AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN
BLACK VULTURE
Cackling Goose
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Wild Turkey
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
American Bittern
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
Sora
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Upland Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
The list is growing here in the Hamilton Study Area. Migrants are coming in
despite poor weather conditions and some of them are sticking around. An
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN continued to be seen along the Grand River in
Brantford as of Wednesday at the Brantford Golf and Country Club. As of
Thursday, another AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was still being seen in Cootes
Paradise from the South Shore Trails of the Royal Botanical Gardens located
near McMaster University. Other good birds seen here on Thursday were
Osprey, Golden Eagle and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Another great sighting in
the week was a BLACK VULTURE seen last Sunday with a group of Turkey
Vultures over Grimsby.
Today was the open house for the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer
Memorial Conservation Area. Despite stronger east winds and cold, the birds
came through and 8 Bald Eagles and over 2000 Broad-winged Hawks did not
disappoint the counter or the visitors here today. Other birds seen here in
the week were Wood Duck, Common Loon, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern
Harrier, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern
Saw-whet Owl, Tree and Barn Swallow, Purple Martin, Brown Thrasher, Eastern
Towhee, Fox and White Throated Sparrow. In the surrounding area,
Blue-winged Teal, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were seen on 8th Road East
south of Ridge Road on Thursday and Wild Turkey and Wilson's Snipe were seen
on 10th Road East between Ridge and Green Mountain Road. Four Wilson's Snipe
and a Field Sparrow were seen on 11th Road East.
A very pleasant trip into south Haldimand area today was successful for a
few returning migrants. At Mount Healy on West River Road just south of
York, four Upland Sandpipers were camouflaged in a field on the west side of
the road just north of the dirt road formerly known as Mt. Healy Road. In
the hedgerows here were Eastern Bluebird, Brown Thrasher, Field, Savannah,
White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow. Across the road and south a bit
was a flooded area with Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Green-winged Teal
were seen here and at a number of the flooded fields in this area. Spotted
Sandpipers were seen at the farm pond on Highway 6 north of Hewitts Dairy
which is north of Hagersville, and at a pond on Regional Road 56 north of
Concession 2. A great surprise was a Northern Waterthrush heard singing and
eventually appearing in a slough in the village of Decewsville. Vesper
Sparrow was a welcome addition to the list on Indiana Road between Singer
Road and Regional Road 56. Eastern Bluebirds seem to be plentiful down in
this area with Tree Swallows giving them competition for their living space.
The lakeshore properties have been relatively quiet this week but Shoreacres
in Burlington have had reports of Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown
Creepers (in numbers), Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, up to six Pine Warblers and
Yellow-rumped Warbler. Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Brown Thrasher and Fox
Sparrow were seen Tuesday at Sherwood Forest Park just south of the QEW near
Burloak Drive in Burlington.
Lots to report in the odds and sods this week. A Cackling Goose was seen in
a group of Canada Geese over Grimsby mid-week. Red-throated Loons were seen
over Woodland Cemetery today. American Bittern was calling again in the
Safari Road swamp just west of Kirkwall Road on Safari last weekend. A Great
Egret was seen by Sleepy Hollow Cr in Dundas near Olympic Drive. Bald
Eagles appear to have young on nest near Wilkes Dam in Brantford. A Sora
was a life bird for a keen observer at the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons. Common
Ravens appear to be nesting at the quarry on 4th Concession West near Brock
Road. Today, Yellow-rumped, Pine and Palm Warbler were seen at the
Clappison's Corner Wetlands behind the Rona in Waterdown. Earlier in the
week, birders and photographers were treated to a few Pine Warblers feeding
on the grassy area there. Rusty Blackbird was seen at Fifty Point
Conservation Area. Two brilliant male Purple Finch were seen along Tuck
Creek in Burlington, one female at Fifty Point Conservation Area and another
one in a backyard in Waterdown today. These birds are on their way back
through the area. A Pine Siskin was a guest at a feeder in Dundas this week
This warm air system starting tonight and continuing through the week could
bring interesting birds to the area. Grab and umbrella and get out there!
The best is yet to come. Thanks for all your reports throughout the week,
please keep them coming.
Cheers,
Cheryl Edgecombe
_______________________________________________
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/
