On Thursday, April 6th, 2006 this is the HNC Birding Report: RED-THROATED LOON GREAT EGRET OSPREY LESSER YELLOWLEGS YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER PURPLE MARTIN GRAY CATBIRD RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH EASTERN TOWHEE FOX SPARROW
Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Wood Duck American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Peregrine Falcon Ring-necked Pheasant Wild Turkey Caspian Tern Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Tree Swallow Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Some new arrivals this week, a good sign considering we had a few flurries to muck up the week. Today was a gorgeous spring day with an impressive hawk flight at Beamer Conservation Area. A steady stream of Turkey Vultures soared over at various heights today along the escarpment. At one point over Centennial Parkway I looked up (while trying to drive) and saw a kettle of about 35 - 40 TV's moving through. Also seen over the week including today were Golden Eagle, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Coopers Red-shouldered, Red-tailed and a good number of Rough-legged Hawks. A few Peregrine Falcons have been counted at the Niagara Peninsula Hawk Watch including one with no tail. Other passerines seen there this week include Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow, PURPLE MARTIN, Golden and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, EASTERN TOWHEE and FOX SPARROW. In the area of Saltfleet, ducks continue to be a presence in the flooded fields between 8th and 10th Road. Seen there today were Wood Duck, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal. Six LESSER YELLOWLEGS were also seen in the field. Pied-billed Grebe and Ring-necked Ducks were present in the Quarry Pond on Green Mountain Road east of 10th Concession. A Ring-necked Pheasant and Wild Turkey were seen north of the tracks on 10th Road East. East of here Eastern Bluebirds were seen on Bowslaugh Road. The lakeshore properties have been busy this week. Shell Park in Oakville and Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington reported Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet Yellow-rumped Warbler and Fox Sparrow. An early LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH made an appearance briefly at Shoreacres/Paletta Park last Sunday. Down at Bronte Harbour a GREAT EGRET made an early appearance last Friday. Red-necked Grebes and Horned Grebes are present in numbers here and around the stretch of the western shore of Lake Ontario. In the odds & sods this week On the lakeshore last Sunday a RED-THROATED LOON was spotted at Fifty Road, Common Loons have been seen on the bay, Caspian Terns are increasing in numbers on the Eastport Islands, today 23 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS were seen at the Valley Inn, EASTERN TOWHEES were also singing at VanWagners Ponds and a GRAY CATBIRD made an early appearance at Woodland Cemetery near the lookout to Carroll's Point. Also seen in Woodland Cemetery were two Pileated Woodpeckers. That's the scoop for now. Report your sightings! Have a great week. Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
