Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 22 February 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]
On February 22, 2010 this is Chris Lewis reporting: Reports from all across the province continue to confirm that this is a very quiet winter for birding, and the same remains true for the Ottawa-Gatineau area. However, the recent mild weather conditions have prompted some of our common residents such as AMERICAN ROBINS, NORTHERN CARDINALS and HOUSE FINCHES to sing, and a couple of species that are normally not expected until March were reported this past week - a TURKEY VULTURE in the Green's Creek area on the 18th would be the first February record for Ottawa (further details have been requested) and a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD was seen in the vicinity of Russell, ON on the 14th. HORNED LARKS were reported from rural areas east and west of Ottawa during the past week, along with small scattered flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS. A flock of 12 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in the Burnt Lands near Almonte on the 21st were the first of this species reported all winter in our area. Otherwise, most sightings have been of lingering birds. On the 21st, 5 CANADA GEESE and the "handicapped" WOOD DUCK were still at the stormwater pond on Iber Rd. in Kanata, as were the single CANADA GOOSE and HOODED MERGANSER below the rapids in Deschenes, Quebec. The same day, a male and female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE were engaging in courtship displays on the Ottawa River close to the Remic rapids lookout. A male Barrow's was also seen on the Rideau River near the Hurdman bridge on the 16th and 18th. At least 2 GRAY PARTRIDGE were still present on the 16th on Maple Grove Rd. in Kanata, and several reports of WILD TURKEYS on both the Ontario and Quebec sides included numbers ranging from scattered individuals to flocks of over 40 birds. Five BALD EAGLES on the 13th and an adult GOLDEN EAGLE on the 14th were the highlights from the Eardley escarpment in the Gatineau hills. Three BALD EAGLES were hanging out near an abbatoir in the Pakenham area on the 20th. COOPER'S HAWKS were noted in and near downtown Ottawa over the past 2 weeks. A couple of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in the Ste-Rose area on the 16th and an AMERICAN KESTREL at Shirley's Bay were also of interest as very few of either of these species have been seen recently. A WILSON'S SNIPE west of Quyon, Quebec, was still present on the 16th. The Lafleche Rd. landfill southeast of Casselman continues to host several ICELAND and GLAUCOUS GULLS. A CAROLINA WREN and 2 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS near Parc Baker off Rue Millar in Hull, Quebec were still present as of at least the 13th, approx. 200 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen again near the Nortel complex on Carling Ave. west of Moodie Dr. on the 21st, and 4 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS at a feeder in Beacon Hill, Ottawa on the 20th was an increase from 2 that have been here for the past few weeks. Also increasing are numbers of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES at various local feeders, and small flocks of EVENING GROSBEAKS continue to visit feeders in the Eardley-Masham and Bradley Rd. area in Quebec. 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/
