- RBA * Ontario * Ottawa/Gatineau * 01 May 2005 * ONOT0505.01
- Birds mentioned Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Double-crested Cormorant American Bittern SNOWY EGRET Green-backed Heron Tundra Swan EURASIAN WIGEON Redhead Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Turkey Vulture Osprey Northern Harrier Broad-winged Hawk Wild Turkey Sora Common Moorhen American Coot Lesser Yellowlegs Spotted Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Wilson's Phalarope Short-eared Owl Tufted Titmouse Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Brown Thrasher Blue-headed Vireo Northern Parula Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler American Tree Sparrow Field Sparrow Rusty Blackbird - Transcript hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club date: 01 May 2005 number: 613-860-9000 for the status line : press 2 for rare bird alerts: press 1 to report a sighting: press # coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Can. Nat. Capital Reg.), E.Ont., W.Que. compiler : Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] transcriber: Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] internet : Gordon Pringle [EMAIL PROTECTED] OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE - MAY 01 2005 AT 5:30 PM This is Chris Lewis reporting. Continued cool weather and periods of rain made for another somewhat slow week for bird reports, but migrants continue to trickle through. The SNOWY EGRET on the Rideau Canal was last reported from Dow's Lake on the morning of April 26th and later the same morning at Billings Bridge - it was searched for again yesterday but was not re-found. Its 8-day stay in Ottawa made it the longest-lingering SNOWY EGRET in the area, and evidently the 3rd documented record for Ottawa. On the Ottawa River this week, a single Red-necked Grebe has been seen from Shirley's Bay boat launch since the 29th, 5 Horned Grebes were here on May 1st, and a few Double-crested Cormorants were at Shirley's Bay and at Dow's Lake this past weekend. A Green Heron was at the east end of Vincent Massey Park on the 26th, along with a single Wild Turkey. Waterfowl reports of interest included an adult Tundra Swan still at the Embrun sewage lagoons on the 29th, a male EURASIAN WIGEON at Petit Baie Clement west of Masson, Quebec, most recently reported on the 23rd, a pair of Redhead at the Masson sewage lagoons on the 30th, a few late Common Goldeneye at Shirley's Bay and the Masson marshes on the 29th and 30th, a female Red-breasted Merganser on the river at Andrew Haydon Park on the 30th, and 2 pairs of Redhead and 34 Ruddy Ducks in the Alfred sewage lagoons on the 26th. A Turkey Vulture and a single adult Broad-winged Hawk were seen migrating over Shirley's Bay on the morning of the 29th. Another Broad-wing and an Osprey along with several Northern Harriers were at Masson on the 1st. American Bittern, Sora, Common Moorhen and American Coot were all found at Marais aux Grenouillettes west of Masson on the weekend. Shorebirds reported this past week were 5 Lesser Yellowlegs at the Embrun sewage lagoons on the 26th along with the 1st Wilson's Phalaropes of the year, and Spotted Sandpipers were at Alfred and Andrew Haydon on the 26th and 28th respectively. Four Upland Sandpipers were on the Quebec side north of Hwy 148 east of Masson on the 30th. The 1st local Short-eared Owl reports came from Parc du Plaisance in Quebec on the 21st, and from the "S-curve" along Earl Armstrong Rd. on the 24th. Passerine reports of note included a Tufted Titmouse, briefly seen at a feeder in Carp on the morning of the 1st, and a Blue-Gray-Gnatcatcher at the Carp Bridge on the north side, immediately south of the village of Carp the same morning. The 1st Blue-headed Vireo of the season was discovered in the Britannia woods on the 30th, the 1st Northern Parula was at the Shirley's Bay boat launch on the 29th, the 1st Palm Warbler at Britannia on the 30th, and several Yellow-rumped Warblers and at least 2 Pine Warblers have also been at Britannia since the 29th. Several Brown Thrashers were singing along Rifle Rd. near Shirley's Bay this past weekend, and a Field Sparrow joined in the "spring chorus" at this location on the 30th and 1st. A couple of late Tree Sparrows were noted at the Hilda Rd. feeder at Shirley's Bay and at a feeder in Kanata on the 26th. It's also getting late for Rusty Blackbirds in our area - one was heard at Shirley's Bay on the 29th. Thank you - Good Birding! - End transcript
