[Ontbirds]Ottawa/Gatineau 20Jan08... Harlequin Duck, Red-shouldered Hawk, Tufted Titmouse, Townsend's Solitaire, Hoary Redpoll

[Gordon Pringle]

- RBA

* Ontario
* Ottawa/Gatineau
* 20 January 2008
* ONOT0801.20

- Birds mentioned

HARLEQUIN DUCK
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Goshawk
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
TUFTED TITMOUSE
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE
American Robin
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Redpoll
HOARY REDPOLL

- Transcript

hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
date: 20 January 2008
Number: 613-860-9000
For the status line PRESS * (star)
To report bird sightings, PRESS 1 (one)
Rare bird alerts are now included in the introductory message
coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Can. Nat. Capital Reg.), E.Ont., W.Que.
compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis  hagenius at primus.ca
internet: Gordon Pringle  parula at magma.ca

THE OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE @ 8:30 pm, SUNDAY JANUARY 20, 2008

This is Chris Lewis reporting.

The winter birding doldrums have struck again, as is typical for this time of
year.  Nevertheless, birds & birders continue to tough it out, and some good
sightings were reported over the past week.

One of the two wintering female HARLEQUIN DUCKS on the Ottawa River
was seen again from Bate Island on the 16th and the 18th, the RED-SHOULDERED
HAWK on Old Carp Rd. and the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE in
Parkwood Hills were both still present on the 19th, and the TUFTED TITMOUSE
in Forest Park (Embrun) continues to visit as of the 20th.

On the 19th at least 10 Bald Eagles were seen below the Eardley
escarpment of the Gatineau hills in the general vicinity of Eardley-Masham
Rd. and Hwy 148, and a surprise for this time of year in the Luskville, Quebec
area was an adult female Northern Harrier.  A Cooper's Hawk at the Fletcher
Wildlife Garden, a Merlin along the Vanier Parkway and 2 Peregrine Falcons
on buildings at the corner of Pinecrest and Carling Ave. were all noted on
the 16th, and a Northern Goshawk was seen along the Thomas Dolan
Parkway on the 19th.  On the 20th the large quarry pond on Moodie Dr.
south of Trail Rd. continued to host at least 1000 gulls including 5 Iceland, 1
Lesser Black-backed and 30 Glaucous Gulls.

It's been a while since Bohemian Waxwings were reported in good numbers,
so it was encouraging to learn that on the 19th, approx. 400 were seen on
the Quebec side between Pink Rd. and Hwy 148, and on the Ontario side 60
were in the Shirley's Bay area and over 1300 were found near Merrickville
south of Ottawa.  Other interesting birds for our area in wintertime were a
single Cedar Waxwing, 67 American Robins and 5 Brown-headed Cowbirds,
all in the Merrickville area on the 19th.  Finch-wise, redpolls continue to
dominate the scene - on the 19th a HOARY REDPOLL was with approx. 120
Common Redpolls in the Breckenridge, Quebec area at a feeder near the
corner of Ch. de la Riviere and Hwy 148.

Thank you - Good Birding!

- End transcript