On Friday, July 31st, 2009, this is the HNC Birding Report: AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN CATTLE EGRET HUDSONIAN GODWIT LAUGHING GULL
Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Hooded Merganser Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Green Heron Osprey Northern Harrier Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Semipalmated Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull As we move into August the landscape of birds remains the same this week with shorebirds dominating the report. A new spot to look for shorebirds is the wet field up in Saltfleet on 8th Road East north of Green Mountain Road. Here in the furrows of the field, quite a few species of shorebirds are poking around the wet areas. A surprise visitor this week which was still present today was a HUDSONIAN GODWIT in heavy molt. This bird flew in on Wednesday with a flock of Short-billed Dowitcher. Also present in the field were Semipalmated Plover, Spotted, Solitary and Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and Wilson's Snipe. Cruising over the fields here as well were a couple of Northern Harriers and a Peregrine Falcon put the birds up too. Another spot for shorebirds continues to be the Waterdown Garden Supplies on Hwy 5 west of Orkney Road. The LAUGHING GULL was seen last Tuesday out in the field to the east in and amongst hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls. In the gooey areas around the property, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted, Solitary, Semipalmated, Least and Pectoral Sandpiper. Hot off the press, a CATTLE EGRET was found standing on the shore of the large pond on the east side of the property. It flew off to the east and landed behind some red barns which put it out of view from the property. It's worth a check of this pond later and the farms surrounding the property. A good place to look as well are the cattle farms on Woodhill just north of Hwy 5. For access to the Waterdown Garden Supply, remember to check in at the office during open hours for a vest. They are closed on Sundays and on Holiday Monday. The small wet area on King Road just south of the QEW held Solitary and Spotted Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs. A Merlin flew into a nearby tree as these birds were being observed. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was last seen in the Dundas Marsh on Sunday and then later that day in the west pond of the Dundas Hydro Ponds. It may have been seen this morning on Neare Island off Eastport Drive. Osprey were seen over the Dundas marsh. An adult Bonaparte's Gull was present down at Fifty Road on Monday. At the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, a male Redhead, Hooded Mergansers and 3 juvenile Pied-billed Grebes were present along with a flyover Green Heron. Only a few other tidbits in the odds and sods. The Red-necked Grebes continue to be watched down at Bronte Harbour. Three young were seen this week along with two sets of adults. Another Merlin was seen in the usual spot down at the harbour. This is the second summer a Merlin has been seen in July and August here. Another Merlin was reported today from Central Park. A large group of 60 Red-necked Grebes were gathered at the mouth of the Sheridan Creek at Rattray Marsh. A Great Egret (no leg bands) was present in the large stormwater ponds at Guelph Line and the North Service Road on Tuesday and Wednesday. A Broad-winged Hawk was seen during a rain storm sitting in a tree in the Dundas Valley last weekend. Two Bonaparte's Gulls were seen at Canada Centre for Inland Waters today. That's the news for the week. Please keep sending your sightings! Have a great long weekend. 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
