On Friday, April 29th, 2011, this is the HNC Birding Report: WESTERN GREBE YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER CERULEAN WARBLER WORM-EATING WARBLER KENTUCKY WARBLER
Wild Turkey Common Loon Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Least Bittern Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Northern Goshawk Broad-winged Hawk Golden Eagle Virginia Rail Sora Sandhill Crane Spotted Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Common Tern Forster's Tern Chimney Swift Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Yellow-headed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Common Raven Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Brown Creeper House Wren Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Blue-winged Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Hooded Warbler Eastern Towhee American Tree Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Bobolink Rusty Blackbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole Purple Finch Pine Siskin I thought about just cutting and pasting the entire Hamilton Checklist this week and then eliminating the few birds that haven't been seen but as you can see by the above list it's been a phenomenal week of birding here in Hamilton Study Area. Starting with our rarities, the fall out that happened on Tuesday was something that I have never witnessed before. The birds were everywhere with an incredible number of species being found in a short period of time. Down at VanWagners Beach ponds both YELLOW-THROATED and a female CERULEAN WARBLER were seen in a mix of warbler species at about 6 in the evening. On Wednesday, a WORM-EATING and KENTUCKY WARBLER were seen at Rattray Marsh at the end of Bexhill in Mississauga and yesterday another YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was well photographed in high winds at the same location and seen again today. To round things out of the rarities, a WESTERN GREBE, likely the one from Colonel Sam Smith Park, wandered its way over to the circle and was seen in the Port Credit Harbour on Wednesday and refound again today at a great distance but present. A scope is highly recommended We will work our way around the lake this week with reports from various lakeshore properties. At Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek since Tuesday, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Purple Martin, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Yellow-rumped (hundreds), Pine, Palm, Black-and-White, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Rusty Blackbird, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin were reported. Other birds seen during the fallout on Tuesday at VanWagners Ponds, beach strip and Confederation Park include a very cool sighting of a Least Bittern sitting at the edge of the beach found by a birder trying to photograph Purple Finches. Purple Finch numbers that evening were high as well with a count of 66 on the lawn behind the bittern. Other birds seen that evening and through this week include Wild Turkey (believe it or not), Black-crowned Night Heron, Osprey, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Spotted Sandpiper, Common and Forster's Tern, Chimney Swift, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Blue-headed Vireo, Tree, Northern, Cliff and Barn Swallow, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush (hundreds), Nashville, Yellow. Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm and Black-and-White Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Eastern Towhee, American Tree, Chipping, Clay-colored, Field Sparrow, Vesper, Savannah, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird and Orchard Oriole. Looking at this list you would think it was mid May! At Shoreacres in Burlington, Horned and Red-necked Grebe, Common Loon, Blue-headed Vireo, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush (dozens), Gray Catbird, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Pine, Palm and Black-and-White Warbler, Ovenbird, Savannah, Fox, Song, Swamp, White-throated sparrows in numbers and Baltimore Oriole. A similar mix of passerines were at Shell Park with the addition of Great Crested Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Blue-winged, Nashville and Hooded Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Lincoln's Sparrow, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin. Both of these locations should be well checked now that the wind has died down. At Rattray Marsh, in addition to the specialties, Sora, Marsh and House Wren, Least Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Paula, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black-throated Green, Nashville, Black-and-white and Pine warbler, White-throated and Lincoln's Sparrow were all present in the week. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch has had a great week with Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Broad-winged Hawk and Golden Eagle being highlights. The count has set a record for the number of raptors recorded and for the number of Broad-winged Hawks going through. The area where we are a little shy at the moment is shorebirds in the area. Many flooded fields have great potential but no birds. On 10th Road East however, Upland Sandpipers have returned to territory. On 5th Road East, Dunlin and Pectoral Sandpiper were seen last weekend. No reports since then. In the odds and sods this week, Sandhill Cranes were heard bellowing in the marsh near Deer Run Court in Brantford. Green Herons were seen in the two Green Herons at Waterdown Wetlands. Common Ravens are again on nest up in Puslinch near the Fletcher Creek Reserve. Chimney Swifts are flying en masse over Grimsby and Dundas. Marsh Wren was heard in the Dundas Marsh. Eastern Bluebirds were seen at the east end of Bronte Provincial Park. Bobolink were reported on the East Mountain Trail. Virginia Rail and Baltimore Oriole were seen/heard on the Captain Cootes Trail. Several reports have come in from various feeders of Rose-breasted Grosbeak, lingering Purple Finch and Pine Siskins so keep those feeders stocked. It's an exciting time of year. Please report your sightings as its hard to keep up with all the action. Good Birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline _______________________________________________ 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/
