- RBA * Ontario * Ottawa/Gatineau * 23 April 2006 * ONOT0604.23
- Birds mentioned Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe GREAT EGRET GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Snow Goose ROSS'S GOOSE Canada Goose Red-breasted Merganser Rough-legged Hawk Wild Turkey Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Red-headed Woodpecker Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swallow BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER Northern Mockingbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Eastern Towhee Rusty Blackbird - Transcript hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club date: 23 April 2006 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] THE OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE @ 6:30 pm, SUNDAY APRIL 23, 2006 This is Chris Lewis reporting. Several birds of local interest were reported during the past few days. A ROSS'S GOOSE, perhaps the same bird seen on April 18th at the Petersen Sod Farms south of Ottawa, was discovered with a flock of approx. 3500 Canada Geese at ~ 10:30 AM today the 23rd east of Ottawa in a field bounded by Dunning, Regimbald, Sarsfield and French Hill Rds. It was subsequently seen flying south with a small group of Canada's shortly after 3:00 pm. An afternoon tour of this area and surrounding fields produced several large flocks of Canada Geese and 3 Snow Geese but no subsequent reports of the ROSS'S GOOSE as yet. Another "great white bird" was a GREAT EGRET on the Rideau River 1st reported on the 22nd on the Rideau River on the north side of Riverside Dr. across from the Billings Bridge shopping centre. It was seen again on the morning of the 23rd on the Rideau near the park at the west end of McArthur St. and later on the same day back at the Billings Bridge location. In other reports...Increasing numbers of both Horned and Red- necked Grebes have been seen on the Ottawa River since the 22nd - 37 Horned Grebes were on the river between Grandview Dr. and Shirley's Bay on the 23rd, and 22 Red-necked Grebes were seen between Shirley's Bay and Constance Bay the same day. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen again in the vicinity of Moodie Dr. and Barnsdale Rd. on the 22nd, a male Red-breasted Merganser was in the large pond along Moodie Dr. south of Trail Rd. on the 23rd, and there are now possibly 2 Wild Turkeys roaming the Britannia Conservation area. A Virginia Rail was heard along Riddell Dr. north of March Valley Rd. and a Sandhill Crane was observed flying towards the Mer Bleue bog on the 20th. The 1st local sighting of an adult Bonaparte's Gull came from Shirley's Bay on the 22nd, 4 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in a field along Moodie Dr. near the bridge over the Jock River on the 22nd and a 3rd-spring bird was seen the Moodie Dr. / Barnsdale Rd. area on the 23rd along with a Rough-legged Hawk. A late Snowy Owl was present on Cameron Side Rd. west of Perth from the 21st through the 23rd, and 3 adult Red-headed Woodpeckers were in the old burn area in Constance Bay on the 19th - 2 of these birds were seen here again on the 23rd. New swallow species this week included 5 Purple Martins back at the martin houses at Dick Bell Park, several Northern Rough-winged Swallows at Dow's Lake on the 21st and an early Bank Swallow among a group of Tree and Barn Swallows at Shirley's Bay on the 22nd. A BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER was seen along the hydro cut east of Leitrim Rd. between Bowesville and Limebank Rds. south of the international airport on the 23rd, and a Northern Mockingbird was at Pinhey's Point in the Dunrobin area on the 23rd as well. No warblers have been reported other than Pine and Yellow-rumped, but most of the expected sparrow species are being seen now, with an unexpected bonus of a male Eastern Towhee at the corner of Hilda and Lois Ave. by Shirley's Bay on the 23rd, and a pair of Eastern Towhees at the aforementioned Gnatcatcher location the same day. Finally, Rusty Blackbirds are back right on time with observations reported from Shirley's Bay and Britannia on the 22nd. Thank you - Good Birding! - End transcript
