Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, Region 24 (Ottawa)

Region 24 (Ottawa) Report for 2002

by Christine Hanrahan

Note: 2001 summary report still available

Introduction
If year one was a time for atlassers to acquaint themselves with the atlas process and become familiar with their territory (squares), year two has clearly been a time of serious data gathering. Almost every square reported big increases in numbers of species recorded. Many more point counts were done and some atlassers participated in the Atlas Nocturnal Owl Survey.

Most of you are familiar with the details of Region 24 but for the new folk, here is a quick overview. Our region, which contains 86 10 km X 10 km squares, extends roughly from Casselman in the east to Westmeath, in the west, south to Flower Station, Winchester and Finch, with the Ottawa River as our northern boundary. Along with the City of Ottawa, the area encompasses the towns of Arnprior, Renfrew, Pakenham, Almonte, Russell and Chesterville. Also included: the Larose and Marlborough Forests, White Lake and Richmond Fens, Gillies Grove, the Burnt Lands Alvar, Winchester and Moose Creek Bogs, Mud Lake and Mud Pond, the Innis Point Banding Station, Shirleys Bay… the list goes on. And let’s not forget the famous cornbelts in the east!

Of the 86 squares in our region, only one has not yet received any coverage, 18VR14, a sliver of land along the Ottawa River near Dunrobin. However, it now has a volunteer ready to go for next year.

Several of last year’s atlassers moved on to new ventures. We wish them well and thank them for their significant contributions to the atlas. At the same time we welcome all the new volunteers who have now brought the number of participants to 95 (up from 81 last year). We still have two natural history clubs taking part, the MacNamara Field Naturalists of Arnprior and the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists of Carleton Place.

Forward to 2003!
Confirmations: The Atlas has set a goal of a 50% confirmation rate per square, a goal we’re trying hard to achieve. As many know, finding evidence of confirmed breeding is not always easy, but those atlassers who spent time in the field through July and early August generally had higher confirmation rates than others who stopped atlassing in June. However, birding at the right time is only part of the story, the other half is learning how to find solid breeding evidence, and of course plain old good luck plays a big part too! Watch for some tips on the local atlas web pages. In July we’ll hold a field workshop to provide some hands-on experience.

Night birds: Owls and crepuscular species are difficult to census, and in the next three years we plan to try varied approaches to help us attain a good level of coverage for this group of birds. Watch for nocturnal square bashes and possibly more owl prowls.

Breeding vs. migration dates: Please check out the Migration and Nest Dates posted on our local atlas web pages and become familiar with who does what when. You’ll be better able to determine whether the bird you just saw is still in migratory mode – or not. This is especially important for the uncommon to scarce breeders in our region. Warblers in particular can be problematical because they generally come through in mid-to-late May when many other species are on territory or have begun nesting and the tendency is to record species within this group as possible breeders if observed in late May. It is best to check the range of nesting and migration dates for each species and use that data along with your observations of what the bird is doing and then make a decision based on your best judgement. A Black-and-white Warbler, for example, carrying nesting material is certainly on territory, but the same species found in a mixed flock of warblers obviously feeding on the wing, so the speak, is best not recorded as a possible breeder. If in doubt, please contact me. If I can’t answer your question, I’ll put it to one of the other committee members.

New stuff: This year the folk at Atlas Central organized a couple of interesting projects. First was the Atlas Nocturnal Owl Survey (ongoing to 2005) complete with instruction manual and CD or cassettes, and second was a compilation of bird photos and bird songs (the Bluebird CD-ROM) which was made available free to any atlasser who wanted one. An update of the Bluebird CD-ROM may be in the works for 2003.

Watch for a more complete report in the OFNC publication, Trail & Landscape, in the new year.

Results for 2002

Breeding evidence has now been found for 177 species, with confirmed breeding for 139 species.

Numbers of species per square
In Table 2, you will find the total number of species recorded in each square. Based on our knowledge of the region and results from the last atlas, the local atlas committee has set a goal of at least 80 species per square east of Ottawa and at least 90 species west of the city. Quite obviously this is not a hard and fast rule, simply a general guideline. For example, some squares east of Ottawa have a significant diversity of birds and finding a 100 species or more is very probable while in others, getting 70 species will present a challenge. Furthermore, some squares have less than 50% of their land mass in Ontario; expectations for these 13 squares will be somewhat different.

Of the 85 squares that have so far been atlassed, 13 have recorded more than 100 species; the highest number recorded is 124 species in 18UR80. Twenty-four (24) squares have recorded between 80-99 species.

We’re aiming to have breeding confirmed for 50% of the birds found in each square. To date, only ten squares have reported 45 or more species with breeding confirmed. The highest total thus far is 72 species in 18VR30, followed closely by 70 species in 18VR52.

Highlights this year included several species not reported for the last atlas in this region: Black-crowned Night-heron (1 square), Black-backed Woodpecker (1 square), Tennessee Warbler (3 squares), and Le Conte’s Sparrow (1 square).

Found on the previous atlas but not reported during this atlas until 2002 were Least Bittern (four squares), Philadelphia Vireo (2 squares), Northern Parula Warbler (1 square), and Lincoln’s Sparrow (2 squares).

While Cape May Warblers were not recorded on the last atlas, they were found on 2 squares last year and on 5 more this year, although none were confirmed as breeding. Both the Tennessee and Cape May Warblers are essentially birds of northern coniferous forests. However, the last atlas saw scattered records for both species south of Algonquin Park and local Ottawa birders have generally anticipated a more southerly range expansion for them as nesting birds. It will be interesting to see what happens with these species in Region 24 over the next three years.

Other: Black-billed cuckoos were noticeably widespread ths year, recorded on 33 squares (44 squares cumulatively – 2001-02) although there were only a few with breeding confirmed. To anyone who noted the abundance of tent caterpillars, the ‘outbreak’ of black-billed cuckoos was no surprise, since the one follows the other, the caterpillars being a favoured food source which are fed in great quantities to young birds.

Evening Grosbeaks were also recorded widely in 2002 compared to the previous year. Like the crossbills, this is another species of irregular occurrence, found sporadically in some years, relatively common in others. This species was recorded on 33 squares, but only 6 had confirmed breeding records, all of these involving fledged young.

Acknowledgments
Thank You to every one who participated in the Breeding Bird Atlas this year. Thank you for spending so much time and effort surveying your squares, contributing casual observations, helping out fellow atlassers, doing point counts, taking part in owl surveys, sharing your sightings and your enthusiasm. Without your help we simply wouldn’t have an atlas.

As always heartfelt thanks to the local Atlas Committee: Mark Gawn, Paul Jones, and new member, Mick Panesar. They’re always ready with comments, suggestions, thoughts, plans for helping ensure that our region runs smoothly. Mark organizes our workshops (this year at Jack Pine Trail), and Paul is our front man, talking to other local natural history groups about the atlas.

Table 1: Cumulative results for 2001 and 2002

Species in boldface are new for 2002 # of squares recording each species (# in brackets includes spp. recorded as observed only: ‘X’) # of squares recording confirmed breeding 
Common Loon 23 (26) 3
Pied-billed Grebe 14 (16) 6
Double-crested Cormorant 5 (14) 0
American Bittern 37 4
Least Bittern 4 1
Great Blue Heron 29 (69) 10
Green Heron 30 (35) 8
Black-crowned Night-heron 1 (4) 1
Turkey Vulture 39 (60) 2
Canada Goose 47 (59) 25
Wood Duck 53 37
Gadwall 4 0
American Wigeon 5 1
American Black Duck 22 (24) 9
Mallard 69 (70) 35
Blue-winged Teal 20 7
Northern Shoveler 6 (7) 2
Northern Pintail 2(3) 0
American Green-winged Teal 8 0
Ring-necked Duck 6 (7) 0
Lesser Scaup 2 (3) 0
Hooded Merganser 19 (21) 5
Common Merganser 9 (13) 1
Ruddy Duck 5 2
Osprey 21 (27) 10
Bald Eagle 1 (2) 1
Northern Harrier 50 (52) 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk 26 (27) 7
Cooper’s Hawk 12 (14) 3
Northern Goshawk 11 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 17 (18) 5
Broad-winged Hawk 27 (29) 5
Red-tailed Hawk 56 (59) 17
American Kestrel 60 22
Merlin 16 (20) 5
Peregrine Falcon 1 1
Gray Partridge 14 6
Ring-necked Pheasant 1 0
Ruffed Grouse 60 23
Wild Turkey 18 (20) 3
Virginia Rail 24 10
Sora 22 4
Common Moorhen 5 1
American Coot 4 1
Sandhill Crane 2 (4) 0
Killdeer 75 (77) 40
Spotted Sandpiper 52 (54) 14
Upland Sandpiper 34 3
Common Snipe 57 5
American Woodcock 41 (43) 4
Wilson’s Phalarope 3 1
Ring-billed Gull 10 (64) 3
Herring Gull 4 (20) 0
Common Tern 4 (10) 1
Black Tern 3 (8) 2
Rock Dove 72 31
Mourning Dove 83 31
Black-billed Cuckoo 43 4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 0
Eastern Screech-Owl 12 1
Great Horned Owl 27 9
Northern Hawk-Owl 1 1
Barred Owl 22 (23) 3
Long-eared Owl 6 0
Short-eared Owl 6 1
Northern Saw-whet Owl 18 0
Common Nighthawk 8 (10) 0
Whip-poor-will 13 0
Chimney Swift 13 (15) 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 61 7
Belted Kingfisher 63 (65) 19
Red-headed Woodpecker 5 (6) 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 62 (64) 28
Downy Woodpecker 68 (69) 27
Hairy Woodpecker 69 21
Black-backed Woodpecker 1 0
Northern Flicker 79 21
Pileated Woodpecker 55 9
Olive-sided Flycatcher 6 0
Eastern Wood-Pewee 73 8
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 4 0
Alder Flycatcher 60 5
Willow Flycatcher 22 1
Least Flycatcher 62 (63) 6
Eastern Phoebe 74 43
Great Crested Flycatcher 75 18
Eastern Kingbird 79 36
Loggerhead Shrike 1 0
Yellow-throated Vireo 3 0
Blue-headed Vireo 12 0
Warbling Vireo 68 7
Philadelphia Vireo 2 0
Red-eyed Vireo 82 14
Gray Jay 1 0
Blue Jay 82 28
American Crow 83 46
Common Raven 46 (50) 11
Horned lark 29 4
Purple Martin 28 (30) 14
Tree Swallow 80 52
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 22 12
Bank Swallow 31 17
Cliff Swallow 34 (35) 20
Barn Swallow 75 47
Black-capped Chickadee 82 47
Red-breasted Nuthatch 57 12
White-breasted Nuthatch 65 20
Brown Creeper 20 3
House Wren 55 15
Winter Wren 38 0
Sedge Wren 6 0
Marsh Wren 22 (23) 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 18 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9 0
Eastern Bluebird 53 34
Veery 75 7
Swainson’s Thrush 3 1
Hermit Thrush 41 2
Wood Thrush 65 6
American Robin 85 65
Gray Catbird 67 20
Northern Mockingbird 8 1
Brown Thrasher 61 (62) 16
European Starling 79 64
Cedar Waxwing 77 15
Golden-winged Warbler 3 0
Tennessee Warbler 3 (4) 0
Nashville Warbler 53 (54) 7
Northern Parula 1 (2) 0
Yellow Warbler 79 31
Chestnut-sided Warbler 65 16
Magnolia Warbler 36 2
Cape May Warbler 7 (8) 0
Black-throated Blue Warbler 30 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 46 (47) 6
Black-throated Green Warbler 47 4
Blackburnian Warbler 17 3
Pine Warbler 31 (32) 1
Bay-breasted Warbler 2 0
Black-and-white Warbler 70 11
American Redstart 58 6
Ovenbird 81 14
Northern Waterthrush 41 6
Mourning Warbler 37 0
Common Yellowthroat 81 30
Canada Warbler 14 0
Scarlet Tanager 44 (47) 3
Eastern Towhee 9 1
Chipping Sparrow 80 42
Clay-coloured Sparrow 13 0
Field Sparrow 32 8
Vesper Sparrow 30 6
Savannah Sparrow 71 22
Grasshopper Sparrow 7 1
Le Conte’s Sparrow 1 0
Song Sparrow 83 55
Lincoln’s Sparrow 2 (3) 1
Swamp Sparrow 68 18
White-throated Sparrow 76 14
Dark-eyed Junco 10 (16) 0
Northern Cardinal 54 14
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 74 24
Indigo Bunting 56 (58) 9
Bobolink 75 25
Red-winged Blackbird 83 57
Eastern Meadowlark 74 21
Common Grackle 82 61
Brown-headed Cowbird 75 21
Baltimore Oriole 74 32
Purple Finch 52 7
House Finch 43 14
Red Crossbill 2 (5) 1
White-winged Crossbill 13 0
Pine Siskin 21 (25) 0
American Goldfinch 84 12
Evening Grosbeak 33 (38) 6
House Sparrow 66 38

Species in Region 24 observed only (X)
*Note: these species were observed in suitable habitat in breeding season and may be elevated to breeding status in future. Species that were obviously migratory, such as northern-nesting shorebirds, are not included.

RedheadBoreal ChickadeeTable 2: Number of species found and confirmed, and number of hours spent atlassing per square — cumulative for 2001 and 2002
Note: NOT ATLASSED = Square not assigned or atlasser unable to atlas this year
2002 only = square first atlassed in 2002
2001 only = square atlassed in 2001 but not in 2002
Number in parentheses () includes species coded X , i.e., “observed only”

Square name & number Number of species Number confirmed Number of hours in square
VR00 Almonte 77 (79) 21 10 (2002 only)
VR01 Blakeney 86 (93) 19 37.5
VR02 Kinburn 102 (104) 19 29.5 (2001 only)
VR03 Fitzroy Harbour 108 (113) 46 75.5
VR04 Quyon (5%) 78 (84) 21 19
VR10 Appleton 103 (104) 59 51.5
VR11 Corkery 109 (113) 21 45 (2002 only)
VR12 Marathon/Carp 89 (92) 18 23.5
VR13 Constance Bay 73 (75) 14 12.5 (2002 only)
VR14 Eardley (5%) NOT ATLASSED
VR20 Munster 105 (113) 57 98
VR21 Kanata/Stittsville 83 (90) 36 51
VR22 S. March 63 (74) 25 42.5
VR23 Dunrobin 107 (108) 41 35 (2002 only)
VR30 Richmond 114 (123) 72 92
VR31 Bells Corners 88 (92) 27 62
VR32 Britannia 49 (54) 19 3 (2001 only)
VR40 Manotick 74 (79) 48 28.5
VR41 Uplands Airport 103 (108) 50 111
VR42 Ottawa Centre 83 (85) 45 17
VR43 Rockcliffe 55 (60) 23 10.5
VR50 West Osgoode 81 (97) 60 42
VR51 Greely 85 (86) 18 24.5
VR52 Ramsayville 115 (120) 70 192.5
VR53 Greens Creek 64 (69) 11 31
VR60 Vernon 68 (70) 9 16
VR61 Edwards 70 (74) 7 12
VR62 Carlsbad Springs 70 (76) 36 15
VR63 Martin’s Corners 61 (62) 10 10.5
VR64 Cumberland (5%) 11 0 1
VR70 Morewood 63 (66) 27 19.5
VR71 Russell 78 (88) 32 24.5
VR72 Vars 99 (105) 36 100.5
VR73 Sarsfield 86 (93) 31 72.5
VR74 Rockland 54 3 2.5
VR80 Crysler 53 (54) 21 2.5 (2001 only)
VR81 Gagnon 79 (82) 14 14 (2001 only)
VR82 Cheney 84 (85) 21 30.5
VR83 Bourget 78 (83) 13 26
VR84 Clarence 78 (81) 9 27
VR90 Berwick 77 (78) 22 5
VR91 Mayerville 83 (84) 25 11
VR92 Lemieux 69 22 7.5
VR93 Pendleton 23 (26) 3 9 (2001 only)
VR94 Jessups Falls 49 (50) 4 13 (2001 only)
UR50 McCreary Mtn./Norcan Lake 76 14 16
UR51 Ferguson’s Lake 79 (84) 12 10
UR52 Shamrock 83 13 13
UR53 Balsam Hill 48 3 2 (2002 only)
UR54 Bromley 50 6 2.5 (2002 only)
UR55 Cobden 64 (69) 12 18.5
UR56 Beachburg 54 (58) 4 6
UR57 Westmeath 78 (83) 4 9 (2002 only)
UR58 Flannagan Bay 42 (43) 4 5
UR60 Flower Station 86 (88) 9 38
UR61 Calabogie 84 (86) 23 91
UR62 Ashdad 104 (107) 33 60
UR63 Renfrew 69 (76) 10 18
UR64 Haley Station 70 (74) 9 18
UR65 Queensline 72 (78) 24 17
UR66 Norman Rapids 48 7 2.5
UR67 La Passe 41 6 2
UR68 Davidson 10 1 0.5 (2001 only)
UR70 Darling Long Lake 24 (26) 2 13
UR71 Bagot Long Lake 74 (79) 17 18
UR72 Burnstown 77 (79) 20 36
UR73 Goshen 74 (75) 13 23
UR74 Castleford 34 (38) 5 7.5
UR80 Tatlock 122 57 77 (2001 only)
UR81 Lowney Lake 92 (95) 13 15
UR82 White Lake 93 (99) 30 71
UR83 Sand Point 74 (77) 4 15.5
UR84 Rhoddy’s Bay (5%) 31 (33) 3 4 (2002 only)
UR90 Clayton 93 (96) 38 34
UR91 Cedar Hill 81 (85) 18 26.5
UR92 Pakenham 90 (91) 30 70
UR93 Arnprior 108 (112) 9 16
VQ19 Black’s Corners 91 (94) 48 35
VQ29 Dwyer Hill 88 (92) 38 60
VQ39 Malakoff 113 (114) 49 33.5
VQ49 North Gower 58 (62) 18 17.5
VQ59 Osgoode 78 (88) 57 22
VQ69 Winchester Bog 60 (63) 15 15.5
VQ79 Winchester 82 (83) 39 14
VQ89 Chesterville 87 (89) 42 15
VQ99 Finch 89 (91) 33 18.5

Atlas Volunteers 2002

Ken Allison
Ruth Allison
Robert Alvo
Ted Baldwin
Ron Bedford
Lisa Benedetti
Cliff Bennett
Lynda Bennett
Marg Benson
Peter Blancher
Celia Bodnar
Ludmilla Borshevsky
Brian Bowen
Colin and Pat Bowen
Rob Bowyer and Catherine Smith
Tracy Bridges
David Britton
Richard Brouillet
Peter Browne
Gerhard Bruins
Emily Burton
Janet Castle
Bob Cermak
Laurie Consaul
Daryl Coulson
Dave Critchlow
Dale Crook
Ron Curtis
Anthony and Gretchen Denton
Erica Dunn
Peter Fuller
Bill Fyfe
Marcel Gahbauer
Colin Gaskell
Jessica Gawn
Mark Gawn
Carol and Alan German
Jim Gillick
Al Graham
Marc Gravel
Anne Hackston
Christine Hanrahan
Mark Hovorka
Terry Huzarski
Roy John
Paul Jones
Michael Kahn
Anthony Keith
Rick Killeen
Maryanne Koot
Bernie Ladouceur
Roland Lamarche
Sandy Lang
Mike and Judy Lascelles
Chris Lewis and Bob Bracken
Dick Mabee
MacNamara Field Naturalists
Paul and Michelle Martin
Barb Martinovic
Bev McBride
Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists
Dave Moore
Carolyn Murphy
Mick Panesar
Bev Peterkin
Remy Poulin
Eric Ridgen
Jack Romanow
Mary Rothfels
Linda Ryan
Paul Schoening
Bev Scott
Arnie Simpson
Dan and Chris Simpson
Langis Sirois
Jeff and Angela Skevington
Dave Smythe
Daniel St. Hilaire
Mark Stabb and Caroline Schultz
Blair Stevens
Austin Taverner
Eve Ticknor
Kathryn Warner and Mike Enright
Sloane Watters
Laurie L. Wood
Eleanor Zurbrigg

Further contributions were made by Tony Beck, Kathy Bissett, Bruce Di Labio, Georgina Doe, Dan Brunton, Sandy Garland, and Jeff Mills.