On Thursday, January 25th, 2007, this is the HNC Birding report: SNOW GOOSE CACKLING GOOSE HARLEQUIN DUCK AMERICAN WIGEON KILLDEER ICELAND GULL THAYER'S GULL YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
Redhead Ring-necked Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ring-necked Pheasant Wild Turkey Horned Grebe Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon American Coot Glaucous Gull Great Horned Owl Short-eared Owl Northern Shrike Tufted Titmouse Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Eastern Towhee White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Cold temperatures have made a difference in the bird life here in Hamilton this week. The mixture has changed and includes a few new species of birds that have not been reported this winter. With ice now present on the bay, gulls now are able to be seen at various points around the bay sitting on the ice. Among the gulls this week were eight Glaucous Gulls, three ICELAND Gulls and 1 THAYER'S GULL in an area around Pier 4, Bayfront Park and the Discovery Centre in Hamilton. Last Saturday the female HARLEQUIN DUCK was seen around the Parks Canada Discovery Centre along with a mixture of ducks including Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common and Red-breasted Merganser and many American Coots. Around the bay at LaSalle Marina a couple of AMERICAN WIGEON moved in for a day. A Horned Grebe was seen near Canada Centre for Inland Waters still hanging in. On the Burlington/Oakville side of the lake, a blue morph SNOW GOOSE was seen at Bronte Harbour on Saturday and Sunday. Up in Grimsby on 10th Road East, birds present this week include a frozen out KILLDEER, Ring-necked Pheasant, Northern Shrike and Short-eared Owls. At bird feeders in the area, quite a few Brown-headed Cowbirds are being reported. The Valley Inn also holds some good winter birding. The Gray Catbird is still hanging in at its usual spot along the boardwalk. A Great Horned Owl is becoming very vocal in this area as nesting season starts soon. White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows are being seen pecking at the seed along the boardwalk. A frozen Great Blue Heron and a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds are still hiding in the reeds as well. Raptors in the news this week include Bald Eagles which have been reported over the high level bridge and on the existing ice on the bay. A Rough-legged Hawk was seen in the Grimsby area and at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. A Merlin was seen last weekend in the Bronte Harbour area and another one today at Guelph Line and Fairview and the Peregrine Falcon was sitting on the west tower of the Lift Bridge this afternoon. At the Brantford Airport this week, people looking for the elusive Gray Partridge reported a CACKLING GOOSE mixed in with the Canada Geese, Horned Larks and Snow Buntings. In the odds and sods this week, the Eastern Towhee and Brown Thrasher are still at LaSalle Park along the Waterfront trail. Another Eastern Towhee and a Hermit Thrush have been visiting a back yard in the Appleby Line and Spruce Area. A wintering YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER has been seen sporadically at a feeder near Waterdown. Three Wild Turkeys were seen on York Road near Dundas. That's the news for this week. Keep reporting your sightings and stay warm! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
