Ontario Ottawa/Gatineau 24 May 2009 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 7:00 am, Wednesday May 24, 2009 this is Chris Lewis reporting. It was a week of typically slow summer birding, but with a few surprises. WESTERN MEADOWLARKS in Quebec were the local highlights - one was discovered on June 21st along Lac des Loups Rd. north of Quyon and was still present as of the 23rd, and another found farther west along the Ottawa River on Ile aux Allumettes a few weeks ago was also seen again on the 23rd. The first of the two young Peregrine Falcons successfully fledged from the nest on the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Ottawa on the 16th and the 2nd took flight on the 21st. Updates on the Peregrines' progress can be found on the OFNC web site at www.ofnc.ca To volunteer for the Falcon Watch please contact Nancy Scott at [email protected] or phone 613-946-7847 or 613-253-1490. You may also contact Falcon Watch cordinator Eve Ticknor at [email protected] Back on the 16th a single Snow Goose was a late lingerer at the Embrun sewage lagoons and a pair of Northern Pintails was a bit of surprise here as well. Four female Wild Turkeys in a field north of Quyon were surprised by passersby on the 22nd. Although the small Double-crested Cormorant colony on the Ottawa River near Lemieux Island remains restricted to one small islet, the number of nests has grown to at least 18, and a pair of Herring Gulls among the breeding Ring-billed Gulls at this location remains a mystery - they have shown up every year since the cormorants started nesting here four years ago but no young have ever been seen. An adult and a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron were seen together at Mud Lake in Britannia on the 21st. An Upland Sandpiper was seen along Ferry Rd. near Fitzroy Harbour on the 22nd - no real surprise as the habitat is ideal for this species. Many of our breeding songbirds were again widely reported, and it seems that Pine Siskins are not gone yet - a few singletons were noted flying over residential areas, and a couple of loyal customers were still visting feeders in Cumberland last week. 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/
