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 2026.09.17 (season 1; episode 33) This summary comes to you on tired legs from Koblenz Germany where my wife and just finished a 5 day bike trip from Trier along the Mosel River. Ottawa is now close to peak movement of songbirds; adult shorebirds have largely passed through the area and we should now be seeing more juveniles. Ducks and geese should be beginning to build along local waterways and in harvested fields. Having boldly announced last week the departure of the Greater White-fronted Goose, it was photographed again on Sep 12th by AudreyLee Shaw and ebirded on the 13th (before seemingly disappearing again...). There were two exciting finds on Sep 16th - Mark Patry spotted a Sabine's Gull on the Deschenes Rapids and Tom Devecseri found a juvenile Little Blue Heron at the Winterset Storm Pond in Kanata. Unfortunately, the gull has not been seen again. Hopefully the heron will stay in the area for a while. The number of notables (18) and total number of species reported (185) in the 50km Circle has not changed since the last update but there's been some turnover in the varieties: *9 arrivals since the last update (6 notables)*: - Snow Goose [Ottawa (Sep 14), Prescott and Russell (Sep 14)], Cackling Goose🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 14)], Sora [Ottawa (Sep 15), Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (Sep 17)], Wilson's Phalarope🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 16)], Sabine's Gull🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 16)], Little Blue Heron🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 17)], White-crowned Sparrow🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 17), Gatineau (Sep 17), Prescott and Russell (Sep 17), La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau (Sep 17)], Rusty Blackbird [Ottawa (Sep 16), Gatineau (Sep 16), Lanark (Sep 16), Renfrew (Sep 16), Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (Sep 16)] 6 notable species from last update are now being seen as non-notable: - Lesser Scaup → last notable report on Sep 07 in Gatineau with at least 2 recent non-notable reports at locations in Prescott and Russell [1], Gatineau [1] - Common Goldeneye → last notable report on Sep 10 in Lanark with at least 2 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [1], Lanark [1] - Red-necked Grebe → last notable report on Sep 06 in Lanark with a single recent non-notable report in Prescott and Russell - Carolina Wren → last notable report on Sep 10 in Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais with at least 6 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [3], Gatineau [3] - Evening Grosbeak → last notable report on Sep 10 in Ottawa with - Dark-eyed Junco → last notable report on Sep 04 in Ottawa with at least 27 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [20], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [3], Lanark [1], Gatineau [3] *10 species not reported since the last update (including 9 notables)*: - Hudsonian Godwit🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 03)], Short-billed Dowitcher [Prescott and Russell (Sep 09)], Long-billed Dowitcher🔥 [Prescott and Russell (Sep 09)], Red-necked Phalarope🔥 [Prescott and Russell (Sep 10)], Buff-breasted Sandpiper🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 04)], Least Bittern🔥 [Prescott and Russell (Sep 07)], Olive-sided Flycatcher🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 03), Renfrew (Sep 08), La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau (Sep 10)], Alder Flycatcher🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 06), Papineau (Sep 06)], Grasshopper Sparrow🔥 [Ottawa (Sep 05)], Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)🔥 [Gatineau (Sep 06)] The 5 most active hotspots within the circle: 1. Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] - 32 2. La cour de Guy, Val-des-Monts [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] - 31 3. Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] - 26 4. Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] - 21 5. Mud Lake [Ottawa] - 18 Plus other hotspots outside the circle: - Alfred Sewage Lagoons [Prescott and Russell] - 40 - Summers Rd [Leeds and Grenville] - 28 - Algonquin Tr, Laurentian Valley ON [Renfrew] - 20 - Cooper Marsh CA (Marais de Cooper) [Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry] - Marais aux Rubaniers [Papineau] - 18 The start of the coming week might be a good time for nocturnal birding (10:00 PM and 2:00 AM) - cooler temps, clear skies and light to moderate winds from the north should prompt millions of birds to take flight; however, these favourable conditions will allow them to fly at higher altitudes making it harder to hea much harder to hear from the ground. Another strategy would be to head out at dawn as the birds look for foraging spots along ridge lines, tree lines, and riverbanks. Current Notable Birds: *Greater White-fronted Goose*: two reports of 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] on Sep 12-13 *Cackling Goose*🆕: 3 reports of 2 at Fox Run stormwater ponds [Ottawa] between Sep 12-14 *Rock Pigeon*: a single unconfirmed report of at least 1 at Cury Park [Leeds and Grenville] on Sep 14... this may be a mis-entry in eBird (Rock Pigeon vs Feral Rock Pigeon) *Chimney Swift*: a single report of 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] on Sep 11; plus a single non-notable report in Ottawa *American Golden-Plover*: 2 reports of 3 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] on Sep 16; plus 2 non-notable reports in Ottawa *Wilson's Phalarope*🆕: a single report of 1 at Andrew Haydon and Dick Bell Park [Ottawa] on Sep 16 *Sabine's Gull*🆕: a single report of 1 at Britannia Ridge [Ottawa] on Sep 16 *Franklin's Gull*: 10 reports at 3 locations - 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (8 times between Sep 10-16); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach) [Ottawa] (on Sep 15); 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] (on Sep 11) *Little Blue Heron*🆕: 3 reports of 1 at Didsbury Rd Scrape - Carp Watershed Restoration Area [Ottawa] between Sep 16-17 *Yellow-throated Vireo*: 2 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Clyde Woods [Ottawa] (on Sep 14); 1 at Pioneer Plains Park [Ottawa] (on Sep 12); plus a single non-notable report in Lanark *Gray-cheeked Thrush*: 2 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Rue Paradis [Gatineau] (on Sep 16); 1 at Aylmer [Gatineau] (on Sep 16); plus at least 18 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [17], Prescott and Russell [1] *White-crowned Sparrow*🆕: a single report of 1 at Helene St, Clarence-Rockland ON [Prescott and Russell] on Sep 17; plus at least 5 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [3], Prescott and Russell [1], Gatineau [1] *Eastern Towhee*: a single report of 1 at Britannia CA [Ottawa] on Sep 15 *Bobolink*: a single report of 1 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] on Sep 12 *Orange-crowned Warbler*: 6 reports at 3 locations - 1 at Fletcher Wildlife Garden [Ottawa] (3 times between Sep 11-17); 1 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (on Sep 15); 1 at Britannia CA [Ottawa] (twice between Sep 10-14) *Northern Yellow Warbler*: a single report of 2 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] on Sep 17; plus at least 22 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [20], Gatineau [2] As always, send questions, comments or photos to sightings@ofnc.ca. Your feedback is appreciated. Good birding, Al