A large crowd of birders had an enjoyable day today at the Lakeland Centre at Hamilton's Van Wagners Beach with the brisk east winds producing well. By my count between 11:45 am and 5:30 pm, there were at least 20 jaegers, most identifiable as Parasitics with a variety of adults, juveniles, light, intermediate and dark morphs; some birds came fairly close to shore and gave excellent views. A tight flock of five birds coming in high towards shore were impressive. There were another 3 Parasitics before I arrived. The highlight, however, was an adult dark/intermediate morph Pomarine Jaeger with full central tail feathers trailing behind seen reasonably well at 12:15 pm. Three juvenile Sabine's Gulls at a distance were spotted at 3:00 pm. Two Red-necked Phalaropes flew by close to shore when the Pomarine was in view, and another distant flock of five phalaropes were flushed up by a passing jaeger at 5:30 pm. Ten Sanderling and a handful of waterfowl rounded out the day.
Cheers, Rob Dobos Dundas, Ont. [email protected] Directions to Van Wagners Beach: Take the Centennial Parkway (Hwy.20) exit from the QEW in east Hamilton and proceed north to the North Service Rd., turn left and continue west as it turns into Van Wagners Beach Road. Continue to the parking lots at either Hutch's Restaurant or the Lakeland Centre viewing tower and view the lake anywhere near here.
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