Spring Migration Forecasts by Kiah Jasper
As you plan your birding outings, you may be interested in following these postings. Hi everyone, For the spring migration season, I am going to try to post weekly "migration forecasts", with predictions for the following 6 days. These are mainly focused on southern Ontario, as that is the region I am most familiar with, but I will include comments on other areas of Ontario occasionally. *Please note that these are just my personal predictions & are by no means [...]
Ottawa Gatineau Christmas Bird Count
As we are starting to think of Spring, we can look back at the successful 103rd Ottawa-Gatineau CBC that was held December 19, 2021. Temperatures ranged from -11.3 to minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, with some light snow on and off throughout the day. 142 field observers plus 26 feeder watchers found 71 species and 41,842 individual birds (but not all counted individually). Highlights included the third record for Yellow=bellied Sapsucker, 2 Green-winged Teal, a White-winged Scoter, and a Northern Harrier. [...]
Mer Bleue Remains At Risk from City Road Proposal
This Wednesday, March 2, the City of Ottawa’s official recommendation for the Brian Coburn Boulevard extension will be presented to the Transportation Committee. The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM. Staff will be recommending the route known as “Option 7”, despite the serious habitat fragmentation and ecological disruption this would cause in the Greenbelt. This multi-lane arterial road will run in close proximity to the Mer Bleue wetland complex, bringing numerous forms of ecological disruption which seriously threaten this internationally-significant [...]
Updated Birder Resources
In January, we highlighted the work of Greg Zbitnew in updating the Rare Bird Records for the OFNC study area. If you missed it, you find the document at Rare Bird Detailed Records in the OFNC Study Area Greg continues to work diligently to keep our birding knowledge up to date. You might want to learn about ALL the birds in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. Hot off the press, is this information has been updated and can be found at Ottawa [...]
A New Year in Birding
Are you starting a new year list? Check out this useful guide to carry you through to March. The full document can be found at OFNC Study Area finding guide for January to March
Looking at bryophytes
Bryophytes are non-vascular plants that include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They create tiny but intricate and extensive landscapes that play an important role in regulating ecosystems. by Sandy Garland, with thanks to Lynn Ovenden for providing scientific names, Diane Lepage for the photos of Broom Moss and Silvery Moss When the OFNC announced a currently rare in-person excursion, led by bryophyte expert, Jennifer Doubt (a scientist with the Canadian Museum of Nature), I jumped at the chance to get outside [...]
Great Resources for Birders
If you haven’t visited the OFNC website for some time there are two excellent additions to help birders get out and about and find all the birds they can. Ottawa has plenty of varied habitats that make for good birding all year round. You might want to visit all of them or try to discover favourite spots of your own. You can get a good start by heading to the OFNC website and checking out Where to Go Birding. Want [...]
Pollinator Garden in 3 Boxes
by Lynn Ovenden There are 3 raised beds at the edge of FWG’s old field between the butterfly meadow and the old woods. Together, they contain 18 species of native wildflowers that were planted in the boxes in spring 2017 by UOttawa students as part of a community outreach project supported by Friends of the Earth Canada. Sandy Garland propagated the plants and built the boxes with help from the students and her son Mark. The goal was to show [...]
Proposed new road threatens Mer Bleue wetland
by Jakob Mueller A proposal to build a six-lane roadway through the Greenbelt is open for public consultation, but only until Friday, 16 July. The City of Ottawa wants to extend Brian Coburn Boulevard across the northern fringe of the Mer Bleue wetland complex (see proposal). Of the various options for this project, the city is proposing to proceed with the one ranked most environmentally disruptive (see map). If built, this road will further fragment protected Greenbelt lands and threaten to [...]