Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sighti...@ofnc.ca
September 27, 2018 There were no birding highlights this week. Summer ended with a bang, literally, with 2 tornadoes on the 21st as a major cold front passed through the region. Unfortunately, the weather change has not benefited man or beast. The much cooler, damp and often dreary weather has not ushered in anything out of the ordinary yet. While there is still a reasonable variety of birds around, it is dropping and the mix is changing quite rapidly. Skeins of CANADA GEESE are being seen almost everywhere now, but the numbers are still modest. There were continued scattered sightings of SNOW GEESE, but the 18 BRANT in the Deschênes Rapids on the 25th were early. Numbers of WATERBIRDS are rising very slowly, with RING-NECKED DUCKS and LESSER SCAUP being the most common overall. The most recent trip to Baie Noire had about 130 DUCKS of 9 species, AMERICAN WIGEON being the most common. There have been few recent visits to Shirley’s Bay, and the most recent one on the 27th did not show any buildup of DIVING DUCKS. Still, there was the first SURF SCOTER of the season at Shirley’s bay on the 23rd. Poor SHOREBIRD habitat continues on the river. The best spot remains EMBRUN. There were 56 SHOREBIRDS of 9 species there on the 22nd, including 2 BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS. 13 birds of 5 species were at the water treatment plant in Masson on the 23rd. A few were in Constance Bay, and there were 12 birds of 5 species at the Giroux Road ponds. Aside from this, a few SHOREBIRDS seem to be scattered at random in many tiny bits of habitat. HORNED LARKS and AMERICAN PIPITS were at the Central Experimental Farm (between Merivale and Prince of Wales) on the 22nd. In the same area that day there were 25 (probably) AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS. There have been some late large SWALLOW sightings. There were 20 TREE SWALLOWS at Baie Noire on the 22nd, and 150 in Russell on the 24th. On the 27th in Crysler, there were 15 BANK, 1 BARN and 2 CLIFF SWALLOWS. A YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was in Aylmer on the 23rd. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was at Masson on the 21st. A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was at Dick Bell Park on the 21st. A few SONGBIRDS are becoming more common, such as RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and BLUE-HEADED VIREO. SPARROW numbers are high, with a major influx of WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS. A late GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was on Upper Dwyer Hill Road on the 27th. The CAROLINA WREN continued in Britannia as of the 24th. The first RUSTY BLACKBIRDS sightings of the season started the 23rd. While there were 22 species of WARBLER seen this week, Overall numbers and variety is decreasing, with the exception that there are hordes of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS in Britannia, as usual. WARBLER tallies in the better areas are now less than 10. A Late YELLOW WARBLER was in Russell on the 22nd. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, as usual, just has had scattered reports and is usually not relocated. Next week will probably be the last for any significant WARBLER variety. 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. *Reminder regarding access to the Shirley’s Bay Causeway:* DND has amended our access procedure. You must call Range Control (613-991-5740) for permission, state that you are an OFNC member and give your name. Finally, you must call again when you have left the area. DND would also like to be informed if you see anyone on the property who should not be there, such as boats in the bay or people fishing on the causeway. They are trespassing and DND will deal with the situation. The OFNC has provided DND with a list of OFNC members who HAVE SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED access. DND will check, so make sure that your membership is up to date and that you have requested that the OFNC put you on the access list. This list was updated recently. To get on the next access list, please contact members...@ofnc.ca. 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
