Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 21 October 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 10:00 am, Wednesday October 21, 2009 this is Chris Lewis reporting. Lots of action in local reports especially in the world of waterfowl. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was feeding on the lawn at Andrew Haydon Park on the 14th, and 3 BRANT have remained here after the large flocks that dropped in a week ago moved on. Also on the 14th, 2 adult ROSS'S GEESE were found in a field along Milton Rd. southwest of Navan and one was still present as of at least the 20th. A male EURASIAN WIGEON appeared among the Americans at Constance Creek on the 17th but flew south and was not seen again. Five REDHEAD were seen in various locations on the weekend along with the expected dabbling and diving ducks. A good number for the Ottawa area was 18 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS at Shirley's Bay on the 14th. Sea ducks in ponds are always an incongruous sight; a few LONG-TAILED DUCKS turned some heads at Andrew Haydon and a couple were also seen at the Embrun sewage lagoons on the 18th. Good numbers of COMMON LOONS and RED-NECKED GREBES were found on the OFNC Fall Bird Count last weekend, and 147 WILD TURKEYS were a new record high for the count. The final count results will soon be posted on the OFNC web site. No real movement of raptors has been noted recently, however a total of 10 MERLINS tied the previous Fall Count record and again confirmed the success of the species in our area. SANDHILL CRANE numbers continue to build in the fields near Navan with 59 reported so far. Shorebird numbers were again low; a somewhat late SEMIPALMATED PLOVER was at Shirley's Bay on the 18th, and expected species such as KILLDEER, GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS and DUNLIN were also still around in various locations. Record high numbers of EASTERN PHOEBES, BLUE JAYS and WHITE-BREATED NUTHATCHES were found on the count, and an unusual number of MARSH WRENS were still around for this time of year including 6 seen all together in a marsh at the end of Champlain St. west of Petrie Island on the 18th. GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS continue to be reported along with EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and HERMIT THRUSHES. A VARIED THRUSH spotted at Mud Lake in Britannia on the weekend was moving through with a flock of AMERICAN ROBINS and was not re-found despite extensive searching. Numerous robins are on the move and several were singing during the recent spell of pleasant weather. Apart from YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, no other species were recently reported except for a very late AMERICAN REDSTART (a new species for the fall count). Sparrows are also still moving through including fair numbers of FOX SPARROWS, and large flocks of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and COMMON GRACKLES were again seen mainly in rural areas. 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/
