Ontario
Ottawa/Gatineau
10 March 2009
Birds mentioned:
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
TRUMPETER SWAN
Green-winged Teal
Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
Brown Creeper
American Robin
VARIED THRUSH
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Pine Siskin
Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Phone number: 613-860-9000
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Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W.
Quebec
Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis [email protected]
At 8:30 am, Tuesday March 10, 2009 this is Chris Lewis reporting.
Inklings of spring have begun to arrive, prompted by the milder weather over
the past few days. Approx. 250 - 300 Snow Geese were reported heading east
from the Upper Canada Bird Sanctuary in Morrisburg on March 7th. Small
groups of Canada Geese have been seen in many locations since the 6th, and
Ring-billed Gulls, American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds as usual wasted
no time in announcing their arrival as well. A male Green-winged Teal was a
newcomer among the common wintering ducks on the Rideau River in Manotick on
the 9th, and an interesting report of 2 TRUMPETER SWANS came from the
Mississippi River near Carleton Place on the 6th - no specific location was
given, and the birds were not seen the next day but may still be in the
area.
A few Ruffed Grouse and Wild Turkeys were spotted in a variety of locations,
4 Bald Eagles and 2 Golden Eagles were seen the the Eardley-Masham / Steele
Line area of the Gatineau hills on the 9th, and Rough-legged Hawks have
begun to move north again; reports came from agricultural areas east of
Ottawa and on the Quebec side since the 6th. Apart from the Ring-billed
Gulls that are now checking out their nesting sites on the Ottawa River and
the local fast food parking lots, at least 2 Iceland and 5 Glaucous Gulls
were among a large congregation of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls at
the Trail Rd. landfill and the adjacent (still ice-covered) quarry pond on
Moodie Dr. on the 5th, and a couple of both species of "white-winged" gulls
were also noted on the Ottawa River at Deschenes, Quebec, on the 7th.
A female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in the woods behind the Nortel campus at
Carling Ave. and Moodie Dr. was still present on the 9th. The most recent
report of the VARIED THRUSH near Watson's Corners comes from the 3rd. Brown
Creepers have been increasingly reported, Bohemian Waxwings are still
around, and a handful of Cedar Waxwings appeared near the Clyde Ave. woods
on the 7th. Dark-eyed Juncos were spotted in the Britannia Conservation Area
and elsewhere over the past week, 2 Hoary Redpolls have been fairly regular
at the new feeders on Hilda Rd. by Shirley's Bay, and Common Redpolls and
Pine Siskins continue to be common at many local feeders.
Thank you - Good Birding!
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