Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 28 January 2010 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]
Thursday January 28, 2010: this is Chris Lewis reporting. All has been fairly quiet on the eastern front. A CANADA GOOSE and a male HOODED MERGANSER were still at Deschenes below the rapids on the 24th, as were 4 Canada's and a male WOOD DUCK in a small area of open water off Iber Rd. in Kanata. The Wood Duck has a badly damaged wing; an observer who contacted the Wild Bird Care Centre learned that this duck has been surviving quite well in the area for a long time, and it is recommended that people NOT try to "rescue" it. A male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was seen on the Ottawa River at Remic rapids as well as near Bate Island on the weekend. Three GRAY PARTRIDGE remain faithful to the the Ottawa maintenance yard on Maple Grove Rd. in Kanata but are obviously nervous when closely approached. Another small group of partridge was seen along Akins Rd. on the 23rd. WILD TURKEY sightings came from several locations - on the 22nd, 27 were seen at Greenbank and Fallowfield Rds, and another large flock was in the Carling Ave. / Herzberg Rd. area. Nine have been regular near the Rockcliffe airport, and 15 were spotted along Hwy 148 near the Eardley-Masham Rd. in Quebec on the 24th. Reports of BALD EAGLES again came from the Eardley escarpment in the Gatineau hills, and one flew over the Champlain bridge on the 23rd. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen at the Trail Rd. landfill on the 22nd and 24th. While it is quite possible that the elusive grey morph GYRFALCON is still around, most local falcon sightings were again of adult PEREGRINES; at least 2 were seen (sometimes together) over the past week. A few good-sized gatherings of gulls were noted, mainly at landfill sites. The predominant species were, as usual, HERRING and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, with a few ICELAND and varying numbers of GLAUCOUS GULLS among them. NORTHERN SHRIKES continue to be reported from widespread locations. A CAROLINA WREN is still feeding and singing near Parc Baker in Hull, Quebec as of at least the 26th, and another has evidently been present all month in a downtown neighbourhood along the Rideau River, most recently seen on the 27th. AMERICAN ROBINS continue to survive the winter in a few suburban areas, flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are still roving around - two small flocks were seen on the Quebec side last weekend, and 5 CEDAR WAXWINGS were seen in Britannia on the 24th. A SONG SPARROW was reported as having been present for quite some time at a property along Carling Avenue near Dick Bell Park, and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are still around at a couple of local feeders as well. 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/
