Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 26 September 2013 Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club (OFNC) Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the Bird Status Line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber Bob Cermak robertcermak9@hotmail.com or sightings@ofnc.ca SABINE'S GULL (1 adult breeding) was found at the base (east) of the Ottawa River Deschenes rapids at 5:45 pm on the 22nd. Best seen from Britannia Point (east end of Cassels St) it has been present every day including today. Adult SABINE'S GULL are rare inland in the fall in eastern Ontario. To date there have been about 4 sightings while there have been about 45 sightings of juveniles including two that were at Lake Dore (with PARASITIC (1 juv) and LONG-TAILED (1 juv) JAEGER) on the 21st. A LITTLE GULL (1 adult nonbreeding) was present with those two JAEGER at Lake Dore on the 22nd. ROSS'S GOOSE (1 adult) was found with CANADA GOOSE (many) on the grass near the baseball diamond on the south side of Carling Ave west of Moodie Dr on the 23rd. NELSON'S SPARROW continue to be seen in the wetland near the mouth of Constance Creek at the Ottawa River in Constance Bay east of the east end of Allbirch Rd. BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER were seen in the Britannia Conservation Area (BCA) woods (1 female) on the 18th and 19th, flying over the Shirley's Bay boat launch parking area on the 18th (1 female), at Rockcliffe Park (1 female) "Pine Hill" (east of the Rockcliffe Pkwy traffic circle) and at the same location today 1 female seen and another calling nearby. CONNECTICUT WARBLER (1st winter) was reported near Breckenridge Quebec at the east end of Chemin de la Sapiniere in the bushes at the edge of the Ottawa River on the 19th. Arriving in our area are increasing numbers of CANADA GEESE, small numbers of CACKLING GEESE (single birds and 8 at the Bruce Pit on the 22nd), a few SNOW GEESE, increasing numbers of WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (10 at the Bruce Pit on the 24th), RUBY-CROWNED and GOLDEN KINGLET, HORNED and RED-NECKED GREBE, COMMON GOLDENEYE and LESSER SCAUP. Small numbers of SWAINSON'S and a few GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH continue to be heard overhead some evenings. A very late WOOD THRUSH was heard after dusk in the woods along the trail into the Shirley's Bay dyke on the 25th. Shorebirds (PECTORAL, SEMIPALMATED, LEAST, WHITE-RUMPED (1 at Shirley's Bay) SANDPIPER, LESSER and a few GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER) continue in small numbers mostly on the mud flats at Shirley's Bay and the Almonte lagoons. A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (juv) was at the Russell lagoons on the 19th and 20th. AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER (1) was at Ottawa Beach on the 23rd and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (2 juv) at Shirley's Bay on the 22nd. Warblers (AMERICAN REDSTART, PALM, PINE, TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, CAPE MAY, BLACK-AND-WHITE, BLACKPOLL, NORTHERN PARULA, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, COMMON YELLOWTHOAT, a few late YELLOW and many YELLOW-RUMPED) and vireos (WARBLING , RED-EYED and a PHILADELPHIA at the BCA on the 26th) continue to be found at numerous locations in small numbers. CANADA WARBLER (1) was found at the BCA on the 20th. Interesting sightings: - SANDHILL CRANE (15) flew over Navan on the 23rd - LEAST BITTERN (1st winter) on the interior pond at Andrew Haydon Park on the 21st - LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (2) at the Russell dump on the 20th and (1) at the Moodie ponds on the 23rd Thank you to everyone who contributed bird observations!