- RBA * Ontario * Ottawa/Gatineau * 17 December 2006 * ONOT0612.17 - Birds mentioned Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Snow Goose CACKLING GOOSE Wood Duck Mallard Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Black Scoter White-winged Scoter BARROW'S GOLDENEYE Red-breasted Merganser Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Great Horned Owl Snowy Owl Barred Owl BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER Northern Flicker American Crow Carolina Wren Winter Wren GREY CATBIRD Northern Mockingbird Bohemian Waxwing Cedar Waxwing BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER Northern Cardinal White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Red Crossbill Common Redpoll Pine Siskin - Transcript hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club date: 17 December 2006 number: 613-860-9000 for the status line : press 2 for rare bird alerts: press 1 to report a sighting: press # coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Can. Nat. Capital Reg.), E.Ont., W.Que. compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis hagenius@primus.ca internet: Gordon Pringle parula@magma.ca THE OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE @ 11:30 AM, MONDAY DECEMBER 18, 2006. This is Chris Lewis reporting. Ridiculously mild temperatures and the almost complete lack of ice on our local rivers and ponds made for some interesting birding this past week, including the 87th annual Ottawa-Gatineau Christmas Bird Count held yesterday Dec. 17th. Of the preliminary total of 81 species found, 2 were new for the count - CACKLING GOOSE and Gray Catbird - and record highs included Mallard, American Crow, Dark-eyed Junco and Northern Cardinal. Final results will be posted on the OFNC web site at www.ofnc.ca when they become available. Late water birds found during the week included Wood Duck, both Greater and Lesser Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, and both Horned and Red-necked Grebes, mainly on the Ottawa River from Britannia through Shirley's Bay. The male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was still present on the Rideau River near the Hwy 417 overpass as of at least the 12th, a large flock of Snow Geese numbering into the thousands was observed on the 17th along the 417 east of Ottawa at Km 51, and a very late Double-crested Cormorant was still on the Ottawa River opposite the Chaudiere Golf Course in Alymer, Quebec, on the 17th as well. Among the few raptors reported recently, highlights included Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, a total of 16 Cooper's Hawks, 7 Merlins and at least 2 Peregrine Falcons found in various sectors on the Christmas count. Two Great Horned Owls, 2 Barred Owls and 3 Snowy Owls were also found in a variety of locations in and around Ottawa over the past week, a male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was seen along the Kerwin Rd. trail west of Kanata on the 16th, and a late Northern Flicker was in Britannia sector on the 17th. Yet another Carolina Wren appeared in a backyard in the McKellar Park neighbourhood on the 12th, an extremely late Gray Catbird was seen along the Ottawa River Parkway near the Parkdale Ave. exit on the 17th, 2 Northern Mockingbirds were found in the Blossom Park neighbourhood the same day, and yet another extremely late lingerer - a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER - was in the Britannia woods near the White Pine stand on the 15th. Other noteworthy passerines included a Winter Wren in the Britannia sector on the 17th, 17 Bohemian Waxwings in the town of Russell the same day, 12 Cedar Waxwings at the Rockcliffe Rockeries on the 15th, a White-crowned Sparrow at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden on the 16th and 17th, and a smattering of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds in various locations. "Winter Finch" numbers continue to be very low, with only 9 Common Redpolls and 2 Pine Siskins found in the Quebec sectors on the Christmas count, a single Red Crossbill in the Ottawa Centre sector, and a small number of White-winged Crossbills at the Kerwin Rd. trail on the 16th. Thank you - Good Birding and a Happy Holiday Season to All! - End transcript