On Friday, March 6th, 2009 this is the HNC Birding Report: Wood Duck American Wigeon American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Wild Turkey Red-throated Loon Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Peregrine Falcon Killdeer Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Northern Flicker American Crow Common Raven Horned Lark Winter Wren Yellow-rumped Warbler Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Purple Finch White-winged Crossbill Common Redpoll Hoary Redpoll Pine Siskin
Wow! Warm air, sunshine and spring migrants, you couldn't ask for a better day. This marks the official beginning of spring migration with the arrival of Killdeer and Blackbirds. Over the past two days, reports have been pouring in of Red-winged Blackbirds returning to sing in the wetlands around the HSA. A novelty for about the first week :). The warm air from the south over the past two days has prompted the return of Killdeer (first one reported from Beamer yesterday and two seen today at Confederation Park), Turkey Vultures, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle and Red-winged Blackbirds. This week the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch started for those brave souls who counted during more frigid temperatures early in the week to today for those who counted during mild temperatures. Yesterday was a great day with a movement of Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk over the watch. It's a great place to be to exercise your hawk watching skills. Beamer Memorial Conservation Area is located just north of Ridge Road on Quarry Road just west of Mountain Road in Grimsby on the escarpment. Counters are always looking for extra help and it's a great way to see other migrants as well. Waterfowl are also on the move in these warmer winds. Windermere Basin, the Hamilton Harbour and the flooded fields of Saltfleet are good areas to find waterfowl in March. At Windermere Basin, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, a migrant Wood Duck and Red-necked Grebe were found in the week. Up in Saltfleet today on 5th Road East a flooded field produced a single Northern Pintail, two American Wigeon, Black and Mallard Ducks. More will arrive over the next couple of days as temperatures stay warm. Off Woodland Cemetery today, Northern Pintail, American Wigeon and Red-necked Grebes were among waterfowl seen today. Staying on the waterfowl theme, a single Red-throated Loon was seen off Grays Road earlier in the week. A small tour of Saltfleet today yielded the above ducks in addition to a Common Grackle on 8th Road East , Brown-headed Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds on Ridge Road between 8th and 10th Road East and a lingering Snowy Owl at the Stoney Creek Airport. Another Snowy Owl was seen earlier in the week just east of 11th Road on Mud Street. Horned Larks can be seen on the roadsides on many of the roads in this area. At LaSalle Park this week, receding ice has been a good spot to find gulls on the harbour this week. Six species of gull were seen here yesterday including Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed, Glaucous, Iceland and a second year Lesser Black-billed Gull. Perhaps unnoticeable but noteworthy is the movement of American Crows along the lakeshore this time of year. Crows in numbers are travelling northward but mixed in with them could be Common Ravens. Early this week, two Common Ravens were seen flying over Central Park in Burlington being harassed by a mob of crows. The entourage of crows continued today along the shores of Burlington and Grimsby. At the Valley Inn this week Winter Wren, Pine Siskins and Red-winged Blackbirds were seen. White-winged Crossbills, Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls are still being reported throughout the area however are on the decline. There is lots to report in odds and sods this week. It appears that there may be a power struggle at the Lift Bridge for the Peregrines. Three peregrines were seen yesterday with two in a tangle over the lake yesterday. Two wintering Turkey Vultures were seen over Lynden last weekend. Bald Eagles appear to be nesting at the Grand River site at McClung Road. A Pied-billed Grebe is still present at the Desjardins Canal. Wild Turkey were seen near Deer Run Court in Brantford and were seen at Guelph Line and No. 1 sideroad last weekend. A Yellow-rumped Warbler was seen again today near McMaster Campus in Hamilton. A Red-shouldered Hawk made an appearance after a brief absence in the Bronte Marsh. Last Saturday a flock of Common Redpoll along with a female Hoary Redpoll and Purple Finches were reported from the Northshore Trails of the Royal Botanical Gardens at the Arboretum. That's the news for this week. Please keep me advised of spring migrants! 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
