On Friday March 21st, 2009 this is the HNC Birding Report: CALIFORNIA GULL THAYER'S GULL LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL AMERICAN WOODCOCK BOHEMIAN WAXWING EVENING GROSBEAK
Tundra Swan Canvasback Redhead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Red-throated Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Coopers Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Peregrine Falcon Killdeer Glaucous Gull Great Black Backed Gull Great Horned Owl Belted Kingfisher Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Northern Shrike Horned Lark Eastern Bluebird Cedar Waxwing Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Pine Grosbeak Common Redpoll Pine Siskin In theory it should be spring here in the HSA but you wouldn't know it by the temperatures. Despite this, some hardy migrants are showing up anyway defying frozen grounds and covered food. This week the list of new migrants included our first AMERICAN WOODCOCK flushed from the side of the road in North Halton and the first EASTERN PHOEBE was recorded at Beamer Conservation Area. Other migrants include the traditional first harbingers of spring Killdeer, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds reported in growing flocks. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch brought in its own cavalry of migrating hawks and eagles including a number of Bald Eagles, another adult Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawks in numbers, Red-shouldered, Rough Legged, Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern Goshawk and a Peregrine Falcon. Today is the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch Open House at Beamer Conservation Area from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Its a nice day, come and check out the action! Interestingly this week we have seen the return of some of the winter birds to the area. Small flocks of Common Redpolls are still being seen at feeders. A small group of 4 Pine Grosbeaks were seen with about 40 Cedar Waxwings across from the Olympic Arena yesterday. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were reported in small numbers at two locations in Dundas this past week. Yesterday, a large flock of Cedar Waxwings with at least 6 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS was seen up on Cedar Springs Road and Sideroad 2 where a couple days early two EVENING GROSBEAKS were seen. To round out winter finches, Pine Siskins seem to be making their return north with reports from feeders in Brantford and Dundas. Another good hotspot if you like smelly compost heaps is the large compost area located along Hwy 5 just east of Waterdown Garden Supplies. Yesterday about 5000 gulls were present here in the compost facility and the fields surrounding. If one is patient, an adult CALIFORNIA GULL was refound yesterday. THAYER'S GULL, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, Glaucous, Iceland and Great Black-backed Gull were other species mixed in amongst the Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. A word of caution, Highway 5 is an extremely busy road and there is no entry into the compost facility on weekends. Proper safety gear must be worn from the office which is open on weekdays. Please respect the owners hospitality of letting birders in with these conditions. This was also a good place for hawks and vultures as Red-tailed, Rough-legged Hawk and Turkey Vultures were seen there as well. At the Desjardins Canal this week Horned Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Canvasback, Redhead, Hooded Merganser, American Coot and a Belted Kingfisher were seen. Down at LaSalle Marina, Tundra Swan, American Wigeon, Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagles (still present on disappearing ice), Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gulls were reported in the week. At the Burlington Ship Canal three Red-throated Loons, a Horned Grebe on the water and seven more Bald Eagles were seen from here on the ice on the bay. A pair of Peregrine Falcons are displaying here again, well worth watching their aerial acrobatics. In Brantford, opening waters at the Wilkes Dam produced Common Goldeneye, Common Mergansers and two uncommon species for this area Horned and Red-necked Grebes. In the odds and sods a Pileated Woodpecker was spotted Monday on Victoria Road and Wellington, Eastern Bluebirds were seen checking out nesting sites in Brantford, another was seen near the Olympic Arena. A Northern Shrike was seen in Flamborough. A Northern Goshawk was seen over Dundas and a pair of Great Horned Owls can be heard calling in the west side of the arboretum, York Road entrance. Our Peregrine Falcons are back at the Sheraton and checking out the nest site. They can be viewed on the net by entering http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/. Start now and watch what happens in the next two weeks! Thanks to Brandon for awesome coverage of the hotline for two weeks! Its going to get busy this week as temperatures are supposed to rise through the week. Please report your sightings and keep me posted of spring migrants, I need hope. 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/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
