Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Greg Zbitnew at [email protected] or [email protected]
Recent sightings to July 30, 2015 Birding was the dullest in some months here in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. There appeared to be a lot fewer birders out this week. The hottest weather of the year, the general lack of birds to chase as well as the normal vacation season may have been factors in the reduced volume of sightings. No new birds were seen this week, and no particularly uncommon ones either. The birding focus continued, as last week, to be on the building shorebird population, and as last week, it is far from steady. Shirley’s Bay (west of the causeway) continues to have a reasonable variety of waterfowl for this time of year, but the numbers and variety fluctuate. 8 species of PUDDLE DUCKS were seen this week, but numbers and variety fluctuate. Also west of the causeway, VIRGINIA RAIL (including some young) continue to put on a good show, but the most interesting are a number of rather photogenic SORA (normally rather secretive) that are often seen feeding on the mud flats near the causeway before scurrying back into the marsh. Included in the show are some rarely seen squabbles between these two species. Shirley’s Bay and the Almonte Lagoons were the best places for shorebirds this week. Both LESSER YELLOWLEGS and LEAST SANDPIPER are by far the most common of the migrants. Smaller numbers of GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, SOLITARY SANDPIPER and SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS are also seen, with the occasional PECTORAL SANDPIPER. SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER was at Almonte on a single day. In both places, quantity and variety is quite variable as is normal. Russell lagoon had no shorebirds, and there were no reports at all from the other eastern lagoons. There is quite a bit of developing habitat between Andrew Haydon Park and Scrivens, but so far there have just been just a handful of shorebirds. Among the regular wading birds, LEAST BITTERN was seen at both Baie McLaurin and Shirley’s Bay. A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER reported on Greenbelt Trail 10, and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER seen flying south down the Shirley’s bay causeway were a little out of the ordinary. Of the PASSERINES, a TENNESSEE WARBLER at Shirley’s Bay was a small sign of fall migration. Virtually all the breeders are still around, although song volume is diminishing every week. For example, 9 of the 10 of the breeding SPARROWS, and 15 of the 20 breeding WARBLERS were seen this week. For those who still need it, SEDGE WREN is still at the previously reported locations at Mansfield Road and Chemin d’Elmside in Pontiac. The OFNC's Birds Committee no longer reports owl sightings on the Internet. We will continue to encourage the reporting of owls to [email protected] for the purpose of maintaining local records. Thanks to everyone who contributed bird observations. Good birding. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
