Hello Ontbirds people, The 17th annual Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club / Club des Ornithologues de l'Outaouais Fall Bird Count was held this weekend (Oct. 15 - 16). This "informal" count is held within a 50 km. radius from the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill.
Despite some challenging weather (though much better than forecast, and certainly not as inclement as some past counts that had us birding in snow, freezing rain, thunder and hail storms) it was a great success with a record high of 143 spp. for this event. A synopsis of some highlights: 26 spp. waterfowl, incl. 2 record highs - Blue-winged Teal (83) and Northern Pintail (147) 14 Great Egret - previous record 1 (2004 and 2008) 124 Turkey Vulture - previous record high 117 (2006) 98 Sandhill Crane - previous record high 76 (2010) 15 spp. shorebirds, incl. 2 record highs - Hudsonian Godwit (7) and Long-billed Dowitcher (7) 62 Eastern Bluebird - previous record high 45 (2002, 2006) 14 Swainson's Thrush - previous record high 12 (2001) 358 Yellow-rumped Warbler - previous record high 184 (2002, 2006) 5 new spp. for this count: Western Sandpiper (Quebec side of the Ottawa River near Luskville) - previous accepted October record for the Ottawa-Gatineau area was on 12 Oct. 1995 House Wren Northern Mockingbird Magnolia Warbler Nelson's Sparrow (1 at Constance Bay - no surprise this year!) New "exotic" for the count: European Goldfinch Many thanks to the sector leaders, 61 participants, and to the kind people who helped set up the compilation & tidy up afterwards. It was a "fun" event -- as always! Chris Lewis Ottawa ON [email protected] _______________________________________________ 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/
