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 2026.08.27 (season 1; episode 30) I'll start with a quick disclaimer that some of my numbers this week might be slightly off... I forgot to save my sightings from the last update so this weeks totals are based on data from a few days later. (I've changed my code that queries the eBird database so that this will not happen moving forward). On to this update - a day or two ago, as I was thinking about this update, I thought I was going to have to say that the photo-friendly Greater White-fronted Goose had finally moved on but after an absence of ~3 days, it returned to Andrew Haydon Park to join the continuing Hudsonian Godwit and Franklin's Gull. Otherwise, there were ~22 notables in the 50km Circle this week vs 21 last update and the total number of species reported dropped from 200 down to 187. This is where the numbers get confusing... even though the total number of species dropped, there were no species reported last week that were not seen this week?!?! And to further confound things, there were 5 arrivals since the last update (including 1 notable): - Purple Martin [Leeds and Grenville (Aug 25)], American Pipit [Ottawa (Aug 26)], Dark-eyed Junco🔥 [Ottawa (Aug 27)], Lincoln's Sparrow [Lanark (Aug 27)], Orange-crowned Warbler [Ottawa (Aug 26)] This week, the 5 most active hotspots were: 1. Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach) [Ottawa] - 293 entries → predominantly due to a Hudsonian Godwit, Franklin's Gull and the long lasting Greater White-fronted Goose 2. Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] - 170 → see above 3. Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] - 75 → predominantly due to a Red-necked Phalarope and Franklin's Gull 4. Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] - 58 → predominantly due to a Red-necked and Wilson's Phalarope 5. Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] - 58 → predominantly due to a Red-necked Phalarope Slightly outside of the 50km circle - Pembroke Marina [Renfrew] - 103 → predominantly due to a Willet In terms of the coming week, Friday & Saturday should be prime migration days. Clear skies, light winds and cool overnight temperatures should encourage nocturnal movements. Go out early to search for foraging warblers, vireos, and flycatchers in woodland canopies. Rain and unfavourable winds on Sunday & Tuesday will likely force migratory songbirds to ground, concentrating them in lower tree layers and thickets. Mudflats & river margins, storm ponds, and flooded fields throughout the Ottawa Valley will continue to host southbound shorebirds - when will Baird's and White-rumped Sandpipers appear? Current Notable Birds: *Greater White-fronted Goose*: 36 reports continuing at 2 locations - 1 at Andrew Haydon Park/Andrew Haydon Park, ON [Ottawa] (29 times between Aug 20-26); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach) [Ottawa] (7 times between Aug 20-26) *Trumpeter Swan*: 4 reports of 2 at étang du stationnement P8 [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] between Aug 20-27; plus at least 7 non-notable reports at locations in Lanark [5], Ottawa [2] *Common Goldeneye*: a single report of 2 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] on Aug 26 *Hudsonian Whimbrel*: 57 reports at 5 locations - as many as 5 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach) [Ottawa] (42 times between Aug 23-27); 1 at Britannia Ridge [Ottawa] (3 times on Aug 27); as many as 5 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (4 times on Aug 27); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (7 times on Aug 23); 1 at Shirley's Bay [Ottawa] (on Aug 23) *Hudsonian Godwit*: 188 reports continuing at 2 locations - 1 at Beltown Park/Andrew Haydon Park/Ottawa - Andrew Haydon Park/Andrew Hayden Park [Ottawa] (66 times between Aug 23-27); as many as 2 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach)/ON-Ottawa Beach [Ottawa] (122 times between Aug 23-27) *Wilson's Phalarope*: 11 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] (10 times on Aug 25); 1 at Stonewater Bay stormwater pond [Lanark] (on Aug 25) *Red-necked Phalarope*: 60 reports at 8 locations - 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] (10 times between Aug 23-25); 1 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (30 times between Aug 23-25); 1 at Central Park Blvd, Russell ON [Prescott and Russell] (on Aug 25); 1 at Britannia Ridge/Britannia CA [Ottawa] (6 times between Aug 23-25); 1 at Casselman Sewage Lagoons [Prescott and Russell] (on Aug 25); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (on Aug 25); 1 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] (9 times between Aug 23-24); 1 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (twice on Aug 24) *Willet*: a single report of 2 at Baie Noire (est et ouest) [Papineau] on Aug 26 (plus several reports outside the 50km circle at the Pembrooke Marina) *Bonaparte's Gull*: 5 reports of 2 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] between Aug 21-26; plus at least 18 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [13], Gatineau [5] *Franklin's Gull*: 180 reports continuing at 6 locations - as many as 2 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (57 times between Aug 20-27); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach)/ON-Ottawa Beach [Ottawa] (114 times between Aug 20-27); 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] (6 times between Aug 22-25); 1 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (on Aug 23); 1 at Britannia CA [Ottawa] (on Aug 22) *Lesser Black-backed Gull*: 11 reports at 3 locations - as many as 7 at Britannia CA/Britannia Ridge [Ottawa] (7 times between Aug 20-23); as many as 12 at Cambrian Rd/Cambrian Rd W [Ottawa] (twice on Aug 23); 1 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (on Aug 21); plus at least 9 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [4], Ottawa [5] *Common Loon*: a single report of 1 at Lac Pink [Gatineau] on Aug 26; plus at least 7 non-notable reports at locations in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [5], Lanark [1], Papineau [1] *Least Bittern*: a single report of 1 at Kinburn old rail trail [Ottawa] on Aug 22; plus at least 4 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [2], Ottawa [2] *Black-crowned Night Heron*: a single report of 1 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] on Aug 24; plus at least 21 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [16], Gatineau [4], Lanark [1] *Red-headed Woodpecker*: a single report of 2 continuing at Torbolton Forest [Ottawa] on Aug 26 *Blue-headed Vireo*: a single report of 2 at Drouin Rd [Prescott and Russell] on Aug 22; plus at least 8 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [3], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [4], La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau [1] *Philadelphia Vireo*: a single report of 1 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] on Aug 21; plus at least 25 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [13], Lanark [1], Gatineau [8], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [3] *Ruby-crowned Kinglet*: a single report of 1 at Rideau Tennis Club [Ottawa] on Aug 25; plus at least 4 non-notable reports at locations in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [3], Gatineau [1] *Carolina Wren*: 7 reports of 1 at lac mcgregor sud est [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] between Aug 21-27; plus at least 6 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [5], Ottawa [1] *Grasshopper Sparrow*: a single report of 1 at Burnt Lands Provincial Park [Ottawa] on Aug 26; plus a single non-notable report in Ottawa *Dark-eyed Junco*🆕: 4 reports at 4 locations - 1 at Clarence Island [Prescott and Russell] (twice on Aug 23); 1 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (on Aug 22); 1 at Birchgove Rd, Sarsfield [Ottawa] (on Aug 21); a single report of 5 at 1644 Burnt Lands Rd (Private Backyard) [Ottawa] on Aug 27 As always, send questions, comments or photos to sightings@ofnc.ca. Your feedback is appreciated. Good birding, Al