At 9:00 p.m. on Thursday February 17th 2005 this is the HNC Birding Report:
GREAT GRAY OWL SNOWY OWL YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER Pied-billed Grebe Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Peregrine Falcon Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Northern Saw-whet Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Shrike Tufted Titmouse Hermit Thrush The winter doldrums have seem to have set in here in the HSA. There have been few sightings reported this week and not too much of note in the last few days. However, the weekend is almost upon us and its time to get out and find some fresh birds. The sightings of GREAT GRAY OWL in the area seem to be like sightings of Elvis. Another report this week in the Trafalgar and Britannia area of a Great Gray sitting in a tree by the roadside early Saturday morning. A trip down by myself in the afternoon was unsuccessful however this is a vast area of fields with woodlots so it is not surprising that one would be lurking about. Another winter bird refound on the weekend was the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER in Gage Park. This time the bird was spotted in some trees near the Lawrence Street parking lot. The lake has again opened up and given us some variety of viewing ducks. Species such as Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser were seen off of L.P. Sayers Park. At the lift bridge the pair of peregrines continue to be a presence. On the bay side a juvenile Bald Eagle was soaring about yesterday putting up the gulls. Gulls on the ice include Great Black-backed Gull, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls. The same mix of gulls were seen in the area of Hagersville sitting in a field, where up to 75 Great Black-backed Gulls were reported. Other owls still making news include a report of a SNOWY OWL made an appearance at an orchard on Cherry Avenue North in Beamsville a couple of days ago. Any further sightings would be appreciated. Long-eared and Northern Saw-whet Owls were seen in Bronte Creek Provincial Park last Sunday. The Northern Saw-whet was reported from the Northwest side of the campground entrance and the Long-eared Owls were reported from the west side of the park. A Northern Shrike was also seen in the park. Also reported this same day were the Tufted Titmice on the Northshore Trails of the RBG at the intersection of Captain Cootes and Gray Doe Trails. In the odds & sods department, last Saturday, a Hermit Thrush was seen on the McCormack Trail in Dundas Valley Conservation area, the Pied-billed Grebe continues to winter in the Desjardins Canal and a Northern Harrier was reported from the Tremaine and Highway 5 intersection, always a nice bird to see this time of year. That's the news of the week. Hopefully things will turn up through the week giving me some fodder to write about next week. Have a great week, good birding. Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
