Ottawa/Gatineau: recent sightings to Dec 12, 2024 Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club (OFNC) Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Derek Dunnett at sighti...@ofnc.ca
Worth noting the unusual late influx of bay ducks with multiple Black Scoter and Long-tailed. Wood Duck, Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa. Northern Shoveler (1) Dec 08, Central Experimental Farm Arboretum, Ottawa. Continuing female. Northern Pintail (1) Dec 09, Shirley's Bay, Ottawa. Adult male. Black Scoter (2) Dec 12, Dick Bell Park, Ottawa. (5) Dec 09, Britannia, Ottawa. Anywhere from Shirley's Bay to Bate Island. Northern Shoveler (1) Dec 08, Central Experimental Farm Arboretum, Ottawa. Northern Pintail (1) Dec 09, Shirley's Bay, Ottawa. (1) Dec 07, Rideau River Provincial Park, Ottawa. Barrow's Goldeneye - Dow's Lake, Shirley's Bay-Andrew Haydon, or the Rideau River between Strathcona Park and Billing's Bridge. Several males around. Iceland Gull (Thayer's) (1) Dec 11, Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa. Bought the new gull book and need some practice? Try Trail Road Landfill or Pac Brébeuf, or try further afield at Lafleche Landfill. But don't enter the landfill itself. Wilson's Snipe (1) Dec 06, Rideau Canal Western Pathway, Ottawa. Belted Kingfisher (1) Stittsville--Hickstead Storm Pond, Ottawa. (1) Dec 11, Solarium Ave Stormwater Pond, Ottawa. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1) Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Ottawa. Red-bellied Woodpecker (1) Stony Swamp (Jack Pine Trail), Ottawa. Continuing male. (1) Dec 07, Chemin Steele, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais. (2) Dec 07, Pontiac, Steel Line, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais. (1) Dec 06, Ch Vaillancourt, Val-des-Monts, Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais. Red-headed Woodpecker (1) Constance Bay, Ottawa. Eastern Phoebe (1)Dec 03-07, Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Ottawa. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) Rockcliffe parkway between Ogilvie and Green's Creek, Ottawa. Winter Wren (1) Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa. (1) Jack Pine Trail, Ottawa. (1) Dec 07, Nepean Creek Trail, Ottawa. Hermit Thrush (1) Dec 06, Manotick--Rideau Forest, Ottawa. (1) Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa. White-crowned Sparrow (1) rue du Plein-Air, Gatineau. (1) Rue de la Loire, Gatineau. Baltimore Oriole (1) Heron-Walkley Park, Ottawa. Fox Sparrow (1) Dec 06, Nortel Marsh, Ottawa. Swamp Sparrow (1) Dec 06, Carleton University, Ottawa. Common Grackle (1) Dec 08, Hidden Lake Trail, Ottawa. eBird reviewer comment: in December there is a changing of the guard, with Herring Gull replacing Ring-billed as the default gull. Small numbers of Ring-bills remain, for example at Britannia, but the vast majority of gulls at concentration points like the Trail Road dump are Herring (don’t be fooled by second year Herrings which often show distinctly ringed bills). Christmas Bird Count Season starts soon. Here is a list of the many counts in the OFNC study area: https://ofnc.ca/birds/christmas-bird-count-season-is-approaching-2 Atlas notes: Did you encounter a singing bird back in May? Have you seen fledged birds or adult birds carrying food in the summer? Do you have photographs of local species from this summer? If so, it is not too late to join one of Ontario’s largest citizen science projects by adding your observations to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas: a once in a generation opportunity to provide important data that will help inform conservation policies for years to come. #youcanatlasthat anywhere in Ontario via the NatureCounts app, the Atlas website, or by taking 90 seconds to import an eBird checklist. For more on the Atlas, visit www.birdsontario.org or contact the Ottawa Regional Coordinator at ott...@birdsontario.org. -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: birdnews@ontbirds.ca. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at birdn...@ofo.ca. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
