Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at [email protected]
April 11, 2019 A mega-rarity was found on the flooded Bear Brook east of Frank Kenny-a PINK FOOTED GOOSE. First found on the 10th (thanks to Vincent Fyson), this was a first record for the 50K count circle, and being an Ontario rarity as well, it has resulted in a small migration of southern BIRDERS. It was found again at the same spot on the 11th. This would have been sufficient, but a ROSS’S GOOSE was also found on the 8th (on Trim originally but since then it moved to Milton), and last seen on the 10th. Both GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE as well as TUNDRA SWANS were seen from Milton as late as the 11th. A few days with slightly above seasonal temperatures were sandwiched between two snow storms and freezing rain, making SONGBIRD migration rather erratic. There is some hope of a more steady stream next week with better weather. The significant flooding in the east has been the main focus this week. 20,000 SNOW GEESE were at the Cobb Lake Creek flood plain east of Bourget, with lesser numbers in the following days. Much larger flocks were seen closer to the St. Lawrence last week, and they were moving around the area during the week. 10,000 SNOW GEESE were on Milton Road on the 11th, and one estimate of CANADA GEESE there on the 10th was 100,000. 25,000+ were there on the 11th. Oddly, there are very few DUCKS here or farther east. There was also a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE on John Shaw road near Carp. Britannia/ Deschênes near the western edge of the ice was a bit of a hot spot for WATERBIRDS this week with both HORNED and RED-NECKED GREBES, and 11 species of DUCK on the 7th. If the weather forecast holds, the rivers may clear by next week. Despite the somewhat erratic progress of migration, there have been a number of arrivals for the year other than those mentioned above: 1. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER at Britannia on the 4th. 2. TREE SWALLOW at Britannia on the 4th. 3. AMERICAN PIPIT on Giroux Road on the 5th. 4. BROWN THRASHER at a feeder in Gatineau on the 6th. 5. NORTHERN SHOVELER on Frank Kenny on the 7th. 6. COMMON LOON at Britannia on the 8th. 7. GREAT EGRET at their nesting colony in Deschenes and in Kanata on the 8th. 8. OSPREY on Cambrian Road on the 10th. Some other notable sightings included: · GOLDEN EAGLE on Milton Road on the 5th. · RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in the Kitchissippi Woods on the 6th. · CAROLINA WREN (singing) in the Alta Vista area on the 7th · HOARY REDPOLLS at feeders in Carleton Place, Kanata and Constance bay. 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
