Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca
April 4, 2019 The best bird for several months, a BLACK VULTURE, was seen for several hours on Dunning Road on the 31st and again briefly on the 1st. This was the first “gettable” one of its species in the area, and quite a few people were able to see it, although the views were far from stellar through the snow. Despite the less than optimal weather, there have been quite a number of FOY birds, xx since the last report. So far the most unusual have been an early BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON on Maritime Way in Kanata starting on the 28th and an early PINE WARBLER at Mer Bleue on the 30th -3rd. This week we had some near seasonal temperatures between cold spells and not so desperately needed snow and freezing rain. So once again it kept migration to a trickle. However, there is hope of some real action by the weekend. On the 2nd there were about 2000 CANADA GEESE and 2 SNOW GEESE on the Cobb Lake Creek flood plain. On the 2nd there were about 2000 CANADA GEESE and nothing else on Bearbrook Creek. . However, on the 3rd, Bearbrook Creek had started to flood and there were 10,000 CANADA GEESE, 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 1 SNOW GOOSE but hardly anything else. On the 4th there were 3 TUNDRA SWANS but again little else. We can expect this to be changing daily for the next while. Of other WATERBIRDS, there were some new arrivals, but no numbers anywhere: 1. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER <https://ebird.org/species/rebmer/CA-ON-OT> on the 29th at Britannia 2. GREEN-WINGED TEAL <https://ebird.org/species/gnwtea/CA-ON-OT> on the 28th at Britannia/ Deschênes 3. GREATER SCAUP <https://ebird.org/species/gresca/CA-ON-OT> on the 28 th at Britannia, / Deschênes Finally, 4 TRUMPETER SWANS were in Constance Bay on the 2nd. New arrivals that are now here in modest numbers include: 1. WILSON’S SNIPE on the 30th in Hunt Club. 2. EASTERN PHOEBE <https://ebird.org/species/easpho/CA-ON-OT> on the 28 th in Kanata 3. AMERICAN WOODCOCK <https://ebird.org/species/amewoo/CA-ON-OT> on the 28th in Barrhaven 4. SANDHILL CRANE <https://ebird.org/species/sancra/CA-ON-OT> on the 28 th at Britannia (flyover) New arrivals not yet established included: 5. YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER on the 1st at Mer Bleue 6. FOX SPARROW <https://ebird.org/species/foxspa/CA-ON-OT> on the 28th on Startop Road 7. CHIPPING SPARROW on the 2nd in Bell’s Corners. 8. SAVANNAH SPARROW on the 3rd in Andrew Haydon Park. There have been a few sightings of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL <https://ebird.org/species/lbbgul/CA-ON-OT>: Britannia on the 28th and Moodie drive on the 30th. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are moving north and there have been a number of sightings. Finally, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR (breeding plumage) was on Giroux Road on the 31-1st and a HOARY REDPOLL was in Constance Bay on the 31st. 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 birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
