Ontario Ottawa/Gatineau 17 February 2009 Birds mentioned:
Long-tailed Duck Common Goldneye Barrow's Goldeneye Gray Partridge Bald Eagle Northern Goshawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle Peregrine Falcon Merlin Iceland Gull Herring Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Mourning Dove Great Horned Owl Snowy Owl Northern Hawk Owl Great Gray Owl Northern Shrike Horned Lark American Robin Bohemian Waxwing Snow Bunting Pine Grosbeak White-winged Crossbill Common Redpoll Hoary Redpoll Pine Siskin 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 8:00 am, Tuesday February 17, 2009 this is Chris Lewis reporting. The past couple of weeks were very quiet again, typical for the time of year. A female Long-tailed Duck briefly dropped in on the Ottawa River at Petrie Island during a short-lived spell of mild weather on the 11th. A couple of Hoary Redpolls appeared on Shawmorr Lane in Poland (west of Lanark) on the 5th, and at the feeders on Hilda Rd. by Shirley's Bay on the 7th. The following day, the Hilda Rd. feeders had all been removed. These feeders were all created and maintained voluntarily by private citizens on public (National Captial Commission) property for many years. No explanation has yet been determined for this mysterious disappearance. One feeder has since reappeared and attracted a Hoary Redpoll and a few Pine Siskins on the 14th. A male Barrow's Goldeneye was still present with a few Common Goldeneye on the Rideau River near the Hurdman bridge on the 8th and 5 Gray Partridge were seen again on Maple Grove Rd. in Kanata the same day. Wild Turkeys continue to pop up all over the local landscape. Six immature Bald Eagles were reported ftom the Pakenham area on the 8th. Visits to the Eardley escarpment in Gatineau Park on the 14th produced 3 Bald Eagles and an adult and immature Golden Eagle as well as a few Pine Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills. Red-tailed Hawks appear to be moving back in to our area and were noted in various locations on the 15th. On the 7th a Northern Goshawk was circulating the woods near the feeders at the Jack Pine Trail off Moodie Dr. Two Peregrine Falcons were seen on the west side of the R.H. Coats building at Tunney's Pasture on the 7th and one was hunting in downtown Ottawa on the 5th. A Merlin was dining on Mourning Dove at the Central Experimental Farm on the 8th. Gulls the Rideau River north of the Hurdman bridge on the 5th included 3 Iceland and 5 Glaucous Gulls among a few Herring and numerous Great Black-backed Gulls. On the 15th 1 Iceland and 1 Glaucous Gull were noted on the frozen quarry pond south of the Trail Rd. landfill. In recent owl reports, Great Horned, Snowy, Northern Hawk and Great Gray were all noted again in previously reported locations, and a Great Gray Owl was spotted along County Rd. 8 south of Bourget on the 16th. Northern Shrikes continue to be rather scarce - 2 were noted in the Dunrobin area and 1 was seen at the Experimental Farm this past weekend. A small number of Horned Larks was reported from the Casselman / Ste-Rose area on the 16th along with 3 large flocks of Snow Buntings. A few wintering American Robins are still around, and Bohemian Waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins are all still evident in good numbers in widespread locations. 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
