Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at [email protected]
October 6, 2016 The most sought-after bird of the week was a HUDSONIAN GODWIT, quite gettable at Shirley’s Bay October 4-6.th. By contrast, a ROSS’S goose flying over Baseline Road on the 5th was not refound. Also quite good this week was a EURASIAN WIGEON at Parc Nationale Plaisance (Baie Noire) as late as the 6th. A number of other birds found this week were much rarer, but they were only rare for the season and thus garnered less attention. Mostly pleasant and well above seasonal temperatures with only one day of rain were the weather features of the week. These were likely factors in the numbers of late/ lingering birds which supplemented the reasonable variety of expected species in the region. WATERBIRD numbers are building up quite noticeably. Skeins of Canada Geese are now criss-crossing the city, with small numbers of SNOW GEESE here and there. Shirley’s Bay and Plaisance are now the best areas to see DUCKS but the mix is quite different in each place. Rafts of mostly LESSER SCAUP (250 on the 5th) are building up at Shirley’s Bay west of the causeway; 100+ GREEN-WINGED TEAL led the PUDDLE DUCK pack. Plaisance had up to 500 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 400+ AMERICAN WIGEON, and 60 PIED-BILLED GREBE with lesser numbers of other species. Good or possibly bad news is the first sightings of some of the later DUCKS: There were 12 BLACK SCOTER on the 3rd near Andrew Haydon Park, and a SURF SCOTER east of Shirley’s Bay on the 6th. Shirley’s Bay has good SHOREBIRD habitat, but a variable numbers of species. There were 11 species there on the 1st, but 8 on the 5th. There were some birds at Giroux, and 4 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES at Embrun on the 5th. Small numbers of common species can be found at Almonte. Possibly 2 flocks of GRAY PARTRIDGE are in the Goulbourn area, one off Robert Grant and another near Terry Fox and Fernbank (both last seen on the 3rd). The first of the season BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was near Chelsea on the 30th, but was not relocated. 17 species of WARBLER have been seen this week, a very good tally. Although 3-5 species is typical for most trips, earlier in the month a few trips have produced 7-8 species, but singles of everything other than YELLOW-RUMPED is the norm. SPARROWS continue to be abundant, with WHITE-THROATED and SONG SPARROW being the most abundant. CLAY-COLOURED (extremely late) and VESPER SPARROW (late) near the Trail Road Landfill on the 2nd were some notable lingerers. Finally, there were quite a few other late sightings. · An extremely late BLACK TERN at Britannia the 2-3rd and again on the 6th, and at Plaisance on the 3rd; · COMMON TERN in the Britannia area on the 2nd-3rd. · An extremely late WHIP-POOR-WILL heard on Thomas Dolan on the 4th. · A TREE SWALLOW at Embrun on the 5th. · A GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER at Petrie Island on the 2nd; · Both PHILADELPHIA VIREO and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at Deschênes on the 6th. · Both SCARLET TANAGER and WOOD THRUSH on the 1st at the Mill of Kintail conservation area. *NOTE RE: ACCESS TO THE SHIRLEY’S BAY CAUSEWAY*. The OFNC has a signed agreement with DND and PWGSC that gives OFNC members limited access to this important birding area. You must call the Range Control Office (613-991-5740) before entering DND property, and you will be informed how far down the causeway you may go. For your safety, please respect their instructions, as the shooting patterns vary from day to day. 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 (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
