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 Update for the week ending on 2026.09.03 (season 1; episode 31) Hopefully everyone who had an early return to school is adjusting well to their new routines. Sorry that I forgot to remind everyone about the lunar eclipse last Thursday night - the clouds cooperated nicely and I managed to get good views and some decent photos. This will be my last 'local' update for a couple of weeks. My wife, Heather, and I are heading to Germany to visit our son who's living in Düsseldorf. I'll still do these updates but they might be a little more sparse as I struggle to edit on my tablet. Over the past week, the Greater White-fronted Goose, Hudsonian Godwit & Franklin's Gull all continued at Andrew Haydon Parrk and a good variety of warblers were seen at many locations. The exciting migrants this week included a Buff-breasted Sandpiper that Erin Wilson found on Sep 2 amongst American Golden Plovers along Dunnings Rd in Ottawa and the Red-necked Grebe that Bob Kennedy found today on the Hwy 7 Storm Pond in Carleton Place. The number of notables in the 50km Circle dropped from 22 last week to 17 this update. The total number of species seen also fell from 187 to 178. There were 7 arrivals since the last update (including 3 notables): - American Wigeon [Lanark (Aug 29), Prescott and Russell (Aug 30)], Lesser Scaup [Ottawa (Sep 01)], American Coot [Prescott and Russell (Aug 29)], Long-billed Dowitcher🔥 [Prescott and Russell (Sep 03)], Buff-breasted Sandpiper🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 02)], Red-necked Grebe🔥 [Lanark (Sep 03), Prescott and Russell (Sep 03)], Lincoln's Sparrow [Ottawa (Sep 02), Leeds and Grenville (Sep 03), Pontiac (Sep 03)] 6 notable species from last update are now being seen as non-notable: - Lesser Black-backed Gull → last notable report on Aug 23 in Ottawa with at least 12 recent non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [1], Ottawa [11] - Common Loon → last notable report on Aug 26 in Gatineau with at least 12 recent non-notable reports at locations in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [8], Ottawa [2], Lanark [2] - Black-crowned Night Heron → last notable report on Aug 24 in Lanark with at least 18 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [16], Prescott and Russell [1], Gatineau [1] - Philadelphia Vireo → last notable report on Aug 21 in Lanark with at least 37 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [27], Lanark [1], Gatineau [5], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [2], Prescott and Russell [2] - Ruby-crowned Kinglet → last notable report on Aug 25 in Ottawa with at least 4 recent non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [3], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [1] - Dark-eyed Junco → last notable report on Aug 23 in Prescott and Russell with 2 recent non-notable reports in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais 13 species have not been reported since the last update (including 7 notables): - Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) [Ottawa (Aug 24)], Gray Partridge [Prescott and Russell (Aug 23)], Hudsonian Whimbrel🔥 [Ottawa (Aug 27)], Wilson's Phalarope🔥 [Lanark (Aug 25)], Willet🔥 [Renfrew (Aug 25), Papineau (Aug 26)], Sanderling🔥 [Ottawa (Aug 25), Gatineau (Aug 25), Renfrew (Aug 25), Pontiac (Aug 26)], White-rumped Sandpiper [Ottawa (Aug 24)], Red-headed Woodpecker🔥 [Ottawa (Aug 26), Leeds and Grenville (Aug 26)], Willow Flycatcher [Ottawa (Aug 21)], Purple Martin [Leeds and Grenville (Aug 25)], Northern Rough-winged Swallow [Ottawa (Aug 25), Leeds and Grenville (Aug 25)], Grasshopper Sparrow🔥 [Ottawa (Aug 26)], Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)🔥 [Ottawa (Aug 27)]- The 5 most active hotspots within the 50km circle included: 1. Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] - 111 (the continuing Goose, Gull & Godwit mentioned above2. Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] - 48 (early returning Common Golden-eyes) 3. Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] - 35 (Franklin's Gull & Red-necked Phalarope) 4. Britannia Ridge [Ottawa] - 27 (warbler-palooza) 5. Auto selected [Prescott and Russell] - 27 (I'm not sure how this one got onto this list - it's actually outside the circle?!? Ignore it!) Other busy hotspots outside the circle included: - Long Sault Parkway & Area [Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry] - 44 - Pembroke Marina [Renfrew] - 39 - CA_QC_Bristol - Annesley - Lac Ireland et environs [Pontiac] - 32 The weather and wind patterns for much of the coming week should result in acive migration - nocturnal waves of songbirds & shorebirds and diurnal flights of raptor. Saturday morning looks like it'll be an excellent time for shorebirds along open mudflats, sandbars & exposed river margins, and for songbirds in forested parks - in the early morning, stick to the immediate river shore and shoreline ridges; later in the day, the songbirds will likely disperse into sheltered inland micro-habitats. Clear weather & gentle northerly breezes on Tuesday should be ideal for both morning passerines and midday raptors - suggested rapteor viewing locations include the hawkwatch in Dunrobin and/or the Eardley escarpment. Rain and southwest winds on Thursday could cause a fallout of passerines and waterbirds into the typical sheltered habitats. Current Notable Birds: Greater White-fronted Goose: 3 reports of 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] between Aug 31-Sep 1 Trumpeter Swan: 6 reports at 2 locations - as many as 2 at étang du stationnement P8 [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] (5 times between Aug 27-Sep 2); 1 at Stationnement P5 [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] (on Sep 2); plus at least 2 non-notable reports at locations in Lanark [1], Ottawa [1] Common Goldeneye: 9 reports of 3 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] between Aug 29-Sep 3; plus 3 non-notable reports in Prescott and Russell Hudsonian Godwit: 120 reports at 3 locations - as many as 2(?) at Andrew Haydon Park/Beltown Park [Ottawa] (106 times between Aug 27-Sep 3); as many as 2(?) at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach)/Ottawa - Ottawa Beach [Ottawa] (13 times between Aug 27-Sep 2); 1 at path between Andrew Haydon park and dyke [Ottawa] (on Aug 29); Long-billed Dowitcher🆕: 5 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Russell Lagoons [Prescott and Russell] (on Sep 3); 1 at Central Park Boulevard, Russell ON/Russell Stormwater Pond [Prescott and Russell] (4 times between Sep 1-2) Red-necked Phalarope: 6 reports of 1 at Petrie Island [Ottawa] on Aug 28; plus a single non-notable report in Prescott and Russell Buff-breasted Sandpiper🆕: 4 reports of a single bird at 3 locations along Dunning Rd/Ch Dunning [Ottawa] (on Sep 2). It could not be found today Bonaparte's Gull: a single report of 1 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] on Aug 28; plus at least 10 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [8], Gatineau [2] Franklin's Gull: 16 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (13 times between Aug 27-Sep 3); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach) [Ottawa] (3 times on Aug 27) Red-necked Grebe🆕: 4 reports of 1 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] on Sep 3 Yellow-throated Vireo: a single report of 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] on Aug 31; plus a single non-notable report in Lanark Blue-headed Vireo: a single report of 1 at Clarence Island [Prescott and Russell] on Aug 30; plus at least 13 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [1], Lanark [2], Ottawa [6], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [4] Carolina Wren: 5 reports of 1 at lac mcgregor sud est [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] between Aug 27-Sep 3; plus at least 6 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [2], Ottawa [4] American Pipit: a single report of 2 at Russell Stormwater Pond [Prescott and Russell] on Sep 2; plus at least 6 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [3], Gatineau [3] Northern Parula: a single report of 1 at Settlers Way, North Grenville ON [Leeds and Grenville] on Aug 31; plus at least 50 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [33], Gatineau [9], Prescott and Russell [3], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [3], Lanark [2] As always, send questions, comments or photos to sightings@ofnc.ca. Your feedback is appreciated. Good birding, Al