Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club
Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec
Compiler: Greg Zbitnew at k_zbitn...@bell.net or sighti...@ofnc.ca
March 3, 2016
The highlight of the week was just outside the region, a GYRFALCON at the Laflèche Landfill east of Casselman on the 27-29th.
Aside from this, nothing exceptional was seen, just a few rather limited signs of spring in the bird world. Birding is still quite dull; any real change is at least a week away. Weather was a mixed bag with some mild temperatures, some cold temperatures and a significant snowfall on the 2nd. Overall, it is still very much winter in the Ottawa area.
Among the waterbirds, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER at Carleton University on the 3rd was the on-going over-wintering bird, while the AMERICAN WIGEON on the 26th -1st, and NORTHERN PINTAIL on the Ottawa River at Britannia on the 1st were some of the very limited signs of spring.
Among the more common GULLS, A few RING-BILLED GULLS have been seen, but so far not enough to call it a trend. 2 GRAY PARTRIDGE were in Kinburn on Feb. 27th but as last week this bird is not always seen. A NORTHERN FLICKER was on Rosebella on the 2nd.
2 male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS on Herzberg Road on the 2nd were probably migrants, while the COMMON GRACKLE in Barrhaven was over-wintering.
A FOX SPARROW was at a feeder in Metcalfe on Feb. 27th. 4 RED CROSSBILL in Marlborough Forest on Feb. 27th may be a sign of movement of this species. Finally, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR was in the Richmond area on the 27th.
The OFNC's Birds Committee no longer reports owl sightings on the Internet. We will continue to encourage the reporting of owls to sighti...@ofnc.ca for the purpose of maintaining local records.
Thanks to everyone who contributed bird observations.
Good birding.
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