Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 05 April 2011 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]
Migrants continue to arrive and move through with geese once again the main event. Although the flooding in the agricultural fields has seriously receded, there is still enough water and food to attract huge numbers of CANADA GEESE all over the region, as well as single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED and CACKLING GEESE near Bourget on the 3rd. The incredible build-up of Greater SNOW GEESE along the St. Lawrence River began to disperse in recent days and some showed up closer to Ottawa on the weekend; flocks ranging in size from 250 - 5000 were found by many observers from the Ottawa River at L'Orignal to the South Nation River in St. Albert and the fields near Bourget and Navan. The pair of adult TRUMPETER SWANS continues to frequent the Jock River near the bridge along 9th Line Beckwith west of Ashton, and there has been a slow but steady increase in the variety of ducks. NORTHERN PINTAIL has been the most numerous species, WOOD DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON and NORTHERN SHOVELER were also reported in small numbers, 2 REDHEAD were found in the Bourget area on the 3rd, and RING-NECKED DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, BUFFLEHEAD and HOODED MERGANSER are also being seen in more locations. A pair of GRAY PARTRIDGE was a nice discovery in a field along Frank Kenny Rd. near the bridge over Bear Brook on the 3rd, and the 1st seasonal report of PIED-BILLED GREBE also came from the east the same day. DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS have begun to check out previous nests in the RING-BILLED GULL colony in the Deschenes rapids of the Ottawa River as of at least March 30th. Good numbers of TURKEY VULTURES were reported, an early OSPREY was seen on a nest platform on the Rideau River at Gideon Adams Park south of Kars on the 31st, single BALD EAGLES, NORTHERN HARRIERS and ROUGH -LEGGED HAWKS were again noted in various locations, and other raptor reports included MERLIN and PEREGRINE FALCON - the former in the the Carlingwood area of Ottawa and the latter near a known breeding site near Luskville falls in the Eardley escarpment of the Gatineau hills on the 30th. SANDHILL CRANES were still present in the fields at Smith Rd. west of Navan on the 3rd, but distance and terrain prevented an accurate count of numbers. A single GLAUCOUS GULL was still at the Trail Rd. landfill on the 2nd. The action on the songbird front is still a bit slow except for the well-established and very vocal common species. A NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen along Therrien Rd. west of Luskville, Quebec, on the the 30th. The HERMIT THRUSH that survived the winter at the feeders near the Hurdman (Hwy 417) bridge was still here on the 1st. A few SNOW BUNTINGS and DARK-EYED JUNCOS were noted on the 3rd, and the local redpoll invasion continued last week with perhaps 200 COMMON REDPOLLS at the Hurdman feeders on the 1st and similar numbers gorging themselves at other local feeders during the past week. Thank you - Good Birding! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
