On Friday, December 12th, 2008 this is the HNC Birding Report: BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER
Brant Cackling Goose Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup King Eider Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Common/Barrow's Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Wild Turkey Red-necked Grebe Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl Long-eared Owl Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike Horned Lark Brown Creeper Carolina Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush American Robin Yellow-rumped Warbler Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Fox Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird White-winged Crossbill Pine Siskin Its been a good week for winter birding here in Hamilton. A few uncommon species and a rare winter bird have give winter listers some incentive for getting out in the field. The BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was seen again yesterday along the boardwalk at LaSalle Park. This bird, a female, is often seen extremely low and feeding on buckthorn which is scattered near the boardwalk that runs along the bay. A number of species of ducks including Canvasback, Greater and Lesser Scaup, and Hooded Merganser can also been seen here. A Hermit Thrush was seen on Saturday and Belted Kingfisher has been seen along the shore during the week. As is typical over the winter season, ducks seem to dominate the Hamilton Report. For winter listers, interesting birds include the female King Eider seen again today just offshore at Millen Road, a Brant seen amongst a flock of Canada Geese at the same location yesterday and a Cackling Goose picked out amongst a growing number of Canada Geese at Confederation Park today. At the end of Grays Road today the hybrid drake Barrow's/Common Goldeneye was seen. Other birds along here include the usual Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and all three Scoter species. A single Red-necked Grebe was seen on Monday at Hutches. At the Windermere Basin, a high number of Green-winged Teal, Pintail, Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks are present. Three Black-crowned Night Herons were seen on the Red Hill Creek Outlet yesterday. Snowy Owls continue to infiltrate the area with a bird consistently seen at Bronte Harbour on the boat docks over the week and another one or two birds being present at Tollgate Pond and Canada Centre for Inland Waters. At Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington this week, Brown Creeper, Carolina and Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Field and White-throated Sparrow were seen. Further east just south of Shell Park a very late Chipping Sparrow was seen last Friday. A search for this winter rarity came up short but a couple of Hermit Thrush were consolation prizes. At Bronte Creek Provincial Park this week, Long-eared Owls were flushed from spruce on the east side of the park and White-winged Crossbills made a brief appearance at Parking Lot A. The White-winged Crossbill invasion continues here in the HSA. In addition to Bronte Creek Provincial park, birds were reported from the Petro Canada property at Mississauga Road and Rebecca in Oakville, in Dundas on Sunrise Crescent, in Flamborough from 5th Concession West today and from Pinedale Farms also in Flamborough. These birds are wanderers but there seems to be a number of them about, its all timing and luck. Reports of birds up in the Flamborough area this week include a Bald Eagle seen over Hyde Tract, Rough-legged Hawks seen on Ainsley, 5th Road West near Lynden and 4th Concession West and Hwy 8, Northern Harrier at 5th Road West and Lynden, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull seen across from Waterdown Garden Supplies just east of Woodhill Road on Highway 5, Northern Shrike was seen on Concession 5 just east of Brock Road and a small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds at Lynden Road and Hwy 5. Further west, twenty-two Turkeys and a Turkey Vulture were reported from Lynden this week. A Fox Sparrow and Pine Siskins have been reported from a feeder near 5th Concession West. A Pileated Woodpecker was seen flying over 5th Concession West and Middletown Road. At the Dundas Marsh yesterday, seven Yellow-rumped Warblers were present along with a Swamp Sparrow. Today a Red-bellied Woodpecker and several White-throated Sparrows were seen. A search of fields up in Halton north of Oakville was fairly quiet last Sunday however on 4th Line between Lower Baseline and Britannia a group of Horned Lark, Snow Buntings and a single Lapland Longspur were seen. In the odds and sods, wintering Merlins seem to be setting up territories near Bronte Harbour in Oakville, Central Park in Burlington and the Plains Road and Howard Road area. A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds were seen near the Hendrie Valley. A Glaucous Gull and a second winter Lesser Black-backed Gull were seen on the bay from Canada Centre for Inland Waters. Bald Eagles seem to be growing in numbers with reports mainly from Hamilton Harbour this week of adult birds. That's the news for this week. Please keep me advised of your winter sightings! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. 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