Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Gregory Zbitnew at sightings@ofnc.ca May 30, 2019 Some excellent birds highlighted the week. The top one was a male PRAIRIE WARBLER, found on Thomas Dolan near Carp Road. It was seen and was singing continually from the 24th to at least the 27th. Next was a breeding plumage CATTLE EGRET, seen briefly at St. Albert on the 28th. The third best was a WHIMBREL, seen at the Moodie drive ponds on the 26-27th, one of very few of this species that stayed nearly a whole day. Tied for 3rd place may have been YELLOW RAIL, rediscovered in the Richmond Fen after an absence of many years. It was heard on the 24-27th. The peak of SONGBIRD migration was probably the weekend of the 24-26th. Weather has been variable and unsettled, and with the general slowness of the season stragglers will probably be coming through for 1-2 weeks. SHOREBIRD migration will probably peak this weekend if it has not already done so. There are few WATERBIRDS around, as expected. A RED-THROATED LOON at Constance Bay on the 27th, however, was new for the year. This is the season for the late ones, such as the modest flocks of BRANT that have been seen flying along the river corridors. So keep watching the rivers. Notable this week were: 1. 2 TRUMPETER SWANS near Dunrobin on the 24-26th, and 2 near Almonte on the 29th. 2. A late LONG-TAILED DUCK near Cantley on the 27th. 3. One lingering SNOW GOOSE at the Giroux road pond on the 24-25th. 4. 13 LONG-TAILED DUCKS and 85 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS in THE Deschenes rapids on the 24th. There have been no great concentrations of SHOREBIRDS this week. Holland’s Marsh has had a few included a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. A rest stop overlooking Baie Noire had modest numbers of mostly common SHOREBIRDS plus SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS on the 26-27th, and on the 26th a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and 2 WHIMBRELS flying by. There were only modest numbers at St Albert (but this included a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE on the 29th) and Embrun. 5 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were at Marais aux grenouillettes on the 30th. A WILSON’S PHALAROPE was at the Carp River Watershed Restoration Area on the 28th. A RUDDY TURNSTONE was at Britannia on the 26-28th, 25 at the Moodie Drive Ponds on the 26th, and 7 on Lake Madawaska on the 26th. The Moodie Drive ponds had BLACK TERN, CASPIAN TERN, and COMMON TERN on the 30th, but not all at the same time. A late ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was in Dunrobin on the 25th, and a GOLDEN EAGLE was reported in Gatineau Park on the 25th. A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was in Gatineau Park on the 24th, and a LEAST BITTERN was at the Richmond CA on the 27th. There have been scattered sightings of both OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER this week but there were no consistent spots. A YELLOW-THROATED VIREO was at Britannia on the 30th, and SEDGE WREN was in the Richmond Fen. A BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER was near Britannia Beach on the 28 th, and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was at Britannia on the 25th and near Pinecrest on the 26th. 21 species of WARBLER were in Britannia on the 24th, and likely 26 were in the region that day including the rarity mentioned above. 2 GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS that day on Thomas Dolan are likely there for the season. Some late sightings inlcuded: 1. A RUSTY BLACKBIRD on Dolman Ridge Road on the 26th. 2. A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW at Stony Swamp on the 27th. 3. A RUBY-CROWNED KINGET near Lemieux Island on the 28th and in Gatineau Park on the 29th. *Reminders concerning the flooding:* *Due to flooding, DND has removed access to **the Shirley’s Bay Causeway** until it is safe again. Updates will be announced when they are available. * *and* *Cassels Street is reported to be open for traffic so it seems that most or all of Britannia is accessible. * 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.