On Friday, October 21st, 2011 this is the HNC Birding Report: PURPLE GALLINULE BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE POMARINE JAEGER PARASITIC JAEGER LONG-TAILED JAEGER WHITE-EYED VIREO
Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Long-tailed Duck Red-throated Loon Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Northern Goshawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle American Kestrel Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Red Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Horned Lark Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush American Pipit Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Paula Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler American Redstart Common Yellowthroat Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Lapland Longspur What a week it's been here in the Hamilton Study Area! Lots to talk about in the rarities this week. The best bird a PURPLE GALLINULE was photographed in the Hendrie Valley last Sunday but not identified until today. This bird could still be around, see the Ontbirds post for directions. The heavy rains and winds could have kept it from travelling. If it is seen again, it will be posted immediately. I ask that others do the same. The lake was again a place of action with gale force northeast winds on Wednesday bringing our first BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE along with all three species of Jaeger. For those who were able to brave conditions, other birds seen that day were White-winged and Surf Scoter, Common and Red-throated Loon, Bonaparte's and an adult Little Gull and late Sanderling. Earlier in the week at Fifty Road, White-winged Scoter, Red-throated and Common Loon, Horned and Red-necked Grebe, Northern Harrier, Bonaparte's Gull and Red Phalarope were highlights. To round out the highlights this week a WHITE-EYED VIREO was found along the Lakeshore trail just north of the Lift Bridge where the boardwalk juts out to meet the beach. This was a one minute wonder as it disappeared and was not relocated later on. Other birds seen in this area included Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. Shorebirds are still in the news with Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Spotted, Semipalmated, Least, White-rumped and Pectoral Sandpiper and Dunlin being seen last Sunday on the mud flat at Valley Inn. Up to 13 Great Egrets have been seen here at the Valley Inn in the past week. Today despite cloudy conditions the skies opened up to migrating raptors. >From the Hwy 6 carpool lot and Woodland Cemetery, Bald Eagle (13), Red-tailed, Sharp-shinned and Coopers Hawk, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel and Golden Eagle (3) were seen from these vantage points. With the inclement weather all week, I think that there will be a good flight with the conditions this weekend. There are still pockets of passerines around. It's good to get out to local spots and see what stragglers are lurking about. Along the Burlington/Oakville shoreline stretching from Burloak Waterfront Park to Bronte Harbour, Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Pine, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Palm and Blackpoll Warbler and American Redstart were recorded in this small area. At the large field and pond east of Burloak Drive/Great Lakes Blvd in southwest Oakville today, a nice treat was a fall Grasshopper Sparrow in the exact same location as the Lark Sparrow was some time ago. Other birds seen here today include Pied-billed Grebe, Greater Yellowlegs, American Pipit, Horned Lark, Nashville and Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Vesper, Lincoln's, Savannah, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow, and Lapland Longspur. Careful combing of these large fields every few days could turn up a whole different mix. In the odds and sods, a significant group of Tree and Rough-winged Swallow travelled through over the bench in Grimsby earlier in the week. Deep southwest lows in the next couple of weeks could be promising for Cave Swallows. A flock of 15 Eastern Bluebirds flew over the Hwy 6 carpool lot today. A late Swainson's Thrush was seen at Sherwood Forest Park in Burlington on Monday. Windermere Basin is a good place for sparrows with Chipping, Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows and a few Dark-eyed Juncos mixed in. This is an exciting time of year when there are many birds around, late stragglers, migrants and those goodies we all like to find. The nice weather this weekend should be enticing for people to get out to see the birds that have been held back from the weather or have come in because of it. Please report your sightings! Good Birding, 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/
