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 8, 2015 This week 18 cm. of snow, freezing rain (5-10 mm of ice still coating most exposed surfaces) and the coldest temperatures of the season (at least -29) have completely returned Ottawa to its normal winter state. As a result the rivers have refrozen and lingering birds will be more reliant on feeders. Nonetheless, a few new birds have been seen this week. Undoubtedly the highlight was 3 GYRFALCON seen on local Christmas bird counts on January 3, but not seen again (Forêt Larose-Casselman east of the city, and Breckenridge-Dunrobin west of the city). A local birder nearly hit a dark phase GYRFALCON near the corner of Thomas Dolan and Panmure, while two light phase GYRFALCON (each photographed) were seen near the Lafleche dump and 7 Km north. The latter two were outside the region, but could easily be seen anywhere nearby. A male NORTHERN SHOVELER was seen as late as the 8th where Eagleson crosses the Carp River. A BROWN THRASHER has been coming to a feeder on Rue Gabriel Lacasse, while WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was seen in Larose Forest as well as Shirley’s Bay on the 3rd. There was also a report of a THAYER’S GULL at the Trail Road landfill on the 5th. Some late waterfowl continue to linger in the unfrozen portions of rivers, creeks, and stormwater outlets. North of the Hurdman Bridge to the Rideau tennis Club, PIED-BILLED GREBE (Jan. 6), a male NORTHERN PINTAIL and a WOOD DUCK (both these on the 7th) are still present. BARROW’S GOLDENEYE was last reported from here on the 4th. An additional NORTHERN PINTAIL was present at a pond ofF Iber road on the 7th as well. Present on the 5th this week on the Ottawa River near Westboro was a BUFFLEHEAD, while a HOODED MERGANSER was still present at Black Rapids on the 6th. The AMERICAN COOT was still present at Masson on the 2nd. There were two late reports of GREAT BLUE HERON, the most recent being one flying over Walkley at the 417 on the 5th. As well as the common species of gulls, small numbers of small numbers of ICELAND, GLACOUS and RING-BILLED continue to be seen at their usual spots. On the Breckenridge-Dunrobin bird count there was a GOLDEN EAGLE, while on Jan. 2 there was a late NORTHERN HARRIER near Russell and Leitrim. Another NORTHERN HARRIER was seen on the Dunrobin-Breckenridge count. In the area around Stony Swamp, BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS continue to be seen regularly. Other reports are from Breckenridge and from another trail in the west end of Ottawa. On the 8th this bird as well an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was seen in Aylmer (Chemin Grimes). NORTHERN FLICKER was seen at a feeder on Rue Gabriel Lacasse on the 6th, while the RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER is seen there virtually every day. The RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER near Kindle Park in Gloucester was seen on the 5th and 6th, but it is not so regular. While over-wintering WHITE-THROATED and SONG SPARROWS are not unusual, one unusual feeder at the Nesbitt Building in Carleton University has 4 of the former and 1 of the latter. Much rarer in winter are WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, and there is one at a feeder near the McCarthy Woods and another at a feeder in Beacon Hill. LAPLAND LONGSPUR was reported in a mixed flock of SNOW BUNTING and HORNED LARK on Rushmore Road on the 4th and in the same area on the 5th. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD continues at Masson as of the 3rd. Like last week, winter finches continue to be reported in small numbers but mostly not reliably from any one spot. Notable was that HOARY REDPOLL continues to be seen from time to time but with only small numbers of COMMON REDPOLL. Normally the common outnumbers the hoary by a factor of 100. EVENING GROSBEAK, however, continues to be reliable from two feeders near the Larose forest. 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
