Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 04 January 2011 Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the Bird Status Line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario,W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis hagen...@primus.ca, or sighti...@ofnc.ca
Weather-wise it was a mild and quiet end of the old year and beginning of the new. Bird-wise it was not much different, however reports of interest included the following: A couple of CANADA GEESE were still around on the 1st, on the Mississippi River in Pakenham and in the Bridlewood area of Kanata, a single LESSER SCAUP was at the east end of the Deschenes rapids on the 2nd, and at least 1 male BARROW'S GODLENEYE is being seen with some regularity on the Rideau River near Riverain Park along with a COMMON x BARROW'S hybrid that has been around for several weeks. A HOODED MERGANSER was also in this location on the 3rd. On the 28th, 3 adult BALD EAGLES and an immature GOLDEN EAGLE were found in Gatineau Park along the Eardley escarpment. An adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK put in another appearance at the Jack Pine trail in the Stony Swamp on the the 1st, and several PEREGRINE FALCON sightings came in on the 3rd - 2 were perched together on the R.H. Coats building in Tunney's Pasture (most likely the resident breeding pair), and a single adult was again seen in the area of Carling and Churchill Aves. A single ICELAND GULL was among a small number of HERRING and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the ice at the Moodie Dr. quarry pond on the 30th, and a GLAUCOUS GULL was a Richardson Side Rd. east of Carp Rd. on the 3rd. The Shirley's Bay and Mer Bleue areas each had a NORTHERN SHRIKE on the 30th, and small flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS continue to be seen in various locations. A male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was still near the bridge along the recreational path in Deschenes, Quebec as of the 2nd, and the male PINE WARBLER first reported back on November 27th is still surviving at a feeder on William McEwen Rd. south of Bankfield Rd. - it was most recently reported on the 1st. The fields along Renaud Rd. in the Ste-Rose area east of Casselman continued to host a large number of LAPLAND LONGSPURS with at least 100 seen here on the 31st along with 12 HORNED LARKS and 50 SNOW BUNTINGS, and approx. 500 SNOW BUNTINGS were seen near the Trail Rd. landfill on the 1st. On the 28th, 7 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were discovered along Eardley-Masham Rd. in Gatineau Park, and several reports of HOARY REDPOLLS have come in recently, from the Pakenham, Breckenridge, and Shirley's Bay areas, among small numbers of COMMON REDPOLLS. Thank you - Good Birding! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
