Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Greg Zbitnew at [email protected] or [email protected]
Recent sightings to October 29, 2015 The best bird of the week was the female HARLEQUIN DUCK seen in and near the Deschênes rapids as late as the 28th (seen as early as the 20th, but apparently not widely known until the 26th). This bird has been seen from both the Quebec and Ontario shores. Generally birding was fairly bland most of the week in Ottawa as we slide towards late fall bird populations. It was primarily marked by the virtually disappearance of lingering “summer” birds, and a major thinning of the fall migrants. Weather was seasonal most of the week, which likely explains the lack of rarities. On the 28th a major storm blew in with heavy rain and strong SW winds but it did not bring in any hoped-for rarities as of press time. Waterfowl numbers have dropped noticeably at Shirley’s bay, but there were still nearly 1000 ducks of 18 species there on the 24th, and this is still the best place in the region to see ducks. 23 species have been seen on the river this week. By contrast, PN Plaisance (Baie Noire) had only 140 ducks of 11 species on the 27th. The first major concentration of SNOW GEESE was at the Manderly Sod farms, with 4500 seen there on the 22nd. Numbers up to 35,000 of this species have been seen east of the region. There are only scattered reports of BRANT, but usually in large flocks when they are seen. CACKLING GOOSE can usually be found after diligent searching of large flocks of CANADA GOOSE. RED-THROATED LOON was seen a few times along the Ottawa River. COMMON LOON and the usual GREBES can be expected most days. SHOREBIRD populations have taken a precipitous drop. 11 species were seen in the region this week, but this is down to about 7 now. LONG and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS were at Richmond conservation areas until the 25th. Currently, the better areas, such as Shirley’s Bay and Andrew Haydon Park, have 10-20 birds of 4-5 species, DUNLIN being the most common. SANDHILL CRANE numbers on Smith Road were as high as 50 this week. The only live WARBLERS seen were YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and numbers of these are getting low. All species of SPARROW except AMERICAN TREE SPARROW declined in numbers this week. 2 LAPLAND LONGSPUR at Embrun on the 27th were the first of the season, while an ominous sign of winter was the first COMMON REDPOLL of the season in the Mer Bleue area on the 26th. A flock of 150 SNOW BUNTING on Eagleson and 100 on Giroux were large for this time of year, and are also a portent of winter. Finally, some late sightings: 1. VEERY at Shirley’s Bay on the 24th; 2. GRAY CATBIRD at Fletcher Wildlife Garden on the 28th; 3. SAVANNAH SPARROW (2 sightings on the 26th and one on the 27th); and 4. 2 unfortunate building deaths downtown on the 25th-OVENBIRD and AMERICAN WOODCOCK 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
