Season's Greetings Ontbirds people,
The Ottawa-Gatineau CBC was held Dec. 15. Weather conditions were
surprisingly mild & pleasant, with temperatures of approx. + 3 C., minimal
wind, generally overcast skies and excellent viewing conditions. Snow
flurries began mid-afternoon, just in time to call it quits and head for
the compilation & excellent pot-luck dinner provided once again by the Club
des Ornithologues de l'Outaouais.
TOTAL SPP: 72 (not spectacular, but not bad considering we didn't have
great expectations based on the recent lack of species diversity in the
Ottawa-Gatineau area. For comparison, 82 spp. were counted in 2001 and 72
in 2000).
HIGHLIGHTS: Harlequin Duck (1 female - same bird, same location as the
previous 3 winters), Barrow's Goldeneye (3), Lesser Black-backed Gull (3),
American Crow & American Robin (record high #'s - see below), Carolina Wren
(2 - NOT including the additional 2 found outside the count circle on Dec.
13 & 14), White-winged Crossbill (15 - Aylmer sector, Quebec side).
RECORD HIGHS: Great Blue Heron (2), Bufflehead (9), Sharp-shinned Hawk
(16), Cooper's Hawk (12), Peregrine Falcon (3 - possible overlap), Lesser
Black-backed Gull (3), American Crow (8,686 - wow!), American Robin
(199), European Starling (7212 - rats!)*, Dark-eyed Junco (255)...*NOTE -
record high counts of the same species were found on our Fall Bird Count
Oct. 19-20, 2002.
RECORD LOWS: Northern Goshawk (1), Black-backed Woodpecker (1), Red-winged
Blackbird (1).
The Ottawa-Gatineau CBC is held within a 7 mile (approx. 15 km) radius from
the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Both Ontario and Quebec are involved.
The final results, with adjustments for overlap, etc. should appear on the
OFNC web site sometime in January.
Happy holidays & good birds to all,
Chris Lewis, Ottawa
melanerpes_lewis@yahoo.ca
Mark Cranford
ONTBIRDS Coordinator
Mississauga, Ontario
Mark.Cranford@ofo.ca
905 279 9576
Mark Cranford mark.cranford@ofo.ca
