Ottawa/Gatineau: recent sightings to Nov 28, 2024 Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club (OFNC) Ottawa/Gatineau (50 Km radius from Parliament Hill) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler: Derek Dunnett at sightings@ofnc.ca 475 migrating Red-throated Loons landed in the river at Andrew Haydon Park on Nov 26, presumably motivated by cold weather up north and dropped out of the sky by bad weather over Ottawa. Numbers built up over the afternoon and they (almost) all left as a group in the ten minutes it took your compiler to drive from his house to the park. A Purple Sandpiper put in a typically brief visit on the 25th. Ross's Goose (3) Nov 24-25, Winchester sewage lagoons, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. Greater White-fronted Goose (1) Nov 27, Embrun Sewage Lagoons, Prescott and Russell. Northern Shoveler (1) Dow's Lake, Ottawa. Female. (1) Nov 22, Richmond--Fox Run stormwater ponds, Ottawa. Barrow's Goldeneye - Looking for this regional specialty? Try Dow's Lake, Shirley's Bay-Andrew Haydon, or the Rideau River between Strathcona Park and Billing's Bridge. Several males around. Greater Yellowlegs (1) Nov 24, Masson, Bassin d'épuration, Gatineau. Purple Sandpiper (1) Nov 25, Britannia Park (pier), Ottawa. Red-headed Woodpecker (1) Constance Bay, Ottawa. Red-bellied Woodpecker (1) Nov 23-24, Britannia CA--Mud Lake, Ottawa. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) Nov 27, Green's Creek Sewage Treatment Facility, Ottawa. (2) Nov 24, PN de Plaisance--Baie Noire (Est & Ouest), Papineau. (1) Nov 23, Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa. Gray Catbird (1) Nov 23, Bel Air fields, Ottawa. Winter Wren (1) Nov 24-25, Stony Swamp (Jack Pine Trail), Ottawa. (1) Nov 23, Berryside Rd, Ottawa. (1) Nov 21, Saunderson Drive, Ottawa. Hermit Thrush (1) Nov 24, Britannia CA--Mud Lake, Ottawa. (1) Nov 24, Hintonburg Park, Ottawa. (1) Nov 24, Britannia CA (general location), Ottawa. (1) Nov 23, Champlain Street Marsh, Ottawa. Chipping Sparrow (1) Nov 27, Watts Creek pathway, Ottawa. White-crowned Sparrow (1) Nov 23-24, Rue de la Loire, Gatineau. (1) Nov 23, Bel Air fields, Ottawa. Atlas notes: Did you encounter a singing bird back in May? Have you seen fledged birds or adult birds carrying food in the summer? Do you have photographs of local species from this summer? If so, it is not too late to join one of Ontario’s largest citizen science projects by adding your observations to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas: a once in a generation opportunity to provide important data that will help inform conservation policies for years to come. #youcanatlasthat anywhere in Ontario via the NatureCounts app, the Atlas website, or by taking 90 seconds to import an eBird checklist. For more on the Atlas, visit www.birdsontario.org or contact the Ottawa Regional Coordinator at Ottawa@birdsontario.org.