Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sightings@ofnc.ca July 6, 2017 There were no real highlights this week. Weather, especially on the weekend, was quite sodden until the 3rd, and as a result and combined with the holiday, there were not many birders out. The birding itself was as dull as dishwater. Young birds are becoming more apparent, and song volume has begun to diminish. Among the WATERBIRDS, a BUFFLEHEAD at Shirley’s bay on the 2nd was interesting, as was a lingering SNOW GOOSE on North Russell Road on the 3rd. Inland ponds such as at Embrun hosted local nesters like AMERICAN WIGEON and NORTHERN SHOVELER, along with an AMERICAN COOT. High water levels have done nothing for early SHOREBIRD returnees, although there was a LESSER YELLOWLEGS in Russel on the 3rd. Some sightings of less common/ more local species include: 1. UPLAND SANDPIPER on the 4th on Fallowfield near Conley. 2. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and MOURNING WARBLER on the 4th at Pine Grove Trail. 3. 2 CASPIAN TERNS at Britannia on the 2nd. 4. WINTER WREN at Stony Swamp on the 4th. 5. BLUE-HEADED VIREO, WINTER WREN and EASTERN TOWHEE at the South March Highlands Conservation Forest on the 3rd. 6. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO in Richmond on the 6th. Larger tracts of woods/ fields are giving 40-50 species per outing, which seems the best bet for birding now. The OFNC's Birds Committee no longer reports owl sightings on the Internet. We will continue to encourage the reporting of owls to sightings@ofnc.ca for the purpose of maintaining local records. 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.