On Friday, March 20th, 2009, this is the HNC Birding Report: Snow Goose Cackling Goose Canada Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck American Wigeon Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal King Eider Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Northern Goshawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Peregrine Falcon Sandhill Crane Killdeer American Woodcock Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Iceland Gull Thayer's Gull Short-eared Owl Eastern Phoebe Northern Shrike Horned Lark Yellow-rumped Warbler Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle Purple Finch Pine Siskin White-winged Crossbill
Its been a busy week here in the Hamilton Study area as a flood of spring migrants have infiltrated the area with warm temperatures. American Woodcock can be heard peenting in the traditional spots. A good place to listen for them in the area is the RBG trails off York Road. Up in Saltfleet, flooded fields have enticed migrating waterfowl to set down for a rest. Numerous flocks of Tundra Swans were reported here this week. Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal and Wood Duck are among migrants seen in these fields. Good fields to check are on 5th Road East between Green Mountain and Mud, 8th Road East between Ridge and Green Mountain and on 10th Road East just before the tracks on the east side. Also seen in the area this week were a lovely flock of 10 Lapland Longspurs mixed in with numerous Horned Larks and a Snow Bunting on Tapleytown Road. A lingering Northern Shrike was seen on 10th Road East and Eastern Meadowlarks have returned to the area to sing. Numerous flocks of mixed Blackbirds mostly Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were also reported in the week. At the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch, a steady stream of Turkey Vultures and Red-shoulders have been recorded in the week. A good number of Bald Eagles were seen going through earlier in the week. Red-tailed Hawks continue to migrate in numbers. Other raptors recorded in the week included a couple of Golden Eagles, Northern Goshawk, Cooper's, Sharp-shinned and Rough-legged Hawks and a Peregrine Falcon. Among the non-raptor goodies this week were more Tundra Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Killdeer and Purple Finch. Another area for waterfowl watching was Concession 5 W just east of Settlers Road in Flamborough (near Sheffield). Here last weekend and into Monday, hundreds of Canada Geese and Swans gathered. Up to 7 Cackling Geese were seen on Sunday and two Snow Geese were found there on Monday. Ducks seen in the field included American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail. At Waterdown Garden Supplies, gulls are still there in good numbers including Iceland, Glaucous, Thayers and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. This will be a good spot for returning shorebirds in the coming weeks. The Dundas Marsh has come alive with returning Blackbirds including a few Rusty Blackbirds. Tundra Swans were reported in the week, settling into the marsh for the night. There was also a report of a Sandhill Crane flying over here. Here and at the Dundas Hydro Ponds across the way, small groups of Yellow-rumped Warblers were reported with Golden-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers. Winter finches seem to be moving out of the area. Pine Siskins were reported from Patterson Tract. A small group of White-winged Crossbills were seen at a backyard in the area last weekend. In the odds and sods, a Short-eared Owl was seen on Km 5 of the 407 last weekend. Ruffed Grouse were also reported in Patterson Tract. A migrating Eastern Phoebe was reported from the end of Fifty Road along with a first winter male King Eider seen in a group of mixed Scoters off the end of Fifty Road. Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes seem to be moving into the area with increasing numbers of birds seen at Burloak Park and Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington. That's the news for this week. Get out to all your local hotspots this weekend and let me know your sightings! 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/
