of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls among the ubiquitous Ring-billed Gulls. Numbers of Double-crested Cormorants are building up along the river, and several Common Terns are also still present but in reduced numbers since last week. On July 30th, on the Quebec side at the Marais aux Grenouillettes west of Masson, there was a LEAST BITTERN and numerous Common Moorhens with young. Farther east at Black Bay there were approx. 20 BLACK TERNS. Also on the evening of the 30th, at Major's Hill Park in downtown Ottawa a COMMON NIGHTHAWK was heard. A visit to the Embrun and St. Albert sewage lagoons on August 1st yielded few returns, as the water levels in all the ponds are very high. Of interest were an adult male Greater Scaup, 2 pairs of Ruddy Ducks and a Merlin at Embrun, and a group of 16 GRAY PARTRIDGE (1 adult female and 15 young) at St. Albert. Thank you - Good Birding! - End transcript
