Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Greg Zbitnew at [email protected] or [email protected] Recent sightings to July 9, 2015 The birding summer doldrums may never arrive in Ottawa. On the 9th, a male SUMMER TANAGER, singing, appeared in Carp, although it quickly moved away from its original location and as of press time, it has not yet been relocated. The LITTLE EGRET continued to put in early morning appearances at Andrew Haydon Park until the 7th. This spot is being checked regularly, and any re-appearance will be posted on ONTBIRDS. Meanwhile, typical summer weather has settled in the area and except for some exciting rarities, birding has been relatively settled as well. However, there has still been some interesting birding aside from rarity chasing. A lone BRANT continues among CANADA GEESE at Andrew Haydon Park and may well decide to make an extended stay, while the EURASIAN WIGEON continued east of Parc Martin-Larouche in McLaurin Bay at least until the 3rd. This was a molting adult male, so it may stick around for a while. There was a late (or early) NORTHERN PINTAIL as well as 2 lingering SNOW GEESE at the Russell Lagoons. Shorebirds are trickling through. There was LEAST SANDPIPER at the Embrun lagoons along with LESSER YELLOWLEGS. SHOREBIRD habitat at Shirley’s Bay is now quite variable, being extensive and excellent on the 4th but non-existent on the 9th due to elevated water levels. Although only SOLITARY SANDPIPER, LESSER and GREATER YELLOWLEGS were seen this week, variety can be expected to build for 6-8 weeks provided water levels remain low. This spot is also excellent for most types of birds, from waterfowl to sparrows. Notable other observations here were a LEAST BITTERN (seen a number of times), and up to 16 GREAT EGRET. Both SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL have been visible at the eastern edge of the marsh. Generally, observed songbird variety has declined as the birds become less vocal and are beginning to disperse. One interesting exception was a TENNESSEE WARBLER that was found in downtown Ottawa on the 8th, although unfortunately it was dead. A GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER (much harder to locate this time of year) was seen on Chemin Terry Fox. 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
