Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Greg Zbitnew at [email protected] or [email protected]
April 28, 2016 2 rare birds highlighted the week. A PURPLE GALLINULE was seen and photographed at Constance Creek on the 23rd. On the 24th, 3 WHOOPING CRANES were seen flying over Almonte headed to Pakenham. Unfortunately, neither species was seen again. Of the other birds, EURASIAN WIGEON in Thurso on the 27th was of special interest. The temperatures went below seasonal after the 21st, and this combined with unfavourable winds slowed migration considerably. At least the days have been sunny and insects have been active when the sun is strong. Nonetheless, the season progressed. There was noticeable leafing out of many shrubs and trees; forests are finally showing a bit of colour. However, we had to be content with a trickle rather than a flood of birds. Waterbird variety and numbers were probably lower than last week. 18 species of DUCK were seen during the week, but there were not large numbers of anything. Flooded fields are starting to host puddle ducks, and it is of interest that there are still numbers of SNOW GEESE around: 1000 in Russell on the 23rd, and nearly 4000 on the Bearbrook Creek near Milton/ Frank Kenny on the 25th. 3 CACKLING GEESE were there on the 25th as well. A few new shorebirds/ marsh birds arrived: 1. GREEN HERON at Britannia on the 26th. 2. SPOTTED SANDPIPER in Russell on the 24th , 3. PECTORAL SANPIPER near Carp on the 24th, and 4. LESSER YELLOWLEGS at the Moodie Drive ponds on the 23rd. 5. COMMON GALLINULE at Marais-Trépanier on the 27th. The last of the ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are moving through-they were seen in 2 places this week. A CLIFF SWALLOW was at Constance Creek on the 23rd; all six regular species have now arrived but not all are common yet. This was complemented by the arrival of CHIMNEY SWIFT at Britannia on the 26th. GULL numbers aside from the nesting species are declining, but a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at the Trail Road Landfill on the 26th along with GLAUCOUS GULL. No new WARBLERS have arrived, but other passerine firsts for the year include: 1. HOUSE WREN on the 21st near Carleton Place. 2. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW on the Nakkertok trail just north of Gatineau on the 24th. 3. GRAY CATBIRD in Kanata on the 27th. 4. BLUE-HEADED VIREO in two places on the 23rd. A CAROLINA WREN in the Merivale Gardens area was the first recent sighting. Finally, of the FINCHES, the flood of PINE SISKINS and COMMON REDPOLL has ebbed, but EVENING GROSBEAK in Gatineau Park (Chelsea) on the 23rd and RED CROSSBILL on NCC trail 23 on the 28th were of interest. 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
