On Friday, July 22nd, 2011, this is the HNC Birding Report: AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN
Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon Blue-winged Teal Green-winged Teal White-winged Scoter Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Sandhill Crane Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Black-billed Cuckoo Blue-winged Warbler Prairie Warbler Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Its slim pickings here in the Hamilton Study area again these past two weeks. Quieted breeding birds and extreme heat have kept the birds and birders low. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was last reported last week on Saturday when it was seen out in Cootes Paradise in Hamilton. The bird is likely still around but ambles between the Dundas Marsh and the Hamilton Harbour off Eastport. Any further sightings would be appreciated. The report this week is stacked with shorebirds. Unfortunately the extreme heat has taken away the water needed in some areas (i.e. Windermere Basin) for these shorebirds but other spots which were otherwise deep have become more appealing to these birds. Locally the stormwater ponds located at North Service Road and Guelph Line have been productive this week for Blue-winged Teal (female seen today), Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Killdeer (many), Spotted and Solitary Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpiper. This pond is unfortunately drying up, rain is needed everywhere. Slightly out of the Hamilton Study Area but not by far, the Townsend Sewage Lagoons show promise for shorebird habitat in the first cell and for waterfowl in the others. This week, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Killdeer Spotted and Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, Baird's (adult), Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper (adult) were seen in the week. This is an excellent spot to keep a watch for any rarities as it shows the most promise for continuing shorebird habitat. Not too much to report in the passerine category. The Prairie Warbler reported from under the hydro towers north of 6th Concession West and west of Westover Road in Flamborough has not been reported since last week. Other birds reported from the area were Black-billed Cuckoo, Blue-winged Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Eastern Towhee, Field and Grasshopper Sparrow. In the odds and sods, White-winged Scoters were seen in Hamilton Harbour last week and a juvenile Sandhill Crane was photographed close to the hydro towers on 8th Concession West in the Beverly Swamp Flamborough. That's the news for the week, please continue to forward your sightings they help in any way to keep these reports going. Its bound to pick up soon! 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/
