Hi Everyone Today, November 25 I spent most of the morning birding Lake Deschenes-Ottawa River. It was a great morning and I observed 226 Red-throated Loons (counted them all!) in 4-5 flocks with a few singles too. At first the loons were resting but as the weather started to clear, a small number began to take flight and fly around between Britannia Pier and Deschenes Rapids before settling back on the lake. As the morning progressed the visibility improved and though distant you could see them well and they appeared to be all winter adults. Since the early 1980s I've encountered RTLO fallout/flights a number of times on Lake Deschenes, (1983-2010) between October 27 to November 23 with the largest fallout, 2000-3000 birds on November 12,1984. Today's fallout/flight is the latest date, the previous late date for a Red-throated Loon fallout/flight was on November 23,2010 when Tom Hanrahan and I observed a flock of 120+ on Lake Deschenes. The origin of these fallouts/flights is still somewhat of a mystery. Are they birds coming out of Hudson/James Bay due to a freeze up or from the St.Lawrence River? I'm sure weather plays an important role with the combination of low cloud ceiling, fog and precipitation.
Good birding, Bruce Directions: There are a number of vantage points along the south shoreline of Lake Deschenes/Ottawa River including Shirley's Bay Boat Launch, Dick Bell Park, and Britanna Pier. All accessible off Carling Ave. Bruce Di Labio P.O.Box 538 Carp,Ontario K0A 1L0 613-715-2571 Send Ottawa Citizen Bird Column Reports/photos to dilabiobird...@gmail.ca http://www.brucedilabio.blogspot.com _______________________________________________ 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
