Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca
March 23, 2017 For the third week in a row, there were no real highlights. Temperatures improved considerably, but remained below to slightly above seasonal with another cold snap on the 22nd. As a result, spring migration has made minimal progress. As last week, nothing has pushed up, and we have been looking at the same mix of residents, lingerers, and very early migrants as in the previous few weeks. 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were in Almonte on the 22nd, but moved to Carleton Place on the 23rd. They would be easy to miss among thousands of CANADA GEESE spread out over 1 Km of the river. 2 TRUMPETER SWANS were in Carleton place on the 21st. 6 species of GULLS were in the region this week, including a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the 21st at the Moodie Drive Quarry. Numbers were not large, though. A GREAT BLUE HERON on Hope Side Road on the 19th was the first sighting in weeks, obviously because of the generally frozen conditions. A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen from the Gatineau Escarpment on the 19th, but Greenland Road is now the best spot for HAWKS. The first RED-SHOULDERED HAWK of the year was there on the 19th, and GOLDEN EAGLES were seen a few times this week with NORTHERN GOSHAWK and other more common species. A TURKEY VULTURE was in Kanata South on the 19th, but these are still not around in any numbers. 1 GRAY PARTRIDGE was in the Cope Drive area on the 20th. The TUFTED TITMOUSE is still near Quyon as of the 19th. A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was on Giroux Road on the 18th, but not relocated the next day. Finally, there have been a few scattered sightings of PINE SISKIN, but only a single one of EVENING GROSBEAKS in the Northwest. 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
