Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca The bird of the week was a possible BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD at Constance Bay on the 24th to the 27th. Mostly it was the expected birds that were seen with a few interesting lingerers . Weather turned sharply cooler this week, with below seasonal temperatures and even a bit of snow. The weekend was mostly rainy and very windy, which considerably hampered birding activity. WATERBIRDS are still around in considerably numbers. Shirley’s Bay and Plaisance continue to be the best places in the region. Plaisance had about 300 PUDDLE DUCKS of 6 species, with AMERICAN WIGEON and NORTHERN SHOVELER being the most common. Shirley’s bay had close to 1000 LESSER SCAUP and over 100 GREEN-WINGED TEAL. Less common were all three SCOTERS, LONG-TAILED DUCK, RED-THROATED LOON (sometimes) and AMERICAN COOT (sometimes). There are still a few sightings of BLUE-WINGED TEAL here and there. A special note that, although just outside the area, up to 60,000 SNOW GEESE have been seen east of Casselman. An AMERICAN BITTERN at Plaisance on the 24th was late, as were A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON at Britannia on the 25th. GREAT EGRETS were at Shirley’s bay until the 23rd. SHOREBIRDS were in their usual places like Almonte and Shirley’s bay but only about 6 species, all expected, were seen this week. SANDHILL CRANES are still around in numbers in the Navan/ Frank Kenny area. It was a good week for HAWKS when the howling winds and rain let up. GOLDEN EAGLES were seen a number of times in the Dunrobin area, and a NORTHERN GOSHAWK was at Shirley’s Bay on the 25th. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are becoming more regular. A late OSPREY was at Pinhey’s Point on the 23rd. 12 GRAY PARTIDGE wee seen in Goulbourn on the 23rd. This flock is hard to find but likely will be around all winter. A HOUSE WREN at Shirley’s bay on the 23rd was quite late. Interesting but not exceptional were CAROLINA WRENS in Carlington and Alta Vista. Likewise, 6 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in Richmond were a bit late but not exceptional. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS are still around but in small numbers. SNOW BUNTING numbers are building up. PINE SISKIN were in Gatineau on the 26th, 12 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were at Britannia on the 23rd, while EVENING GROSBEAK were seen in Pakenham (a flock of 13) and 1 in Constance Bay on the 26th. 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 sighti...@ofnc.ca 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 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
