Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 11 January 2011 Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the Bird Status Line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario,W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis [email protected], or [email protected]
A few winter lingerers and a few new reports made for an interesting week in the Ottawa-Gatineau area for this time of year. Areas of open water have seriously diminished with the recent colder weather, but still continue to host a few waterfowl species. Single CANADA GEESE are hanging on in several locations, 2 male RING-NECKED DUCKS reported on the Ottawa River below the Deschenes rapids on the 6th were not seen on the 9th, but a male LESSER SCAUP was still here along with 3 COMMON MERGANSERS. A male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE remains on the Rideau River between Riverain Park and the Hurdman bridge, also with a few Common Mergansers. WILD TURKEYS continue to be seen mainly in rural areas, and a very large flock numbering over 100 birds was noted in the Pakenham area last week. Two adult BALD EAGLES were seen at March Valley Rd. in Kanata on the 10th. Very few ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS have been seen recently, and a dearth of gulls has also been noted by several observers so far this year - single immature ICELAND and GLAUCOUS GULLS were found at the Trail Rd. landfill on the the 10th and even HERRING and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL numbers appear to be unusually low. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, however, seem to be unusually common this winter! Record high numbers were reported from several Christmas Bird Counts in southern Ontario, and at least 6 individuals have appeared in the Ottawa-Gatineau area since November - the most recent report was from Constance Bay where a bird found on the 2nd was still present on the 10th. A GRAY JAY was reported from Ramsay Lake along Eardley-Masham Rd. in Gatineau Park on the 6th, and 2 were seen farther south along the same road on the 11th. A HERMIT THRUSH continues to be seen occasionally in Hurdman Park along the Rideau River as of the 8th, and possibly 2 were at Lac Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec on the 10th. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were most frequently reported from Rifle Rd. near Shirley's Bay in recent days. The YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER in Deschenes, Quebec, and the PINE WARBLER on William McEwen Rd. south of Bankfield Rd. were still present on the 6th and 7th respectively. Several LAPLAND LONGSPURS were still in the Ste-Rose area east of Ottawa along Concessions # 19 and 20 on the 9th, and a singleton was found along Old Coach Rd. between Diamondview Rd. and Donald B. Munro Rd. on the 10th. Some very impressive flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS have also been found in rural areas on both the Ontario & Quebec sides. New arrivals on the local "winter finch" scene included 8 PINE GROSBEAKS near the south end of Eardley-Masham Rd. on the 9th, and 10 RED-CROSSBILLS farther north along this road at Ramsay Lake on the 6th. Numbers of COMMON REDPOLLS and HOARY REDPOLLS continue to increase - a report of at least 8 Hoary's at a single feeder in Constance Bay on the 9th was remarkable and several were seen in this area by multiple observers on the 10th. PINE SISKINS and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES have been also become more regular at feeders, and the only local reports so far of EVENING GROSBEAKS have come from the Larose forest. Thank you - Good Birding! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
