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 2026.06.11 (season 1; episode 19) At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the number of species reported within the 50km Circle declined for the 3rd consecutive week - falling from 196 to 180 - but the number of notable species bounced back from 21 to 25. In terms of interesting new notables, on Jun 5, Igor Kabic and Rodolphe Dubois were (I believe) the first to report an American White Pelican - Igor at Mud Lake and Rod from the Gatineau side of the Deschenes Rapids. A few additional lucky souls saw it flying northwest past Shirley's Bay a short while later (and it hasn't been seen since). On Jun 10, Levi and Thomas (no last names provided in their eBird report) saw and photographed a Loggerhead Shrike in Kanata! Otherwise, Brants and White-winged Scoters reappeared on the notable list; while the only other non-notable addition was an American Coot at Parc National de Plaisance on Jun 9. From the last update, the Red-necked Phalarope, Red-throated Loon, Lincoln's Sparrow and Blue-winged Warbler were not reported in the 50km Circle this week while Least Bitterns and Gray-cheeked Thrushes are still being seenbut no longer trip a rarity filter. We are now well past migration and have moved into peak local breeding season. Believe it or not, we'll soon start seeing early post-breeding returns and dispersals. It the current weather predictions hold, the forecast for the area is a highly variable mix of storms, heavy precipitation, and brief clear breaks. It looks like Monday morning (after the heavy rains on Sunday) might be the best day of the coming week. Before getting to the Notable birds list, someone asked recently that I clarify the difference between 'notable' and `non-notable' reports - the short explanation (and gross simplification) is that the 50km circle includes parts, or all, of 11 different eBird regions and each region has volunteer reviewers who maintain separate filters that determine whether (and when) birds are deemed to be notable - i.e., the filters will flag reports of birds that are well out of range (e.g., this week's American White Pelican); well out of season (e.g., the late-staying shorebirds), or simply rare (e.g., the Loggerhead Shrike). The filters divide the calendar into 36 time intervals - so a bird that was rare last week may not be this week (e.g., Least Bitterns) and a rarity in Ottawa may be expected (or non-notable) in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais (e.g., Northern Parula). Is that now clear as mud? Current Notable Birds: *Brant*🆕: 2 reports at 2 locations - 4 at Aylmer rural - secteur sud-ouest [Gatineau] (on Jun 9); 30 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] (on Jun 9); plus 1 non-notable report in Ottawa *Trumpeter Swan*: a single report of 2 at Gatineau Park, Pontiac QC [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] on Jun 9; plus non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [4], Lanark [3], Renfrew [1] *Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid)*: a single report of 1 at Barrage Paugan [La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau] on Jun 7; plus a single non-notable report in Ottawa *White-winged Scoter*🆕: 10 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (9 times between Jun 5-11); 1 at Deschenes Rapids Lookout [Ottawa] (on Jun 11) *Common Goldeneye*: 11 reports at 5 locations - 2 at Deschenes Rapids Lookout [Ottawa] (on Jun 11); as many as 2 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (3 times between Jun 7-10); 1 at Shirley's Bay [Ottawa] (on Jun 10); as many as 2 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (5 times between Jun 5-9); plus 1 non-notable report in Gatineau *Semipalmated Plover*: a single report of 1 at Shirley's Bay [Ottawa] on Jun 9; plus 1 non-notable report in Lanark *Greater Yellowlegs*: 5 reports at the Shirley's Bay (boat launch) [Ottawa] on Jun 6 *Ruddy Turnstone*: 2 reports of 1 at Parc Brébeuf [Gatineau] on Jun 11 *Dunlin*: a single report of 1 at Len Purcell Dr [Ottawa] on Jun 11 *Least Sandpiper*: a single report of 2 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] on Jun 5; plus a single non-notable report in Ottawa *Semipalmated Sandpiper*: 2 reports of 1 at Shirley's Bay (boat launch) [Ottawa] on Jun 10; plus 1 non-notable report in Lanark *Bonaparte's Gull*: 2 reports at 2 locations - 2 at Deschenes Rapids Lookout [Ottawa] (on Jun 11); 5 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (on Jun 10); plus a single non-notable report in Gatineau *Lesser Black-backed Gull*: a single report of 3 at Moodie Drive Quarry [Ottawa] on Jun 7 *Caspian Tern*: 3 reports at 3 locations - 3 at Len Purcell Dr [Ottawa] (on Jun 11); 2 at Moodie Drive Quarry [Ottawa] (on Jun 7); 1 at Diamond Jubilee Park [Ottawa] (on Jun 5); plus 1 non-notable report in Gatineau *Arctic Tern*: a single report of 1 at Deschenes Rapids Lookout [Ottawa] on Jun 11 *Black-crowned Night Heron*: a single report of 1 at Wolf Grove Rd [Lanark] on Jun 9; plus non-notable reports in Ottawa [45] & Gatineau [7] *American White Pelican*🆕: 5 reports at 4 locations - 1 at Shirley's Bay (boat launch) [Ottawa] (on Jun 5); 1 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (on Jun 5); 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant Parc) [Gatineau] (on Jun 5); 1 at Shirley's Bay (Dyke - restricted access) [Ottawa] (on Jun 5) *Red-headed Woodpecker*: 7 reports of 2 at Torbolton Forest [Ottawa] between Jun 6-11 *Yellow-throated Vireo*: 3 reports of 2 at Sheila McKee Park [Ottawa] between Jun 9-11; plus 1 non-notable report in Lanark *Loggerhead Shrike*🆕: a single report of 1 at Eagleson Park & Ride [Ottawa] on Jun 10 *Northern Mockingbird*: 25 reports at 4 locations - 2 along Route 148 in Thurso [Papineau] (on Jun 11); 1 at 4000 Innovation Drive/Richcraft Recreation Complex [Ottawa] (21 times between Jun 7-11); 1 at Fernbank Rd [Ottawa] (twice on Jun 6); 1 at Greenland Rd [Ottawa] (on Jun 5) *Dark-eyed Junco*: a single report of 1 at Spadina Ave Ottawa [Ottawa] on Jun 9 *Golden-winged Warbler*: 2 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Sentier 5 [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] (on Jun 7); 1 at Relais Plein Air [Gatineau] (on Jun 7); plus 4 non-notable reports in Ottawa *Brewster's Warbler (hybrid)*: a single report of 1 at Sentier 5 [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] on Jun 7; plus 1 non-notable report in Gatineau *Northern Parula*: a single report of 1 at Two Rivers Campground [Ottawa] on Jun 11; plus non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [2], Papineau [2], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [4] As always, send questions, comments or photos to sightings@ofnc.ca. Your feedback is appreciated. Good birding, Al