On Friday, April 25th, 2008 this is the HNC Birding Report Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-sinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Golden Eagle Merlin Virginia Rail Sora Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Glaucous Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern Blue-headed Vireo Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swallow Tufted Titmouse House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Yellow Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Northern Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch Pine Siskin
There are encouraging signs this week that something is coming. Little dribs and drabs of migrants from further south are starting to show up in small numbers around the Hamilton Study Area. This week Northern Waterthrush started to sing in the Beverly Swamp. House Wrens, Yellow Warblers and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers showed up at the Dundas Marsh and another Louisiana Waterthrush could be heard belting out its song in Spencer Gorge. Numbers and variety of migrants have been low but this week after all this weather moves out things should pick up significantly. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer saw its larger push of Broad-winged Hawks last weekend. For those who were at the tower, large numbers of Broad-wings along with Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned and Coopers Hawks moved through. Other birds seen up there were Sandhill Crane, Brown Thrasher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and five male Purple Finch at the feeder. In Saltfleet, on 10th and 11th Road East, Upland Sandpipers could be heard and seen displaying, a number of Wilson's Snipe also displaying. In the wet fields seen from Ridge Road between 8th and 10th Road East, Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Pectoral and one Solitary Sandpiper were seen last Sunday. On 5th Road East, both Yellowlegs, a single Pectoral Sandpiper and many Wilson's Snipe were present. On 8th Road East a Vesper Sparrow was seen and heard between Ridge and Green Mountain Road. Chipping, Field, and Savannah Sparrows have now arrived in numbers. Down off the escarpment at the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons, Common Terns have shown up along with Spotted Sandpipers and WOOD TICKS!!! The Lakeshore properties, Paletta/Shoreacres and Shell Park have been extremely quiet this week. Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were reported in the week. Tree, Barn, Bank, Rough-winged Swallows and Purple Martins can be seen flying over the edges of the lake feasting on the many midges present here. The Bank Swallow colony at Burloak Park is now very alive! Pine Warblers were heard in Bronte Woods and at LaSalle Park. At Confederation Park, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Purple Finch were seen last Saturday. Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek produced a Palm Warbler and Blue-headed Vireo on Thursday. Out on the lake another story has unfolded. A significant Loon Migration occurred this week with many Common Loons (over 180) and a few Red-throated Loons were seen at various access points on the lake from Bronte Bluffs in Oakville to Green Road in Stoney Creek. Other birds found out on the lake and bay this week include Horned Grebes (dwindling in numbers), Red-necked Grebes, Bonaparte's Gulls in significant numbers around Bronte Harbour. Caspian Terns and now Common Terns can be seen cruising up and down the shorelines. Two Glaucous Gulls were seen flying over the bay last Saturday. Lots to report in the odds and sods this week. Two Green Herons were seen flying over 14 Mile Creek in Oakville. Pine Siskins were heard and seen on McNiven Road near Killbride. A Great Egret was hiding in the reeds behind VanWagners ponds last Sunday. Sora could be heard calling at the back of Mountsberg Conservation Area. Virginia Rail are now present at the marsh on Safari Road just east of Kirkwall Road. A Tufted Titmouse was seen in the Hendrie Valley. Kettling Broad-winged Hawks, Vesper, Field, Savannah and Chipping Sparrow and Eastern Bluebirds were reported from Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle. Finally, this week good news from the Sheraton Hotel in Hamilton. Our resident Peregrine Falcons Madame X and Surge are now incubating 4 eggs. The birds can be viewed on the web cam at http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/. The Falcon watch is looking for volunteers for when the new arrivals come. Information is on the website. Looking forward to a busy week, keep sending in the sightings. Good birding! 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
