Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at [email protected] November 3, 2016 The best bird of the week was seen just outside the region, a PINK-FOOTED GOOSE at the Laflèche landfill east of Casselman on the 31st in a flock of about 60,000 SNOW GEESE. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED and ROSS’S GOOSE was also seen in the flock. Last week’s HUMMINGBIRD in Constance Bay appears to be a lingering RUBY-THROATED, and was unfortunately last seen on the 29th. The first PURPLE SANDPIPER of the year was seen at Britannia Pier (and across the Ottawa River) on the 30th. A TUFTED TITMOUSE in Winchester on the 1st was notable among the SONGBIRDS. It was quite a cool week early but near to above normal temperatures later, with some precipitation but no weather that was extreme enough to have much effect on bird movement. Generally the variety of birds was as expected: plenty of WATERBIRDS, few SONGBIRDS, but as there was no major freezing and no sustained snow cover, most lingering birds were able to survive. WATERBIRDS were in reasonable supply mostly along the Ottawa River, with Shirley’as Bay and Plaisance again being the best spots, but there were no massive concentrations anywhere. All three SCOTERS, LONG-TAILED DUCK and RED-THROATED LOON were among the less common seen. Up to 3 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS (late) were at Andrew Haydon Park as late as the 2nd . SHOREBIRDS, as expected, were limited to small numbers of a few species. 18 DUNLIN were at Embrun on the 31st . Late WILSON’S SNIPE and LESSER YELLOWLEGS on the 1st at Shirley’s Bay and LESSER YELLOWLEGS at Constance Bay were notable but not exceptional. A GOLDEN EAGLE was near Luskville on the 30th and a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was at Beryl Gaffney park on the 2nd. Late EASTERN BLUEBIRD were at multiple locations: Chemin River west of Quyon on the 31st, the Gatineau Airport on the 29th and on Berry Side Road on the 1st. There is a continuing CAROLINA WREN in Carlington as late as the 1st. WARBLERS have nearly disappeared. There have been scattered sightings of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER as recently as the 3rd. A COMMON YELLOWTHROAT at Britannia Pier as late as the 2nd is late, as is one on the 3rd in Stoney Swamp. Very small numbers of SONG and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS remain here and there. Somewhat late were SWAMP SPARROW at Andrew Haydon on the 30th, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW AT Shirley’s Bay on the 2nd, and FOX SPARROW at Deschênes on the 1st and Richmond on the 2nd. A late ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was near Munster on the 29th. Finally, there have been a few interesting FINCH SIGHTINGS. Up to 8 EVENING GROSBEAKS were in Larose Forest (west) on the 31st - 3rd, Constance Bay on the 1st and Wakefield on the 3rd. RED CROSSBILL was on Greenland Road on the 30th and 5 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL were at Andrew Haydon on the 30th. The first recent sighting of PINE GROSBEAK (4) was in Pakenham on the 3rd. 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 this is near a rifle range and 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
