On Friday, November 28th, 2008, this is the HNC Birding Report: WHITE-EYED VIREO BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER
Cackling Goose Hooded Merganser Common Loon Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Purple Sandpiper Dunlin Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Great Horned Owl Snowy Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Red-bellied Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike Brown Creeper Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird American Pipit Yellow-rumped Warbler Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Snow Bunting White-winged Crossbill Pine Siskin There has been some interesting birds found here in the Hamilton Study Area this week. Last Saturday in Bronte Creek Provincial Park, a WHITE-EYED VIREO was found on a trail near the tennis courts. Other birds seen on that outing and on the next couple days after that were Red-shouldered Hawk, Great Horned, Long-eared and Northern Saw-whet Owl, Pileated and Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Eastern Bluebird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a sizable flock of White-winged Crossbills near Parking Lot F. Also found this week was a very late female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER at LaSalle Park. The bird was found last Sunday and seen briefly on Monday but still could be in the area as there is alot of tangle located on the hill. Many of you will remember how easy it was to find the Yellow-breasted Chat there a few winters ago (NOT!). While looking for this bird a Pileated Woodpecker was seen in the trees along the top of the hill. Snowy Owls continue to invade the area with several being seen this week. One was seen last weekend across from the movie theatres located on Burloak just south of the QEW. Another bird was seen flying across the highway at the junction of the QEW and 403. Two birds were seen (one juvenile and one adult) on the break wall at Canada Centre for Inland Waters and yet another bird was seen yesterday along Hwy 407 just east of Winston Churchill Blvd., sitting on a post on the north side of the highway. These will likely continue to be seen regularly in the next few weeks. At Fifty Point Conservation area a Purple Sandpiper was flushed from the jetty on the east side on Tuesday. Bald Eagle and Lesser Black-backed Gull were seen on the same day and today a flock of 6 Snow Buntings were seen in the parking lot. Winter finches continue to infiltrate the area. In addition to the ones seen at Bronte Creek, White-winged Crossbills were also reported in the Patterson Tract located on 4th Concession just west of Woodhill and at various spots in the Carlisle and Flamborough area. Pine Siskins were seen at a feeder in Brantford. Out at the Dundas Marsh, a Merlin perched at Presidents Pond yesterday. Eastern Bluebirds and Yellow-rumped Warbler on the path out the willows may be of interest to winter listers and a group of Hooded Mergansers were present in Spencer's Creek. For those with patience for sifting through masses of gulls, rewards are many. This week at the Waterdown Garden Supply located on Hwy 5 just west of Peter's Corners a variety of gulls including Glaucous, Iceland, Greater and Lesser Black-backed (7 of them!) were sorted out. Also seen were two Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer and a small flock of American Pipits. These are all good birds for winter listers. Please note there is no access into the property on the weekend. Please respect these conditions. Safety vests must be obtained from the office when it is opened in order to gain access. In the odds and sods this week, 5 Cackling Geese were seen near the Grand River just upstream from Caledonia. A Common Loon was also in the river. A couple of reports of Rough-legged Hawk came in from Guelph Line just north of Dundas and another on the North Service Road near King Road. A late Dunlin was seen in the Desjardins Canal last Saturday. A Brown Creeper was seen at Woodland Cemetery. Another American Pipit was seen on the bluffs at Burloak Park last Sunday. A Fox Sparrow is still present at a feeder in Flamborough and four White-throated Sparrows showed up out of nowhere at my feeder on Wednesday. Winter listing starts Monday. Please report your sightings! With the possible storm moving in, unusual birds could be popping up in unusual places. 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
