On Friday, December 24th, 2010 this is the HNC Birding Report: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE SNOW GOOSE BOHEMIAN WAXWING
King Eider Wild Turkey Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron Red-shouldered Hawk Northern Goshawk Purple Sandpiper Glaucous Gull Winter Wren Hermit Thrush Cedar Waxwing Eastern Towhee Fox Sparrow Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Pine Siskin This week has been a little quieter than the last. There are some good winter birds still around though. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen earlier in the week amongst hundreds of Canada Geese down at Confederation Park. A lingering Great Blue Heron was seen in a small slit of open water on the pond here. A flyby and photograph of a shorebird at this location turned out to be a Purple Sandpiper which was found the next day on the rocks at Fifty Point Conservation Area. Also seen at Fifty Point was an immature Glaucous Gull yesterday. A few Common Redpolls were also seen in the trees at Confederation Park and Fifty Point. A juvenile Blue Morph SNOW GOOSE was found on the South Peel Count last weekend at Bronte Creek Provincial Park, Oakville on the west side. This bird was seen again the next day and is likely still around if you can find the flock. The Guelph Arboretum was productive today with a flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS eating fruit along with some Cedar Waxwings. A Fox Sparrow is also coming to the feeders there, only the second record for this site. Another flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen briefly at University Plaza in Dundas last weekend. Out on Fallsview Road just north of Dundas, hundreds if not over a thousand Snow Buntings have been seen in the plowed fields near Dyments farm. Over the past couple of days a careful search of these large flocks have yielded a couple of Lapland Longspurs in the group. A sizable flock of Horned Larks are being seen in this area too. Other flocks of Snow Buntings were seen near 4th Concession West and Lynden Road. Other good winter birds seen this week were a Red-shouldered Hawk at the arboretum at the Royal Botanical Gardens and another one or the same seen near the Pioneer in Waterdown. A Northern Goshawk made a flyby at Saddington Park in Mississauga. A Winter Wren was found at Shoreacres in Burlington. A Hermit Thrush made a good yard bird in Dundas. At the RBG property off York Road known as Hopkins Tract, an Eastern Towhee flew across the path at the intersection where the path branches between the hydro lines and the woodlot at the back of the houses there. A Fox Sparrow is coming into a feeder at the North end of Burloak Drive in Oakville. A feeder in Burlington near Hidden Valley has a sporadic Red-winged Blackbird and a Common Grackle briefly stopped by. A significant flock of Wild Turkeys can be found on First Road West on the Hamilton Mountain in Stoney Creek. A Pied-billed Grebe is back at the Desjardins Canal. Pine Siskins are still being reported at various feeders throughout the area. The Hamilton Christmas Bird Count is December 26th so send along your sightings as we are already in the count period. All the best this holiday season. Have a safe and Merry Christmas. Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
