Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca September 8, 2016 The highlight of the week was a CONNECTICUT WARBLER found at Britannia on the 3rd. Unfortunately, and predictably, this elusive bird was not relocated. Weather was again mostly above seasonal temperatures with limited rain. A wind shift may have contributed to an excellent variety and number of birds, especially WARBLERS, on the 3rd, but this seemed to drop steadily through the week with persistent southerly winds. Again this week, WATERBIRDS and SHOREBIRDS were in limited supply, the latter despite a reasonable amount of habitat. Some types of birds, most notably SWALLOWS, are rapidly and quietly disappearing. There is a reasonable variety of mostly PUDDLE DUCKS in places like Shirley’s Bay, the Moodie Drive ponds, and the inland lagoons, but nothing that unusual. There have been a few sightings of early SNOW GEESE, but that is it. SHOREBIRDS were in reasonable numbers only at Shirley’s Bay, where there were 70 birds of 11 species on the 7th, including STILT SANDPIPER, SANDERLING and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER. Other notable sightings: 1. The first AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER of the season was in Carp on the 5th. 2. A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was at Embrun on the 5th. 3. RUDDY TURNSTONE was at parc Brébeuf on the 5th. 4. BAIRD’S and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER were at Embrun on the 6th. Altogether there were 2- species of SHOREBIRD in the region this week. SWALLOWS are rapidly disappearing. The last was a BARN SWALLOW in the west end on the 3rd. The latest sighting of OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was in Britannia on the 4th, and there were regular sightings of YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. All 5 VIREOS were seen, notably YELLOW-THROATED VIREO in Larose Forest and near the Champlain Street Marsh in Orleans. 25 species of WARBLER were seen this week. The best day was the 3rd, when nearly 20 species were seen in Britannia, but numbers and variety dwindled through the rest of the week. A few other notable sightings: 1. 5 AMERICAN PIPIT on Upper Dwyer Hill Road on the 5th. 2. BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO IN Britannia on the 1st. 3. INDIGO BUNTING IN Russell on the 3rd. 4. EASTERN TOWHEE in Richmond on the 3rd. Finally, there was a bit of FINCH activity. RED CROSSBILL were heard in Larose Forest on the 5th and on Greenbelt Trail 10 on the 6th. An EVENING GROSBEAK was in Constance Bay on the 3rd, and there were 2 sightings of PINE SISKIN. Note re: Access to the Shirley’s Bay causeway. The OFNC has a signed agreement with DND and PWGS 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. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone. _______________________________________________ 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
