Spent the day birding in the Ottawa to see if I could get a winter list off to a good start (and after yesterday's snow and freezing rain it certainly seemed like winter!) With the River and larger bodies of water still open, there were still good numbers of waterfowl around. Highlights included: - Common Loon (1), Black Scoter (2), White-winged Scoter (8), and Bald Eagle (2 adults) at Shirley's Bay. Also a Pine Grosbeak flew over the boat launch parking lot, calling - the previously reported male Harlequin Duck in the Deschenes Rapids (thanks to Langis Sirois and Paul Matthews for pointing out this bird) - late Bonaparte Gulls (4) and Green-winged Teal (4) as well as a female Canvasback (this species is rare in Ottawa) at the Embrun Sewage Lagoons - an enormous flock of Snow Geese in the fields east of the St. Albert Sewage Lagoons. Unfortunately it was flushed by a passing truck and flew off to the southwest, but I would estimate that it numbered 800 to 1,000 birds - by far the largest flock I've seen in the Ottawa area (and Ontario for that matter). All that I could see as they flew were white phase. Directions (courtesy of Larry Neilly's Birding Ottawa page) Shirley's Bay http://ca.geocities.com/larry.neily@rogers.com/orwo22.htm Deschenes Rapids http://ca.geocities.com/larry.neily@rogers.com/orwo11.htm Embrun Sewage Lagoons http://ca.geocities.com/larry.neily@rogers.com/sewage5.htm St. Albert Sewage Lagoons http://ca.geocities.com/larry.neily@rogers.com/sewage6.htm