On Friday, October 24th, 2008, this is the HNC Birding Report: BRANT HARLEQUIN DUCK YELLOW WARBLER
American Wigeon Greater Scaup Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe Bald Eagle Merlin Black-bellied Plover Killdeer Lesser Yellowlegs Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Caspian Tern Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Common Raven Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Cedar Waxwing Nashville Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler American Tree Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Snow Bunting Purple Finch Pine Siskin A few new birds in the area this week signify a changeover of migrants in the HSA with the arrival of winterish birds here and some birds who just don't know to move on! This weeks highlights include a very co-operative BRANT, seen on the grass at Spencer Smith Park, Wednesday afternoon and remaining until today. Off Sayer's Park in Stoney Creek our first of fall HARLEQUIN DUCK (female) was seen in a raft of ducks that have come in over the past week along with Horned Grebes. Also in Stoney Creek a record late YELLOW WARBLER made a great find as a yard bird on Thursday. East winds this week did not produce the expected Hamilton specialties however those who stood vigil at the Lakeland Centre at the beach on Wednesday and Thursday reported Greater Scaup, Surf, White-winged and Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck (in huge numbers!), Bufflehead, Common and Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated and Common Loon. On Wednesday, three Snow Buntings flew down the beach. East of here at Fifty Point Conservation Area a very late CASPIAN TERN and a Bonaparte's Gull were seen this week. At the Dundas Marsh this week, two Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows were seen on the west side of the creek. Out on the east side in the Willows a Wilson's Snipe was flushed from the trail and Black-bellied Plover and Killdeer were on the mudflats at the end of the trail. Today in the Cartwright Sanctuary (owned by the HNC) and the adjacent Berry Tract (owned by the RBG) a walk around these properties yielded Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and two female Purple Finch. At the Valley Inn, American Wigeon, Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Pileated and Red Bellied Woodpecker, Nashville Warbler and Fox Sparrow were highlights reported this week. Up in Flamborough at the Hyde Tract located on Safari Road just west of Kirkwall, Pileated Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow and Pine Siskins were reported this week. This will be a great property to visit for possible Boreal Chickadee vagrants. At Shoreacres this week, Red-necked Grebe, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Purple Finch were birds reported here in the week. In the odds and sods this week, American Tree Sparrows have been popping up in the Brantford area and behind the Olympic Arena in Dundas. An Eastern Phoebe was also seen there. Pine Siskins seem to be popping up in a few feeders in Dundas and out in Flamborough and a Common Raven cruised over Ancaster last weekend. That's the news this week. Our Fall Bird Count is next weekend. Please report your sightings so that we can hunt these down on November 2nd! Good Saugy Birding this weekend! Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-681-0329 _______________________________________________ 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
