Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club (OFNC) – Weekly Birding Report Sightings within a 50km radius of Parliament Hill - including eastern Ontario and western Quebec *Compiled by Al Caughey at sightings@ofnc.ca <sightings@ofnc.ca>* Update for the week ending on 2026.10.30 (season 1; episode 40) This week, the number of notables in the 50km circle decreased significantly from 35 down to 17. The total number of species dropped by a smaller amount from 157 to 146. This week was marked by the arrival of some very large mixed flocks rafts of ducks along the Ottawa River - not too surprisingly, they contained a number of new arrivals, including: 3 Canvasbacks at the Westboro Beach in Ottawa (found by Ryan Walsh on Oct 29) and then the next morning, a Harlequin Duck found by JF Gobeilat Parc des Rapides Deschênes in Gatineau! John Ruddy reported his first really large skein of Snow Geese in the Embrun area too. In addition to the waterfowl, Vincent Fyson had a Boreal Chickadee on Birchgove Rd, in Sarsfield on Oct 26 (but it only stuck around for a couple of hours) and Ethan McCann found a Hudsonian Godwit at the Hwy 7 Storm Pond in Carleton Place on Oct 29 (it was still there the next morning too). We're also still seeing some reports of lingering sparrows and a few hardy warblers. There were 11 new species reported in the past week (including 9 notables): - Muscovy Duck x Mallard (hybrid) [Ottawa (Oct 27)], Canvasback🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 29)], Harlequin Duck🔥 [Gatineau (Oct 30)], Barrow's Goldeneye🔥 [Ottawa (since Oct 26), Gatineau (Oct 29)], Hudsonian Godwit🔥 [Lanark (Oct 30)], Glaucous Gull🔥 [Gatineau (Oct 28)], Boreal Chickadee🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 26)], Gray-cheeked Thrush🔥 [Gatineau (Oct 25)], Pine Grosbeak [Ottawa (Oct 27)], Brown-headed Cowbird [Ottawa (Oct 29), Lanark (Oct 24)], Nashville Warbler (Eastern)🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 27)] 5 notable species from last update are now being seen as non-notable: - Eurasian Wigeon → last notable report on Oct 18 in Papineau with a single recent non-notable report in Gatineau - Long-tailed Duck → last notable report on Oct 20 in Gatineau with at least 14 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [10], Gatineau [3] & Prescott and Russell [1] - Snow Bunting → last notable report on Oct 17 in Ottawa with at least 21 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [16], Gatineau [3], Lanark [1] & Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [1] - Orange-crowned Warbler → last notable report on Oct 19 in Lanark with a single recent non-notable report in Ottawa - Nashville Warbler → last notable report on Oct 19 in Ottawa with a single recent non-notable report in Ottawa As well, 14 species from the last update not reported this week (including 8 notables): - Semipalmated Plover🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 16), Papineau (Oct 19)], Red Phalarope🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 17)], Spotted Sandpiper [Gatineau (Oct 16)], Franklin's Gull🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 18), Papineau (Oct 21)], Common Tern🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 17)], Green Heron🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 17)], American Goshawk [Ottawa (Oct 17)], Swainson's Thrush🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 19), Gatineau (Oct 22)], Vesper Sparrow [Lanark (Oct 17)], Nelson's Sparrow🔥 [Lanark (Oct 19)], Eastern Meadowlark [Lanark (Oct 21), Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais (Oct 20)], Tennessee Warbler🔥 [Ottawa (Oct 20), Lanark (Oct 16)], Common Yellowthroat🔥 [Gatineau (Oct 22), Renfrew (Oct 17)], Palm Warbler🔥 [Lanark (Oct 18)] The 4 most active hotspots within the circle included: 1. Dow's Lake [Ottawa] - 25 2. Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] - 22 3. Beaver Pond [Ottawa] - 15 4. Fletcher Wildlife Garden [Ottawa] - 14 Plus other hotspots outside the circle: - Long Sault Parkway & Area [Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry] - 28 - Centre touristique du Lac-Simon [Papineau] - 27 - Landon Bay Lookout and Bay Trails [Leeds and Grenville] - 23 - Alfred Sewage Lagoons [Prescott and Russell] - 15 In terms of the coming week, temperatures in the James Bay region have dropped significantly and strong winds from the NW on Friday & Saturday should continue to push more ducks and geese into lakes, rivers and quarries in the area. Fox & American Tree Sparrows should appear in larger numbers too (perhaps with some Pine Siskins, Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks). On Sat & Sun, clear skies & daytime warming should provide good conditions for raptor movements. Look for southbound Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks riding the thermals over agricultural fields. After the weekend, the winds should shift to the South causing temperatures to rise again which could stall many of our migrants along rivers and in harvested fields. Current Notable Birds: *Snow x Canada Goose (hybrid)*: a single report of 1 at Russell Stormwater Pond [Prescott and Russell] on Oct 25 *Canvasback*🆕: 3 reports of 3 at Kitchissippi Lookout [Ottawa] on Oct 29 *Harlequin Duck*🆕: a single report of 1 at Parc des Rapides Deschênes [Gatineau] on Oct 30 *Barrow's Goldeneye*🆕: 27 reports of as many as 3 at Dow's Lake/Central Experimental Farm Arboretum/Fletcher Wildlife Garden/Rideau Canal Western Pathway [Ottawa] between Oct 26-30; plus 3 non-notable reports in Gatineau *Hudsonian Godwit*🆕: 6 reports of 1 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] between Oct 29-30 *Lesser Yellowlegs*: 2 reports of 2 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] between Oct 26-27; plus 3 non-notable reports in Ottawa *Glaucous Gull*🆕: a single report of 1 at Parc des Rapides Deschênes [Gatineau] on Oct 28 *Red-throated Loon*: 6 reports of 1 at Clarence Island/Onesime Guibord Rd, Clarence-Rockland ON/Wilson Rd, Clarence-Rockland ON [Prescott and Russell] between Oct 24-25; plus at least 6 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [3], Ottawa [2] & Prescott and Russell [1] *Golden Eagle*: a single report of 1 at Willoway [Lanark] on Oct 23 *Yellow-bellied Sapsucker*: a single report of 1 at Fletcher Wildlife Garden [Ottawa] on Oct 25 *Blue-headed Vireo*: a single report of 1 at Kitchissippi Lookout [Ottawa] on Oct 24 *Boreal Chickadee*🆕: a single report of 1 at Birchgove Rd, Sarsfield [Ottawa] on Oct 26 *Gray Catbird*: 2 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Black Rapids Lock [Ottawa] (on Oct 25); 1 at Britannia CA* general [Ottawa] (on Oct 24) *Gray-cheeked Thrush*🆕: a single report of 1 at Aylmer [Gatineau] on Oct 25 *Savannah Sparrow*: 3 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Bassin de rétention du Plateau, Gatineau [Gatineau] (on Oct 28); 1 at Shirley's Bay (boat launch) [Ottawa] (twice on Oct 27); plus a single non-notable report in Ottawa *Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed)*: a single report of 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] on Oct 26 *Nashville Warbler (Eastern)*🆕: a single report of 1 at Rideau Tennis Club [Ottawa] on Oct 27 As always, send questions, comments or photos to sightings@ofnc.ca. Your feedback is appreciated. Don't forget to move your clocks back on Sunday morning and keep an eye out for excited Trick or Treaters if you are out and about on Saturday afternoon/evening, Good birding, Al