Ontario Ottawa/Gatineau 10 November 2008 Birds mentioned:
Snow Goose Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Peregrine Falcon Sandhill Crane Snowy Owl Blue-headed Vireo American Crow Carolina Wren Common Yellowthroat American Tree Sparrow Purple Finch White-winged Crossbill Common Redpoll Pine Siskin Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the Bird Status Line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Rare bird alerts are now included in the introductory message Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] At 9:00 am, Monday November 10, 2008 this is Chris Lewis reporting. A week of Indian Summer made for very pleasant birding conditions. On Nov. 8th approx. 500 Snow Geese were seen east of Ottawa in the Ste-Rose area, and 23 were seen along the Ottawa River at Deschenes on the 9th. Waterfowl on the river remain pretty much status quo; a large mixed raft of mostly Lesser Scaup and Common Goldeneye is still present at Shirley's Bay, a couple of White-winged Scoters at Andrew Haydon Park and a Black Scoter at Deschenes were noted on the 9th, a group of 20 Long-tailed Ducks flew past Petrie Island on the 8th, and a few Common Loons and Red-necked Grebes are still present at Shirley's Bay. The Moodie Dr. quarry pond continues to host lots of Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers, and at least 33 Ruddy Ducks were counted here on the 9th. Am immature Bald Eagle was spotted at Deschenes on the 9th, Rough-legged Hawks remain ubiquitous, an adult Golden Eagle was seen soaring over the Eardley escarpment near Luskville, Quebec on the 5th, and a Peregrine Falcon flew over Hwy 417 near Walkley Rd. on the 9th. It was a good week for "crane spotting" in the traditional fall gathering area along Milton and Smith Rds. southwest of Navan - on the 9th up to 69 Sandhill Cranes were seen feeding in the fields; the record high count for Ottawa was 76 birds on Oct. 31, 2007. An odd sight was a Snowy Owl sitting in the rain on the 8th in the median of Hwy 417 at the Casselman on-ramp. Interesting passerine reports included multiple 1000's of American Crows gathering near the Ottawa Hospital General campus in Alta Vista on recent evenings. This area has been a favourite crow roost for several years. A Blue-headed Vireo in the Clyde Ave. woods and a Common Yellowthroat on the ridge in the Britannia Conservation Area on the 5th were both quite late for Ottawa. A Carolina Wren popped up again in Britannia near the western fence line of the conservation area on the 5th. American Tree Sparrows are arriving in increasing numbers, and small numbers of Purple Finches, White-winged Crossbills, Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins continue to be reported, mostly as fly-overs. Thank you - Good Birding! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
