Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca
May 4, 2017 The highlight of the week was a male WESTERN TANAGER, unfortunately seen only at a feeder in an undisclosed location on private property. There were 2 other scarcer birds seen: a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD near Billings Bridge on the 29-30th, and a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER banded at Innis Point on the 27th. For the most part, the highlight was not a specific bird, but an unusual number of early and in some cases very early arrivals, as a result of the few days of warm weather and favourable winds on the 27-29th. There were 37 arrivals this week. Although we will not see this many new arrivals in a week until next year, the volume of birds is still 2 weeks from the peak. Most of these recent arrivals are not yet widespread. The latter part of the week had generally below seasonal temperatures and was fairly rainy; the 1st in particular was quite sodden. The Ottawa River rose again even higher, cutting off access to Petrie Island and the Shirley’s bay causeway. Migration perked up a bit on the 2nd, thanks to favorable winds. Unfortunately, more rainy and cool weather is on tap for several days. There were a few notable fly-bys at Innis Point: BRANT on the 29th and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER on the 2nd and the 4th. The HARLEQUIN DUCK was, surprising, still on the Rideau River on the 1st, just north of Rideau St. The best place for WATERBIRDS lately is Plaisance and vicinity. This week, 3 species of GREBE and 21 species of DUCK have been seen in the region. The rest of the report is largely a listing of new arrivals. Due to the large number, in the case of the common birds, the specific location of the first arrival will not be mentioned, since they are or soon will be almost everywhere. The best places for PASSERINES this week have been Britannia, Pine Grove Trail, and Maple Hill Park. On the 27th, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, AMERICAN PIPIT, but the most unusual early sighting was a record early ALDER FLYCATCHER, seen and heard at Dow’s Lake. On the 28th, GREEN HERON, LEAST FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, WOOD THRUSH, RED-EYED VIREO, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER. On the 29th, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, COMMON TERN, GRAY CATBIRD, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, LINCOLN’S SPARROW, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (Burnt Lands PP). On the 30th, CHIMNEY SWIFT, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. On the 2nd, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, AMERICAN REDSTART, OVENBIRD, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER (at Britannia), BOBOLINK, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, INDIGO BUNTING, VEERY, BALTIMORE ORIOLE. On the 4th, CASPIAN TERN. There have now been 19 species of WARBLERS seen in the region, a lot so early in the year, and on some of the better trips 8 species have been seen. Finally, 2 GRAY PARTRIDGE were seen near the Giroux Road ponds, a hopeful sign that there are still numbers of this declining species around. 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
