Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec
Compiler and transcriber: Greg Zbitnew at [email protected] or [email protected] Recent reports to January 1, 2015Since the last report, a thaw has melted virtually all the snow in Ottawa, except for sheltered areas and where it has been piled up. This is the first time in 8 years we have had so little snow on the ground at this time of the year. As a result of the thaw, the rivers have opened up considerably, and although the recent cold snap has resulted in some re-freezing, there has been some dispersal of the waterfowl on the greater expanse of running water. A few new species have been seen that have not been seen recently, specifically GREATER SCAUP at Maple Hill Park on the 28th, AMERICAN COOT at Masson on the 31st, BELTED KINGFISHER at Chemin du Quai in Masson on the 30th, and NORTHERN HARRIER flying over Centrepoint on the 30th. Also seen, but just outside the region (Bellamy Road) was a single RED CROSSBILL on the 26th. A few local Christmas Bird Counts took place, December 26 in Pakenham-Arnprior and December 27 in Carleton Place. Any notable sightings from these counts will be mentioned below. HOODED MERGANSER was seen in Winchester on the 26th. 2 BARROW’S GOLDENEYE (male and female) and PIED-BILLED GREBE were still on the Rideau River north of the 417 as of December 30. WOOD DUCK was here as late as the 1st. BUFFLEHEAD are still being seen on the Ottawa River at Parc Mousette, while RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were seen from Britannia Point as well as Winchester. 5 species of gulls were seen this week, mostly HERRING and GREATER BLACK-BACKED, but also small numbers of ICELAND, GLACOUS and RING-BILLED, this latter species being in Rockland. Particularly good spots for gulls are the Trail Road dump, the Rideau River north of Hwy 417 and the Rideau River at the mouth of the Jock River. On the bird count on the 26th there were 2 Golden Eagles near Bellamy Road. While these wide-ranging birds were not seen within the Ottawa-Gatineau region, they could easily show up nearby. Woodpeckers continue to make the birding news. In the area around Stony Swamp, BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS are seen regularly, although not on every visit. Sarsaparilla trail, Jack Pine Trail, Old Quarry Trail, and behind the Nepean Sportsplex have all had 1-2 woodpeckers. There is also an outlying report from Merivale Gardens. Despite diligent searching, there were no sightings from the east end (Mer Bleue area) yet. The AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER in Aylmer (Chemin Grimes) was seen as recently as the 30th, but it may take up to an hour of searching to find this bird. Both NORTHERN FLICKER and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER were seen near a feeder near the Moore Farm in Hull on January 1. Two RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were also seen on the bird count on the 26th, one within the town of Pakenham. The additional regional report is from Kindle Park in Gloucester on the 29th. Neither of these two birds is being seen on a regular basis. HERMIT THRUSH was reported from the Merivale Gardens area on the 29th, while GRAY CATBIRD was seen as recently as the 26th at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD was seen again in Masson. There have been no regional reports of crossbills this week, and other winter finches continue to be reported in small numbers, but not consistently from any location. Notable was a HOARY REDPOLL from Farmer’s Lane east of Ottawa on the 31st. The OFNC's Birds Committee no longer reports owl sightings on the Internet. We will continue to encourage the reporting of owls to [email protected] for the purpose of maintaining local records. Thanks to everyone who contributed bird observations.Good birding. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
