On Friday, October 18th, 2007, this is the HNC Birding report: AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN SABINE'S GULL BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE POMARINE JAEGER PARASITIC JAEGER
Greater Scaup White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Common Merganser Ruffed Grouse Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Northern Goshawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's Snipe Wilson's Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Red-eyed Vireo Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Nashville Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Palm Warbler Common Yellowthroat Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch White-winged Crossbill Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak Its been a busy week for turnover of migrants here in Hamilton. The big story of the week was winter finches which seem to be moving through our area in some numbers this week. Pine Siskin are turning up everywhere, Flamborough, Carlisle, Dundas, Burlington and some Purple Finches are moving through with them. At a feeder in Flamborough this week in one morning Purple Finch, Pine Siskin and a female type Evening Grosbeak had all visited the feeder by noon along with a Fox Sparrow. This is quite significant for this part of the world. Also, down in Canborough, two White-winged Crossbills were at a feeder last Friday. It is hard to predict how far south these winter finches will venture this winter but the important lesson here is to keep the feeders stocked and report your sightings! In other news, east winds once again blessed us with decent birds at VanWagners beach this week. Our first POMARINE JAEGER was seen on Tuesday along with a late SABINE'S GULL, a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE at a very close distance to the shoreline, PARASITIC JAEGERS dive bombing gulls and a few Bonaparte's Gulls mixed in. Among waterfowl seen flying around, Greater Scaup White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common Merganser, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon and Horned Grebe were reported on Monday and Tuesday. Scoters seem to be coming in in numbers now. Yesterday, onshore winds were light and the only bird of note was a Peregrine Falcon which put the birds up in a panic. Behind VanWagners Ponds a walk on the rail trail there kicked up a few species of sparrows. Birds seen here include Lesser Yellowlegs, Black-crowned Night Heron, House and Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglets everywhere, Hermit Thrush, Black-throated Blue and Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow and many Dark-eyed Juncos. Nearby at Windermere Basin a late Wilson's Phalarope was found last weekend, last seen on Monday. Other shorebirds here include, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Dunlin. Another spot for lingering shorebirds is Smithville Sewage Lagoons. In here on Wednesday, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin and Wilson's Snipe. A late Barn Swallow was also noted. This is a good place for a Hudsonian Godwit to drop in. Along the lakeshore at Shoreacres/Paletta this week, a number of Red-necked Grebes can be seen offshore. Passerines in the park include Hermit Thrush, both Kinglets, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Red-eyed Vireo, Nashville, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warbler and Fox Sparrow. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was last seen off of Northshore Trails last Saturday. Other birds seen there include Tree Swallows, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Brown Creeper. Hawks continue to move through the area. We need another shot of northwest winds to get it kick started again. However at Woodland Cemetery, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk and Northern Goshawk were all seen this week. Central Park in Burlington is also another hotspot for migrating/wintering raptors. A Merlin has set up shop for the winter here over the past few years and is here once again along with a second bird which may stay. A Peregrine Falcon made a flyby here on Wednesday. In Clarkson at Birchwood Park, a Hawkwatch here last Friday produced, Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed and Sharp-shinned Hawk. In the odds & sods this week a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow was found behind the Dundas Arena this week along with a couple of Barn Swallows flying over the hydro ponds. A Ruffed Grouse and a sizable flock of Rusty Blackbirds came into a feeder in north Flamborough. Of note this week was a Red-tailed hawk photographed on the North Service Road in Burlington. This is an extremely dark bird and could be the same western subspecies which overwintered here for a while last year. It was seen in the King Road area. That's the news for this week. Please keep me up to date on winter finch sightings and of course other significant birds. Have a great week! Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
