[Ontbirds] Ottawa/Gatineau 16Jun08...Horned Grebe, Bald Eagle, Caspian Tern & others
Ontario Ottawa/Gatineau 16 June 2008 Birds mentioned: Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe HORNED GREBE American Bittern Common Moorhen SANDHILL CRANE BALD EAGLE PEREGRINE FALCON Upland Sandpiper CASPIAN TERN Black Tern Common Nighthawk Whip-poor-will RED-HEADED WOODPECKER Sedge Wren Marsh Wren Golden-winged Warbler Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the bird status line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Rare bird alerts are now included in the introductory message Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada Natinal Capital Region), E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis [EMAIL PROTECTED] THE OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE @ 6:30 pm, MONDAY JUNE 16, 2008. This is Chris Lewis reporting. A typically quiet week for this time of year, with summer-like weather and most reports involving common breeding species. Not so common was a CASPIAN TERN at the large quarry pond on Moodie Dr. south of Trail Rd. on the 11th. The disappearance of the tern at around 4:30 pm coincided with the arrival of another unexpected visitor - an immature BALD EAGLE. An unusual location for a Common Loon on the 12th was the Ottawa River between Remic rapids and the Champlain bridge; an out-of-place bird was also noted on the Rideau River at Mooney's Bay and near Shirley's Bay back on the 3rd and 4th. The breeding-plumaged HORNED GREBE was surprisingly still present at the Embrun lagoons as of the 12th, and a SANDHILL CRANE was heard calling in flight from the Mer Bleue boardwalk on the 16th. As of the 14th, reports from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Ottawa indicate that the 2 PEREGRINE FALCON hatchlings are alive and well. For more information, check out the Falcon Watch page on the OFNC web site at www.ofnc.ca An Upland Sandpiper and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER were noted again on their established territories in Constance Bay on the 11th. Other birds on territory in the Carp hills along the Thomas Dolan Parkway included Common Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will and Golden-winged Warbler, and Sedge Wrens were heard again in their breeding habitat along Torbolton Ridge Rd. near Woodlawn. Common Nighthawks were also heard on a couple of evenings last week in downtown Ottawa as well as the Lac Leamy Casino in Hull, Quebec. The Black Tern colony in the Marais aux Grenouillettes on the Quebec side of the river is once again thriving and very active this year. Also present in this area on the 15th were Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Common Moorhen, Marsh Wren, and a good variety of other common marsh, field and woodland species. Thank you - Good Birding! Chris Lewis Ottawa, ON [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds]Great Egret - Hamilton
A Great Egret was spotted this afternoon around 2:30 feeding in a borrow pond north of the QEW at the Burlington St. exit. If you don't see it there, it could be in any of the larger ponds south of Van Wagners Beach Rd and the QEW. Directions: >From QEW at Centennial Parkway, continue toward Toronto and exit at Burlington St. The pond is down and to your right as you traverse the exit. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds]W. MEADOWLARK S. of Palgrave
At 5:55 pm Sunday, the western meadowlark was singing from the power lines about 50 feet east of Brawton Drive. Directions from Paul Prior's Western Meadowlark report: > From downtown Toronto, head north to the end of Hwy 427, turn west on > Hwy 7 to Hwy 50, then head north, through Bolton and on toward the > village of Palgrave. A couple of miles past Albion Hills Conservation > Area, you'll come to Patterson Sideroad, turn west onto this road and > drive for perhaps 300 metres. Park alongside the meadow and hopefully > the bird will be singing loudly again, in the meadow to the south of > the road. This was opposite the entrance to Brawton Drive. Patterson Sideroad is south of Palgrave. Neil Macdougall ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds]Palgrave - Western Meadowlark and Golden-winged Warblers
Good day This morning Ian Cannell and I went up to Palgrave to see if we too could find the Western Meadowlark. The bird did not even give Ian time to stop the car on Patterson Sideroad at Brawton Drive as it sang right above us on the hydro wires at 5:35 am. We had great almost arms length looks at the bird as it sang loudly for us. We decided to walk further west along Patterson and as we walked along we counted 4 Grasshopper Sparrow and 6 Turkey Vultures glided low over the field to land together on an old fence. We also heard a Wild Turkey. All of these and several more common bird species were on the south side of Patterson Sideroad in an approx. 500 yard stretch of road. From here we continued west along Patterson to Duffys Lane and along Duffys we found Wood Duck, 3 singing Mourning Warblers as well as Pine, Nashville, Black-and-white, and Black-throated green Warblers and also Northern Waterthrush and Ovenbird, Great Crested and Alder Flycatchers, 3 Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. At Finnerty Sideroad north of Patterson Sideroad and west of Duffys Lane for about 350 yards or so we had great views of a male Golden-winged Warbler as it sang continuously. We also noted Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird, and Black-and white, Nashville,and Black-and-white Warblers, 2 more Purple Finches, Willow, Alder and Great Crested Flycatchers, and a singing Veery. We then went over to Gore Road, drove back down to Patterson Sideroad and headed east to Humber Station Road and at small lake on the south side of Patterson we found another two singing male Golden-winged Warblers and overhead a Cooper's Hawk. At Humber Station Road we headed south and near a pond at King Street we heard a Field Sparrow and Willow Flycatcher and overhead we spotted a Northern Goshawk motoring through carrying prey. Not a bad short outing. Directions:- Take Hwy 427 north to Claireville and then continue north on County Road 50 through to Palgrave and Patterson Sideroad. The bird is usually just a short distance west on Patterson across from either Westview Cres. or Brawton Dr. and if singing it is hard to miss. Be aware that if it is not singing there are several Eastern Meadowlarks in the same field(s). You can also take King Road from either Yonge Street north of Richmond Hill or Hwy 400 ( Exit 43 ) west to County Road 50 and then north to Palgrave. Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON "Sils mordent, mords les" ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
