- RBA * Ontario * Ottawa/Gatineau * 02 October 2006 * ONOT0610.02
- Birds mentioned Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Snow Goose Surf Scoter Red-breasted Merganser Gray Partridge American Coot Sandhill Crane POMARINE JAEGER Bonaparte's Gull Iceland Gull Common Tern Great Horned Owl Barred Owl Blue Jay American Crow Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Northern Mockingbird Blackburnian Warbler Wilson's Warbler LE CONTE'S SPARROW NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW Rusty Blackbird - Transcript hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club date: 02 October 2006 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] THE OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE @ 11:30 am, MONDAY OCTOBER 2, 2006. This is Chris Lewis reporting. The annual Ontario Field Ornithologists Convention was the highlight of this past week's birding in the Ottawa area. Great weather on the 1st day, September 30th, helped local as well as out-of-town leaders and participants find 131 species including a few good rarities. A juvenile POMARINE JAEGER was seen between the east end of Andrew Haydon Park and the Dick Bell marina from 8:45 - 10:00 AM and then again at 2:30 PM, and a LE CONTE'S SPARROW was seen in the Westmeath area of the Ottawa River along with a NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. Additional reports of NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW as well as Gray Partridge came from the Alfred sewage lagoon. Small numbers of Snow Geese continue to move through with sightings throughout the week from March Valley Rd., Shirley's Bay, Andrew Haydon Park in the west and the Alfred, Embrun and St. Albert sewage lagoons in the east. A total of 19 species of waterfowl were found at various locations on the 30th including a single female Surf Scoter (likely the same bird that has been on the Ottawa River off the west end of Andrew Haydon Park since the 25th), as well as 2 female Red-breasted Mergansers, 1 Horned and 2 Red-necked Grebes. An American Coot was at the large quarry pond along Moodie Dr. south of Trail Rd. yesterday October 1st. Sandhill Cranes were reported again from the Alfred area on the 30th but very few shorebirds were seen due to high water levels especially on the Ottawa River. Aside from the POMARINE JAEGER, other larids of interest on the 30th were 2 Bonaparte's Gulls at the east end of Andrew Haydon Park, an exceptionally early Iceland Gull at Britannia and a very late Common Tern at Shirley's Bay. Two Great Horned Owls in the Britannia woods and a Barred Owl in the Fletcher Wildlife Garden were found by mobs of American Crows and Blue Jays this week, and a very late Marsh Wren was at the Alfred lagoons on the 30th. A Northern Mockingbird first seen on the 25th along Rifle Rd. between Carling Ave. and Shirley's Bay was evidently still present on the 30th, increasing numbers of Golden-crowned Kinglets have joined the warblers which are now thinning out - late species on the 30th included Blackburnian and Wilson's in the Shirley's Bay parking lot on the 30th. Twelve species of sparrows including the aforementioned rarities were reported on the 30th as well as several Rusty Blackbirds. Thank you - Good Birding! - End transcript
