Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 23 September 2009 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 National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis hagen...@primus.ca
At 8:00am, Wednesday September 23, 2009 this is Chris Lewis reporting. Fall migration activity certainly stepped up in the past week! Shorebird habitat on the west side of the causeway at Shirley's Bay is now excellent and has kept several species happy including a MARBLED GODWIT discovered on the 17th and still present on the 22nd. A NELSON'S SPARROW (formerly "Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow") was also putting on a bit of shorebird act, popping in and out of the marsh along the mud flats on the 20th, and was still present until at least the morning of the 21st. Waterfowl at Shirley's Bay on the 21st and 22nd included several GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL and LESSER SCAUP along with a single GREATER SCAUP and a few HOODED MERGANSERS. Mud Lake in Britannia also hosted several AMERICAN WIGEON and at least 8 RING-NECKED DUCKS on the weekend. As usual the Moodie Drive quarry pond is a waterfowl magnet - the first GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE of the season and 6 SNOW GEESE were found here on the 19th and 21st. A CACKLING GOOSE was reported from this location on the 21st, and ducks since the 20th included the expected dabbling species as well as 5 REDHEAD and up to 35 RUDDY DUCKS. Back on the 15th, 6 SNOW GEESE were also seen along Old Montreal and Frank Kenny Rds., and on the 20th two COMMON GOLDENEYE were spotted on the Ottawa River off the Aylmer marina. Numerous PIED-BILLED GREBES were on the Moodie Dr. pond on the 21st and 2 GREAT EGRETS have apparently become fixtures at Shirley's Bay; they were still present on the 22nd. PLEASE NOTE that the Moodie Dr. pond is an active sand & gravel quarry on private property, and DO NOT cross the fence. ALSO please remember to obtain permission for access to the Shirley's Bay causeway by calling the Range Control Office at 613-991-5740. Other interesting non-passerines were an adult GOLDEN EAGLE soaring over the Eardley escarpment near Klock Rd. on the 20th, a pair of very vocal SANDHILL CRANES near Fallbrook south of Lanark on the 19th and 20th, and shorebirds of 12 species at Shirley's Bay from the 19th to the 22nd including 1 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, 3 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, several each of GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, the MARBLED GODWIT, 8 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 4 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 2 STILT SANDPIPERS and 1 WILSON'S SNIPE. The Moodie Dr. pond also hosted COMMON MOORHEN and AMERICAN COOT as well as a BONAPARTE'S GULL and 3 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the 21st. A congregation of over 25 BLUE-HEADED VIREOS was a nice observation at Deschenes, Quebec on the 19th, a late PHILADELPHIA VIREO was again reported from Shirley's Bay on the 20th, WINTER WRENS have begun to show up in local migrant traps, a MARSH WREN was rather late at Shirley's Bay on the 21st, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS are finally beginning to move through in numbers. The local warbler sightings were dominated by YELLOW-RUMPED'S, however at least 15 species continued to entertain us with their presence over the past week, and flocks of WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS were again widely reported. Thank you - Good Birding! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
