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]
July 7, 2016 There were no real highlights this week. Temperatures were seasonal to hot. The 1st and the 7th had some badly needed rain, and may have been a factor along with dropping river levels, in causing a bit of SHOREBIRD activity this week. A few visits to Shirley’s Bay produced a good assortment of waterbirds, most notably a rare-in-summer RED-BREASTED MERGANSER on the 5th and REDHEAD a few times this week. There were also some of the less common nesters, such as AMERICAN WIGEON and HOODED MERGANSER. A lingering RED-NECKED GREBE in breeding plumage continued at Britannia (Mud Lake) at least as late as the 5th. A SNOW GOOSE at St. Albert on the 1st was undoubtedly a lingering bird. SHOREBIRD activity was low but respectable for the season. PECTORAL and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER were at Embrun on the 1st. 3 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS were at St. Albert on the 1st and 1 was at Shirley’s bay on the 7th. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER at Casselman on the 2nd and GREATER YELLOWLEGS at Shirley’s bay on the 5th were of interest along with 5 other more expected species. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was at the Kanata Research park on the 5th. A few sightings of NORTHERN PARULA at Shirley’s Bay and near the Airport were of interest as this WARBLER species is usually restricted to the northern reaches of the region in the summer. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER becomes much tougher to get now, but one was on the Carp Ridge on the 2nd and another was at the South March Conservation Highlands on the 3rd. SEDGE WREN continue on Torbolton Ridge road and they were also on Conley Road by the bridge. A few other interesting sightings this week: • LEAST BITTERN at the marsh at the end of Champlain Street on the 4th and at Shirley’s bay on the 7th. • UPLAND SANDPIPER was near the Gatineau Airport • Only a few BLACK TERNS at Marais aux Grenouillettes, which is not a good sign as this is one of the few nesting spots in the region. • RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was near Winchester on the 3rd. • A few CASPIAN TERN are now regular, mostly on the Ottawa River. • NORTHERN GOSHAWK was at Shirley’s Bay on the 4th. • YELLOW-THROATED VIREO was in Gatineau on the 30th. • CAROLINA WREN was in the Heron park area on the 30th.. • 4 PINE SISKIN were at Mer Bleue on the 3rd. 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. We encourage everyone to report their bird sightings on ebird for the benefit of the entire birding community. 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
