On Friday, April 20th, 2012, this is the HNC Birding Report: FISH CROW DICKSISSEL
Blue-winged Teal King Eider Harlequin Duck Common Loon Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe American Bittern Great Egret Green Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Coopers Hawk Northern Goshawk Broad-winged Hawk Golden Eagle Merlin Virginia Rail Sora Sandhill Crane Spotted Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Little Gull Bonaparte's Gull Common Tern Forster's Tern Great Horned Owl Barred Owl Whip-poor-will Chimney Swift Red-headed Woodpecker Blue-headed Vireo Common Raven Purple Martin Northern Rough-winged Swallow House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Bobolink Pine Siskin Things are heating up as we head toward the end of April. South winds have returned and so has the flow of migrants although not in great numbers, more diversity is apparent here in the Hamilton Study Area. The two rarities of the week include a lovely first spring male DICKSISSEL seen at a feeder near Fifty Point Conservation Area on Wednesday. It was a one day wonder. Fish Crows continue to infiltrate the area with one being seen again near White Pine and Lakeshore in Burlington, another on west Hamilton Mountain and another one seen at Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek. The Niagara Peninsula Hawk Watch has been steady this week although we are still awaiting the arrival of the majority of Broad-winged Hawks unless they have passed unnoticed in the clear blue. This week raptors seen include, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Coopers Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk and three Golden Eagles midweek. Other birds seen up at the watch include Common Loon, Sandhill Crane, Chimney Swift, Common Raven, Purple Martin and Brown Thrasher. Nearby in the area known as Saltfleet, Common Ravens were seen at 10th Road East near the quarry and on 5th Road East, Pectoral Sandpipers were seen in the wet field on 5th Road east between Green Mountain and Ridge Road. A singing Vesper Sparrow and Savannah Sparrows were also noted here. Unfortunately, lack of rain in the area has left no shorebird habitat in the fields here and even the field mentioned above is now dry. Closer to Hamilton, the Eramosa Karst Conservation Area was productive today with Merlin, Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows in numbers. Of interest were two Bobolinks a record early date for this species. A number of new arrivals have come to the migrant traps along the lake. A few American Bitterns were reported this week, one from a marsh south of Gore Road on the LaFarge Trail, one calling at the Safari Road marsh at Safari Road just west of Kirkwall and another from Fairview and Walkers Line, photographed in a tree! Virginia Rail was calling from Safari Road Marsh and another one calling and seen at Kerncliffe Park in Burlington. Soras were calling in the Dundas Marsh, three Lesser Yellowlegs were also present there along with a handful of House Wrens, Yellow-rumps and Palm Warblers. A Great Egret was seen at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters last Saturday. A Green Heron was an early arrival in Joshua Creek in Oakville. A Little Gull was seen off Rattray Marsh. Bonaparte's Gulls are continuing to increase in numbers with birds been seen from the Suncor Pier in Oakville and off Fifty Point Conservation Area today. Common Terns have returned and can be viewed on the harbour with quite a few being seen at LaSalle Marina. A single Forster's Tern was seen last Sunday at Confederation Park. Spotted Sandpiper was seen at the Great Lakes Stormwater Pond at the corner of Rebecca and Great Lakes Blvd in Oakville. A couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers have been seen, one continuing near Guelph last weekend and one seen at Turney Woods Park in Mississauga. Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a "Yellow" Palm Warbler were birds of note at Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek on Thursday. A House Wren has set up shop again in Hidden Valley. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are here in numbers with reports from Shoreacres and LaSalle Park. A Nashville Warbler and Pine Warbler were seen with a few Yellow-rumped Warblers at Rattray Marsh in Mississauga. A yard in east Oakville had the extreme fortune to have a Northern Parula last weekend and early this morning, a singing Whip-poor-will! A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was seen on the Sassafras Trail at the RBG last weekend. In the odds and sods, the Harlequin Ducks were last seen last weekend at Gairloch Gardens. Quite a few Red-necked Grebes and Horned Grebes were also seen offshore and two Blue-winged Teal. The King Eider is still sitting quite contently with the ducks on the beach at LaSalle Park. A Barred Owl was a great surprise calling from the south side of Carrington Place backing onto a pine plantation that is part of Hanlon Creek Conservation Area in Guelph. A Great Horned Owl was flying around this afternoon at Fifty Point Conservation Area. Apparently this is a daily occurrence so I suspect that there are young about. The young Eaglets can be seen in the nest at Brant Park in Brantford. Pine Siskins are still present at a feeder in Dundas. Things will be busy this week with a roller coaster of temperatures. A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was reported today near Burford which isn't that far away. This is the third one reported in the province this spring so it's worth getting out and having a good look around. Please report your sightings! Good Birding! Cheryl Edgecombe HNC _______________________________________________ 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/
