Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 09 November 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) Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario,W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis [email protected], or [email protected]
Highlights of the past week included a ROSS'S GOOSE, a lingering EURASIAN WIGEON, the annual arrival of BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, yet another CATTLE EGRET, several BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS, and more GRAY JAYS. A small group of SNOW GEESE along Hwy 148 near Parker Rd. east of Eardley, Quebec on the 8th contained a juvenile ROSS'S GOOSE - the birds were seen in flight only. A juvenile blue morph SNOW GOOSE has been hanging around on the Ottawa River at Petrie Island for a few days. A single BRANT was spotted on the river east of Masson, Quebec on the 5th along with a good number of AMERICAN WIGEON; on the 3rd a male EURASIAN WIGEON was at the same location - this bird has been present since at least Oct. 24th. Numbers of NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL and RUDDY DUCKS are still around in various locations. Ducks on the river above and below the Deschenes rapids on the weekend included 100's of RING-NECKED DUCKS, LESSER SCAUP and COMMON GOLDENEYE as well as several BUFFLEHEAD and a half dozen LONG-TAILED DUCKS. The first report of a male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (a species that regularly winters in Ottawa) came in on the 3rd from the Rideau River at Strathcona Park; on the 7th, 2 males were on the Rideau north of the Hurdman bridge. All 3 species of MERGANSERS and a few HORNED and RED-NECKED GREBES were noted again this week. On the 6th a single CATTLE EGRET was discovered at a horse farm along Milton Rd. and was still present as of at least the 8th. Local raptor reports included an adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK along Hwy 366 at the north end of the Eardley-Masham Rd. in Quebec, a few reports of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in rural areas, and a PEREGRINE FALCON on an office tower at Billings Bridge on the 5th. A count of the SANDHILL CRANES in the fields along Smith Rd. southwest of Navan on the 8th revealed that there are now 100 birds - a similar number was at this location in November last year. A male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in Masson-Angers, Quebec, was last reported on the 3rd. There were multiple reports of BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS: on the 6th, a very vocal male was seen along Kerwin Rd. in the Dunrobin area and 2 were on the Skyline Trail in Gatineau Park, and on the 3rd one was found at Chemin Burns off Ch. de la Riviere Blanche north of Mayo, Quebec. A very late RED-EYED VIREO was at the east end of the ridge in the Britannia Conservation Area on the 8th along with a rather late RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. More GRAY JAY reports came from the Quebec side on the 2nd and 3rd - the former from Pointe-au-Chene and the latter from the Lac-des-Loups area. The same day, also in Quebec, 2 CAROLINA WRENS were seen in Aylmer at Prom. Oval and at Prom. Lakeview. A somewhat late male EASTERN BLUEBIRD was probably not impressed with the snow when it showed up in a backyard in the Grenfell Glen area of Ottawa on Nov. 1st. Flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were again spotted in various locations, a few CEDAR WAXWINGS are still around, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was on the Jack Pine trail in the Stony Swamp on the 3rd, 2 late FOX SPARROWS were at a feeder in Carleton Place on the 5th along with a single COMMON REDPOLL and PINE SISKIN, and small numbers of EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported from no fixed address. 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/
