Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca
November 8, 2018 The bird of the week was a KING EIDER, probably a second winter male, seen from the Boat launch at Shirley’s Bay. It gave distant but clear views most of the afternoon of the 4th. Meanwhile, last week’s star, the WHITE-EYED VIREO, continued at the north end of Champlain St. in Orleans until the morning of the 4th, and then again on the 6th and 7th. In third place was the first PURPLE SANDPIPER of the year, seen at Britannia Pier on the 3rd, but not relocated. The weather was mostly cool, windy and rainy with a few sunny days-not enough to have a dramatic effect on birding. That may come with snow and cold temperatures predicted for next week, which will likely start to freeze the ponds and marshes. For now we just had a steady decline in numbers of species across the board, with the exception of DUCKS and GULLS. 25 species of DUCK were seen this week, perhaps our highest diversity of the year, but at most a few hundred were seen at any given location. Shirley’s Bay to Andrew Haydon Park still has excellent variety. BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continues at Hurdman as of the 7th, while the CANVASBACK continues at Moodie Drive as of the 7th. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was at Emerald Meadows on the 1st, and an AMERICAN COOT was at Shirley’s Bay on the 8th. 8 RED-THROATED LOONS were off Britannia Pier on the 6th, with scattered reports elsewhere. A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was at Emerald Meadows on the 3rd. Virtually all the SHOREBIRDS are getting scarce. Only 1-3 birds of any kind are seen in any spot. A SEMIPLAMATED PLOVER was at Shirley’s Bay on the 3rd, and another at the Giroux ponds on the 4-5th were unusually late. This latter spot had DUNLIN on the 4th, and PECTORAL SANDPIPER on the 3rd. Shirley’s bay had a late SPOTTED SANDPIPER ON THE 3rd, a WILSON’S SNIPE was near Luskville on the 6th, and a KILLDEER was in the St. Laurent area on the 4th. A late OSPREY was at Baie Mcaurin on the 4th, while GOLDEN EAGLES were seen in Orleans on the 4th and over the Giroux ponds on the 5th. The RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was still at Shirley’s bay on the 8th. Some other interesting lingering birds were: 1. A GRAY CATBIRD at Shirley’s Bay (Lois Lane) on the 6th. 2. An EASTERN PHOEBE at the Giroux Road ponds on the 7th. 3. An EASTERN MEADOWLARK at Remic Rapids on the 6th. 4. A NORTHERN PARULA in Almonte on the 4th. 5. A PALM WARBLER at Britannia Park on the 4th. 6. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERD at Ferme Moore on the 3rd, Britannia Park on the 4th and Britannia Ridge on the 7th. 7. A HERMIT THRUSH at Britannia on the 7th. There were some further developments in the WINTER FINCHES. EVENING GROSBEAK has been seen in multiple spots all over the region. There have been fewer sightings of PINE GROSBEAK and RED CROSSBILL and nothing dependable, but good spots have been Pine Grove and Stony Swamp in the greenbelt. 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. *Reminder regarding access to the Shirley’s Bay Causeway:* DND has amended our access procedure. You must call Range Control (613-991-5740) for permission, state that you are an OFNC member and give your name. Finally, you must call again when you have left the area. DND would also like to be informed if you see anyone on the property who should not be there, such as boats in the bay or people fishing on the causeway. They are trespassing and DND will deal with the situation. The OFNC has provided DND with a list of OFNC members who HAVE SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED access. DND will check, so make sure that your membership is up to date and that you have requested that the OFNC put you on the access list. This list was updated recently. To get on the next access list, please contact members...@ofnc.ca. Good birding. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
