On Friday, February 5th, 2010 this is the HNC Birding Report: WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL
Wood Duck King Eider Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Hooded Merganser Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Merlin Peregrine Falcon Glaucous Gull Pileated Woodpecker Common Raven Tufted Titmouse Brown Creeper Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Tree Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Brown-headed Cowbird It's been a fairly quiet week here in the Hamilton Study Area. The most unusual bird of the week was a female WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL which showed up at a bird bath on Linwood Crescent in Burlington. On Sunday the bird was spotted at the end of the crescent where there is a feeder out front. It's worth checking the many evergreens in this area. It seems to be associating with a group of House Finches. Also present here is a Tufted Titmouse and a Brown Creeper. After last year's Crossbill invasion this seems to be one of a very few in the area. An OFO Field Trip last weekend recorded Wood Duck and Hooded Merganser in the Red Hill Creek Outlet. A few King Eiders were seen on the outing, one at the beach canal/lift bridge and more females and first year males at McNeilly Road. All three scoters were seen as well. Any of these access points along the western edge of Lake Ontario are worth checking. On the bay a Bald Eagle was harassing the gulls and two Glaucous Gulls were seen. At the sewage treatment plant accessed at the end of Hixon in Oakville, a Pileated Woodpecker and a hardy Ruby-crowned Kinglet were seen last weekend. A field trip by the HNC for winter flora at the Arboretum turned up another Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Out in Flamborough, Turkey Vultures continue to be seen at the roost on 4th Concession west, west of Woodhill Road on the south side. A Common Raven was seen at the quarry at 4th Concession West and Brock Road. A group of 5 Cowbirds was seen at a feeder in Greensville on Kirby Ave and these birds were relocated on Brock Road today mixed in with a number of starlings. In the odds and sods, the peregrines from the lift bridge have been spending a great deal of time on the roof at Canada Centre for Inland Waters. A White-throated Sparrow was seen at Christie Conservation Area today. A Merlin was seen yesterday at LaSalle Park near the top parking lot and another one seen flying over Walker's Line and New Street. That's the news for this week. I'm sure the weeks to come will start getting busier. Please don't be shy and send me your sightings! Cheers, 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/
