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ONTBIRDS for Sunday, March 9, 2008
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Winter Birding in Canada - 2007-08 - Final Report
From: Blake Maybank <maybank(AT)ns.sympatico.ca>
Date: 9 Mar 2008 2:55pm
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Hello Ontbirds;
Winter Birding in Canada - 2007-2008 - End of Season Report
There is nothing like an "old-time" winter to wreck havoc with winter
birding. As mentioned earlier, Environment Canada's long-term
forecast [ http://tinyurl.com/yu46t7 ] (calling for below average
temperatures and high precipitation for the December-February period
for pretty much the entire country) was depressingly
accurate. Consequently every province experienced average or
below-average totals, and there were very few additions to the
various provincial totals during the second-half of the winter season.
Regardless of the winter February is the slowest month of the winter
season, which is why at least two provinces, Manitoba and Nova
Scotia, have a DOWL (= either "Dead Of Winter List" or "Depths Of
Winter List", or even "Doldrums Of Winter List"), a list of those
species recorded during the month of February. Despite an
additional day this time around (Feb. 29), the DOWL lists were also
below normal.
But this winter was enriched by the long-hoped-for inclusion of
sightings from Ontario, which means that all ten Canadian provinces
now play the winter listing game.
We'll have to wait for the winter season analysis in "North American
Birds" to capture the full flavour of this past winter's feast
(http://www.americanbirding.org/pubs/nab/), but there were certainly
lots of redpolls on the move, and a displacement of western birds to
the east, most particularly with respect to Townsend's Solitaires.
The rarest bird was the Cook's Petrel in British Columbia, a first
for Canada. But Nova Scotia's Magnificent Frigatebird must come a
close second. My unofficial Bronze medal goes to the Ross's Gull in
Ontario, along the Niagara River.
Here, for all ten provinces, as well as the French islands of
Saint-Pierre et Michelon, and the country of Iceland, are the various
"final" totals as of early March, with a few highlighted species, as
well as some notable "Big Misses". I've also provided links to each
region's winter birding page.
PROVINCES FROM EAST TO WEST:
Newfoundland: http://tinyurl.com/2jqo5p
131 species - No update since the end of December. Greater
White-fronted Goose, Slaty-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher, Bullock's Oriole.
Nova Scotia: http://tinyurl.com/2u2ulg
192 species (average = 195) - Magnificent Frigatebird, Ivory Gull,
Empidomax flycatcher sp., White-winged Dove, White-eyed Vireo,
Fieldfare, Grasshopper Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Bullock's
Oriole. Big Misses: Nashville Warbler, Common Yellowthroat. The
February "Depths Of Winter List" = 144.
Prince Edward Island: http://tinyurl.com/3bkhwz
105 species (average = 118) - Carolina Wren, Bullock's
Oriole, Hoary Redpoll.
New Brunswick: http://tinyurl.com/36hpe4
161 species (average = 161) - Osprey, Spotted Sandpiper, Lark
Sparrow. Big Miss: Swamp Sparrow.
QuPbec: http://tinyurl.com/2ngu7n
155 species - Eurasian Collared-Dove, American Pipit.
Ontario: http://tinyurl.com/23b2zf
193 species - Barnacle Goose, Osprey, Slaty-backed Gull, Ross's Gull,
Black-throated Gray Warbler, Harris's Sparrow.
Manitoba: http://tinyurl.com/yjtx52
90 species (average = 101) - Green-winged Teal, Black-headed
Grosbeak. Big Miss: Peregrine Falcon. The February "Dead Of Winter
List" = 68.
Saskatchewan: http://tinyurl.com/2qde59
100 species (average = 111) - Barrow's Goldeneye, Greater
Sage-Grouse, Gray Catbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker. Big Misses:
Northern Pintail, Rusty Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird.
Alberta: http://tinyurl.com/yke4sl
142 species (average = 141) - Greater Sage-Grouse, Eastern
Screech-Owl, Lewis's Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Cassin's Finch.
British Columbia: http://tinyurl.com/33bmzc
250 species (average = 250) - Arctic Loon, Short-tailed Albatross,
Cook's Petrel, Pectoral Sandpiper, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Bobolink.
Other Reporting Regions:
French Islands of Saint-Pierre et Michelon: http://tinyurl.com/y45kl5
91 species (average = 84) - Northern Harrier, Nashville Warbler,
Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird. Big Miss: Black-bellied Plover
Iceland: http://www.fuglar.is/vetrarhlaup.php
95 species - Pink-footed Goose, Surf Scoter, Eurasian Woodcock, Song Thrush.
Good (winter) birding,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blake Maybank
maybank(AT)ns.sympatico.ca
Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds"
author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia"
http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS.htm
www.birdtripreports.com
White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada
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_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php
ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Ottawa/Gatineau 09Mar08... Harlequin Duck,
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Gyrfalcon, Yellow-headed Blackbird
From: Gordon Pringle <parula(AT)magma.ca>
Date: 9 Mar 2008 8:50pm
- RBA
* Ontario
* Ottawa/Gatineau
* 09 March 2008
* ONOT0803.09
- Birds mentioned
Canada Goose
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Wild Turkey
Red-tailed Hawk
GYRFALCON
Ring-billed Gull
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
Northern Shrike
Tufted Titmouse
Bohemian Waxwing
White-throated Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
House Finch
- Transcript
hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
date: 09 March 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, 6:00 pm, SUNDAY MARCH 9, 2008
This is Chris Lewis reporting.
While winter and spring duked it out, blessing us with strong winds from all
directions and at least 50 cm of snow by the week's end, an inkling of spring
migration began during the calm between the storms. From the 5th to the
7th, a lone Canada Goose showed up in a field at Carling and Herzberg
Aves., a few more Ring-billed Gulls began to stake out parking lots, a
White-throated Sparrow made a brief visit to a feeder near the Woodroffe
campus of Algonquin College, and a male Red-winged Blackbird dropped in at
a feeder in Manotick. On the 7th, the wintering female HARLEQUIN DUCK on
the Ottawa River north of Bate Island was joined by 2 female Bufflehead, a
male Hooded Merganser and several Common Mergansers, groups of
approx. a dozen Wild Turkeys were seen at Carling and Herzberg and along
Eagleson Rd. north of Fallowfield, and 6 Red-tailed Hawks were noted near
the Trail Rd. landfill the same day.
There have been no reports of the dark morph GYRFALCON since March 1st,
however a Grey morph Gyr was seen flying north over the Ottawa River
Parkway east of Woodroffe Ave. on the 3rd, and possibly the same bird was
seen flying over the Thomas Dolan Parkway at Berry Side Rd. on the 7th. The
Tufted Titmouse in Forest Park (Embrun) is still surviving nicely as
of the 9th, in
spite of the Northern Shrike that appeared on the 8th (this may be the same
shrike that stirred up the customers here last December). Bohemian
Waxwings appear to be moving through again with flocks of up to 200 birds
noted in various locations including the Britannia Conservation Area, and a
yellow variant House Finch came to a feeder in Rockcliffe on the 5th.
Farther east near Wiliamstown, ON, the female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
and the male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD were still coming to a feeder on
County Rd. 19 as of the 7th.
Thank you - Good Birding!
- End transcript
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php
ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
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