Ontario Ottawa/Gatineau 24 August 2008 Birds mentioned:
MUTE SWAN Redhead Ring-necked Duck Ruddy Duck AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN GREAT EGRET Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Sharp-shinned Hawk Bald Eagle Merlin Peregrine Falcon Sandhill Crane Semipalmated Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Red-necked Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull CASPIAN TERN Black Tern Common Tern Common Nighthawk Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Philadelphia Vireo warblers (18 spp.) Scarlet Tanager (orange variant) Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the Bird Status Line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Rare bird alerts are now included in the introductory message Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] At 11:00 pm, Sunday August 24, 2008, this is Chris Lewis reporting. A cold front followed by a spell of summer-like weather made for a very interesting week for birding in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was still present at the large quarry pond along Moodie Dr. south of Trail Rd. on the 24th (its 13th day here! ) and another Am. White Pelican was reported on the Quebec side at Baie de la Pentecote in Parc National du Plaisance on the 22nd. The Moodie Dr. pond continues to be attractive for quite a variety of birds. A GREAT EGRET was a new arrival here on the 24th, 9 Bonaparte's Gulls, 1 CASPIAN TERN, 3 Common Terns and at least 20 Black Terns were seen over the weekend, and an immature Peregrine Falcon was hanging around again on the 23rd and 24th. The presence of the Peregrine may be responsible for the low numbers of ducks seen here recently; only a couple of Redhead and a few Ring-necked and Ruddy Ducks were noted over past week along with the usual multitudes of Mallards. The last sighting of a Red-necked Phalarope at this location was on August 19th. PLEASE NOTE - this pond is on PRIVATE PROPERTY in an active sand & gravel quarry - PLEASE VIEW THE BIRDS FROM THE ROAD AND DO NOT CROSS THE GATE. Other interesting non-passerine observations included an immature MUTE SWAN, first reported on May 26th and still present at the Alfred sewage lagoons on August 17th, and several Green Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons at the Britannia Conservation Area as well as at the storm water management pond at Eagleson and Fernbank Rds. An immature Bald Eagle was seen cruising over Britannia on the 19th and 22nd and, as usual for this time of year, Sharp-shinned Hawks and Merlins have begun hunting the shorebirds and songbirds in migration locations. Four Sandhill Cranes were frequently seen during "most of the summer", in the fields along Anderson Rd. between Renaud and Dolman Ridge Rds. - this is very near the Mer Bleue bog, a traditional breeding site for this species in the Ottawa area. Water levels on the Ottawa River appear to be dropping since the 18th, but most of the recent shorebird reports continue to come from the ponds at Eagleson & Fernbank Rds., and along March Valley Rd., the most recent additions being Baird's and Stilt Sandpiper. Numbers of Semipalmated Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper remain low and quite static so far. Migrating Common Nighthawks continue to be reported in good numbers since the 18th, and a significant increase in migrant songbirds has begun to occur. An Olive-sided Flycatcher was seen at the Britannia Conservation Area on the 22nd, and multiple sightings of Yellow-bellied Flycatchers have been reported since the 21st from both the Ontario and Quebec sides of the Ottawa River. A Philadelphia Vireo was spotted at Britannia on the 24th, and 18 species of warblers have now been seen this season, with Bay-breasted, Magnolia and Northern Waterthrush being the latest additions. An unusual orange variant Scarlet Tanager was seen at Britannia, among many other common post-breeding species. Thank you - Good Birding! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
