Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at [email protected]
April 13, 2017 Specific highlights this week were a ROSS’S GOOSE on the 9th on Frank Kenny, and several sightings of CANVASBACK, the most recent being on the 10 th from Britannia Pier. 4 TUNDRA SWANS were on Milton Road as late as the 13th, and 12 were in North Gower as late as the 13th. A more general highlight was that this week, spring was bustin’ out all over (with apologies to Oscar Hammerstein). There was a significant influx of birds, and a host of seasonal firsts including a number of very early ones. This week we had about 17 arrivals, and new ones are arriving daily. Generally above seasonal temperatures prevailed, and on the 9th we had the warmest day since October. As so often happens in Ottawa, we could get frostbite on one day and heatstroke the next. Shirley’s Bay (outer bay) was open by the 11th, and inland ponds are partly to mostly melted. Insect life is appearing and snow is generally gone except for small amounts in the sheltered areas, so arriving passerines can find food. WATERBIRD variety and quantity has shot up. One thing missing, however, is that the monstrous flocks of SNOW GEESE have not yet been seen. Flooding near Bourget peaked probably about the 8th, but so far the largest flock was a relatively paltry 10-15,000 there on the 13th. BLUE-WINGED TEAL arrived on Milton Road on the 9th, with NORTHERN PINTAIL by the 100s there the 8th-9th. For those who fancy such things, there was a GREEN-WINGED TEAL (intergrade with Eurasian form) there on the 9th. Flooding has subsided quite a bit since then and there are fewer ducks. The now open Moodie Drive pond had quite a good variety of DUCKS on the 12th including up to 2 REDHEAD as late as the 13th. COMMON LOON arrived on the Ottawa River on the 10th, and a HORNED GREBE was in Deschênes on the 12th. GREAT EGRETS arrived on the 8th in Kanata and may easily be seen at their colony on Conroy Island in the Deschênes Rapids. BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were also seen on the 8th in Britannia. BROAD-WINGED HAWK arrived this week and there have been multiple reports. GREATER YELLOWLEGS was at the Britannia Pier on the 11th. On the 12th there were 6 species of GULL at the Trail Road Landfill, including GLAUCOUS and ICELAND. 3 more species of SWALLOWS arrived this week. NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW was in Carleton Place on the 11th, and on the same day a very early CLIFF SWALLOW was at Britannia. BARN SWALLOW has been seen in multiple spots since the 10th when one was seen in Gatineau Park. The first WARBLERS arrived this week, with much rejoicing. PINE WARBLER was in multiple spots starting with 8th, PALM WARBLER was near Chelsea on the 10th, and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was in Aylmer on the 10th. Only 22 WARBLER species have yet to arrive! New arrivals in the SPARROW department are FIELD, VESPER, and SAVANNAH. Finally, other Firsts of the season are RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and WINTER WREN, both now being seen in multiple locations, and the most recent one, BROWN THRASHER, seen in Kanata on the 13th. 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
