This afternoon I hit a couple spots on the Niagara Peninsula, with the highlight being a NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW out towards the end of the east pier at Port Weller. The bird was located in the grassy/shrubby area near some stone rubble, about 20 meters before you reach the east bend in the pier (or the "foot" of the pier). Initially I was only able to get several brief, poor looks, but after playing about 10 minutes of hide and seek with the bird, I was finally able to get a close unobstructed look at it sat at the base of small sapling. I left the bird for several minutes, but then could no longer re-find it in the vicinity of where I last saw it, although no doubt it was still relatively close by. Other birds around were numerous Juncos, Song, White-throated, White-crowned, 3 Field, 1 Chipping, and 2+ Swamp Sparrows, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, along with 4+ Winter Wrens and 2 Hermit Thrushes. The lake was very quiet, save for a fly-by RED-THROATED LOON and numerous of Cormorants. Before getting to Port Weller, I stopped at the St. David's cannery ponds on Line 8 Rd. Water levels in the east pond close to the fence were still low, and present were 35 Wilson's Snipe, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Dunlin, 2 Least Sandpiper, and 11 Pectoral Sandpipers. Also numerous ducks including GW Teal, Pintail, Black Duck and Mallards. In the trees around the ponds was a large flock of 20+ Yellow-rumped Warblers along with several sparrows and kinglets. The Avondale Ponds on Stewart Rd. just southeast of Port Weller had some nice shorebird habitat, but the only birds present were 1 Semi/Least Sandpiper and 5+ Pipits. Jim Pawlicki Amherst, NY Port Weller East is located at the foot of the Welland Canal at Lake Ontario and can be accessed from Seaway Haulage Rd. just north of Lakeshore Rd. in the town of St. Catharines.
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