Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at [email protected]
October 13, 2016 The birding week had no rarities, but there were a few lingering birds to spice up the days a bit. Summer-like weather gave way to seasonal temperatures and the first frost of the season. The week was mostly characterized by an increasing variety of WATERBIRDS, and the virtual disappearance of WARBLERS. WATERBIRDS increased more in variety than numbers, with Shirley’s Bay and Plaisance being the best areas. 2 EURASIAN WIGEON were at Plaisance along with good numbers of PUDDLE DUCKS. Shirley’s Bay had small numbers of both WHITE-WINGED and SURF SCOTERS, RED-THROATED LOON, RED-NECKED and HORNED GREBE along with the usual crowd. Up to 50 BRANT were along the Ottawa River west of Britannia the 10-11th, and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE put in a few isolated showings in Russell, Andrew Haydon Park, and the Moodie Drive Ponds, but were not reliable anywhere. The HUDSONIAN GODWIT at Shirley’s Bay was there until the 8th, and the SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER was still there on the 12th, but otherwise SHOREBIRDS were in short supply everywhere. A GOLDEN EAGLE on Greenland Road on the 13th was the first of the season. SANDHILL CRANES are being seen in numbers at their usual spots in the Navan/ Frank Kenny area, and a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in Carp on the 8th was the first recent sighting. GRAY PARTRIDGE were seen in Goulbourn most recently on the 10th. A TREE SWALLOW at Embrun on the 9th was quite late, as were 2 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS in Gatineau Park on the 10th, but a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD at the Experimental Farm on the 10th was by far the most unusual lingerer. Although 8 species of WARBLER were seen this week, now virtually all have disappeared except for the still fairly common YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. A CAROLINA WREN was in Carlington on the 10th, and NELSON’S SPARROW was last seen on the 10th. Among the other SPARROWS, WHITE-CROWNED and FOX SPARROW are in reasonable numbers, while there have been huge numbers of DARK-EYED JUNCO almost everywhere. Finally, an EVENING GROSBEAK was in Almonte on the 8th, and there have been a few scattered sightings of PINE SISKIN. *NOTE RE: ACCESS TO THE SHIRLEY’S BAY CAUSEWAY*. The OFNC has a signed agreement with DND and PWGSC that gives OFNC members limited access to this important birding area. You must call the Range Control Office (613-991-5740) before entering DND property, and you will be informed how far down the causeway you may go. For your safety, please respect their instructions, as the shooting patterns vary from day to day. 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. We encourage everyone to report their bird sightings on eBird for the benefit of the entire birding community. Good birding. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
