October 17, 2019 Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sightings@ofnc.ca There were 2 highlights this week. A EURASIAN WIGEON was seen at Shirley’s bay on the 11th but not since. On the 17th, 6 HUDSONIAN GODWITS (first of the year) were seen in the rapids from the western edge of Britannia ridge. *Note: The next eBird sponsored “Global Big Day” is on the 19th, so don’t forget to go birding that day!* Temperatures were seasonal to above, and dry until a major rainstorm on the 16-17th. It was exceedingly quiet for the season almost everywhere. Most areas seemed drained of birds and this was so among most groups of birds, with even expected fall birds here in low numbers. Only a handful of SNOW GEESE have made it to the region, although 1000s are being seen at the sod farms east of Casselman. Although the WATERFOWL peak has not arrived, surprisingly there were fewer DUCKS this week compared to last week. 20 species of DUCK and 2 species of GREBE were all that were seen. 180 birds of 7 species were at Baie Noire on the 10th, and nearly 600 birds of 14 species were at Shirley’s Bay on the 15th, all of them expected. AMERICAN WIGEON were present in unusual numbers at Shirley’s Bay. SURF SCOTERS were last reported on the 11th, and BLACK SCOTERS on the 17th, both west of Dick Bell Park. A REDHEAD was at the Moodie Drive Ponds on the 15th. 2 TRUMPETER SWANS were on Heaphy Road (in the southwest) on the 11th. SANDHILL CRANES are here in their usual spot in the Milton-Frank Kenny area. A GOLDEN EAGLE was on Donnelly Drive on the 15th. 13 species of SHOREBIRD were seen this week, but sightings were scattered and no more that 15-20 birds were at any one spot. Habitat still remains good from Britannia to Constance Bay as of the 15th. Less common were an AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER at Andrew Haydon Park east on the 14th and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER at Lac McGregor on the 15th. Other notable species included: 1. A NORTHERN SHRIKE was on Heaphy Road (Southwest) on the 11th. 2. A CAROLINA WREN was in Kanata on the 12th and at Petrie Island on the 15th 3. A MARSH WREN was in Almonte on the 11th and at Shirley’s Bay on the 12th. 4. A NELSON’S SPARROW was in Constance bay on the 12th. Finally, only 6 species of WARBLER were seen this week, and it is now tough to find anything but YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. Notable were an AMERICAN REDSTART on the Lime Kiln Trail on the 16th and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in Almonte on the 15th. *Reminder regarding access to the Shirley’s Bay Causeway:* DND has advised extra caution as the causeway is in rough shape. They have also requested that if any garbage can be removed it would be appreciated. To access this site, you must be on the access list, and 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 sent to DND this spring and will be updated occasionally. To get on the next access list, please contact membership@ofnc.ca. 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.