Ontario/Quebec Ottawa/Gatineau 23 November 2010 Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 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: Chris Lewis hagenius@primus.ca, or sightings@ofnc.ca Nov. 23 2010 this is Chris Lewis reporting. 'Tis the season when birding begins to quiet down a bit, but good things continue to be found! An adult ROSS'S GOOSE discovered on the 21st in a field on the Agriculture Canada Animal Research property at Greenbank and Fallowfield Rd. was still present among the 100's of CANADA GEESE on the 22nd. Flocks of SNOW GEESE in the St-Isidore area on the 18th totalled approx. 9,000 birds and smaller numbers were also reported elsewhere last week. Ducks of the week included 2 male CANVASBACKS on the Ottawa River (seen on the Deschenes rapids and later at Dick Bell Park on the 20th), a few GREATER SCAUP and BUFFLEHEAD and again many LESSER SCAUP and COMMON GOLDENEYE on the Ottawa River, at least 1 male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on the Rideau River off Riverain Park, and 8 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS hanging around the Dick Bell marina. A few COMMON LOONS, HORNED GREBES and GREAT BLUE HERONS are still around. Single BALD EAGLES and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were seen in the Shirley's Bay and Eardley-Masham areas on the 21st, and a PEREGRINE FALCON was in the Britannia area the same day. Good numbers of SANDHILL CRANES were still in the fields along Smith Rd. southwest of Navan on the 20th, though they were too distant to get a proper count. Great birds on the Quebec side included a male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER that continues to visit a feeder on Chemin Fer-a-Cheval in the Masson -Angers area as of at least the 20th, a GRAY JAY found on Cook Rd. between Perry and Terry Fox Rds. northwest of Aylmer on the 20th, and on the 21st a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE seen along a trail off Pilon Rd. along the southern edge of Gatineau Park in the Luskville area. BOHEMIAN WAXWING reports again came from widespread locations including Carleton Place on the 17th and the Rothwell Heights neighbourhood of Ottawa where flocks of over 200 birds were seen from the 17th to the 19th. The only "winter finches" reported this week were found along the Earley-Masham Rd. in Gatineau Park - 25 COMMON REDPOLLS near Ramsay Lake on the 19th and a handful of PINE SISKINS along trail #56 on the 21st. Thank you - Good Birding!