On Thursday, November 23rd, 2006, this is the HNC Birding Report: SNOW GOOSE BRANT BARROW'S GOLDENEYE BARROW'S x COMMON GOLDENEYE HOODED MERGANSER x COMMON GOLDENEYE SHORT-EARED OWL BLUE-HEADED VIREO
Canada Goose Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Red-throated Loon Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Greater Yellowlegs Great Horned Owl Northern Shrike Carolina Wren Winter Wren Brown Creeper Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch A quiet week in the HSA, most likely because people are out chasing alcids all over the province (Guilty)! A few good finds for the week include two male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE seen at the bottom of Grays Road today and for those into studying hybrids a BARROW'S x COMMON GOLDENEYE and a HOODED MERGANSER x COMMON GOLDENEYE at the same location. Along with these birds all three scoters, Common Goldeneye, Long-tailed Duck and Bufflehead. Still in the waterfowl department, the Hamilton Bay has been an excellent spot this week for a number of species. A BRANT is still hanging around off the west side of LaSalle Marina, a number of Red-throated and fewer Common Loons are out on the bay and a Grebefest of Pied-billed, Horned and Red-necked Grebes are also there. Also seen at LaSalle Park, a Great Horned Owl in the tall pines and a Brown Thrasher working its way through the scrub on the hill. This same day a small hawk migration took place and many Red-tailed Hawks were streaming over with a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks mixed in. Out behind the Olympic Arena in Dundas, a juvenile Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, a young Northern Shrike, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Eastern Bluebird, and Hermit Thrush were reported last weekend. At nearby RBG Trails off of York Road, a SHORT-EARED OWL was being mobbed by a murder of crows. Other birds reported from here include Hermit Thrush, Rusty Blackbird and Purple Finch. At Bronte Bluffs a late BLUE-HEADED VIREO made an appearance last weekend. A SNOW GOOSE was seen in a flock of approximately 500 Canada Geese near Rebecca Street and Great Lakes Blvd. At Bronte Harbour a Brown Creeper was found stunned and had to be rescued. It spent some time creeping around an apartment foraging before being let go. This would be quite a sight to see. In the odds & sods this week a late Greater Yellowlegs was located in the outer south end of our area on the north bank of the Sandust Creek just west of the Cheapside Rd. Bonaparte's Gull and Northern Shrike were seen at Fifty Point Conservation Area. That's all for this week. Good birding. Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
