On Saturday, March 5th, 2011, this is the HNC Birding Report: Tundra Swan American Wigeon Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Great Horned Owl Horned Lark Eastern Bluebird Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Common Redpoll Pine Siskin
The list is short but full of hope this week as a few spring migrants trickle into the area with warmer temperatures this week. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch began its season this week. First days brought Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hwak, Rough Legged Hawk and Peregrine Falcon. This is only the tip of the iceberg of things to come. The season runs from March 1 - May 15th at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby. Check it out. Other raptor sightings include two Bald Eagles at the Desjardins Canal (probably the two from the nest in Cootes Paradise), two Bald Eagles at Canada Centre for Inland Waters and one adult over Guelph Line and Prospect on Tuesday. A dark Rough-legged Hawk was seen over Appleby and New Street yesterday. A Merlin was noted again near Barton and Ottawa. Peregrine Falcons were seen at Canada Centre for Inland Waters and sitting on the nest site on the tower of the lift bridge this week. Turkey Vultures have been spotted over Dundas, Flamborough and Grimsby this week. They seem to move earlier every year, probably as a result of overwintering birds that don't go too for south for the winter. Waterfowl is on the move here in the Hamilton Study Area especially today! This morning a group of 56 Tundra Swans were seen on the ice off LaSalle. Another flock was seen over the Dundas Hydro Ponds yesterday. Building numbers of Canvasbacks, Redheads and Ring-necked Ducks can be seen around the edge of the ice at the Burlington Golf Club and at the Desjardins Canal and Dundas Hydro Ponds. As is typical of this time of year, blackbirds are always a welcome sight at the beginning of the season. Several reports of Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds came in. A Common Grackles were seen on the mountain in Binbrook and one at a feeder in Brantford last Tuesday. Today's warmer temperatures may bring an influx of birds. In the odds and sods this week, Eastern Bluebirds were seen at the Dundas Marsh and along York Road. Horned Larks and Snow Buntings can still be seen in the ploughed fields in Flamborough. Any field with manure is a gold mine. Common Redpolls in growing numbers and Pine Siskins are being reported at feeders throughout the area, likely moving through on their way north. That's the short of it this week. I'm sure that things will pick up in the coming weeks. Please report your sightings. 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/
