On Friday July 13th, 2012, this is the HNC Birding Report: AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN FISH CROW WORM-EATING WARBLER
Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal Hooded Merganser Red-necked Grebe Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Osprey Bald Eagle Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Upland Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Bonaparte's Gull Yellow-billed Cuckoo Eastern Phoebe Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Veery Wood Thrush Black-and-white Warbler Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Mourning Warbler Canada Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Pine Siskin The breeding season continues here in the Hamilton Study Area so things are fairly quiet. There are only a couple of unusual birds to report. An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was seen the week before last again at Cootes Paradise but was only a one day wonder. This is a traditional spot for these birds returning through the season so it's probably not the last sighting. Our resident FISH CROW was seen at Bronte Harbour in the week. Another report of a FISH CROW came from Crawford Lake area in Halton. There was a report from e-bird of a WORM-EATING WARBLER near Merrick Orchard last week at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. Attempts to re-locate fell short. Shorebirds are on the move again here. It appears that the action will be better in the fall than the spring although we could use some rain. Shorebirds found at Red Hill Stormwater Pond include Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least and Pectoral Sandpiper in the past two weeks. A Short-billed Dowitcher was found at Windemere Basin yesterday but and not seen this morning there but found again at Tollgate Pond off Eastport Drive. Least Sandpipers like to crawl along the berm along the main channel at the basin. At a stormwater pond at Barton and Nash, a few Lesser Yellowlegs were present in addition to Black-crowned Night Heron. At the Great Lakes Stormwater Pond at Rebecca and Great Lakes Blvd in Oakville, Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers were seen. A group of Hooded Mergansers and Black-crowned Night Herons were also seen this morning. At Rattray Marsh in Mississauga, habitat is promising. Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers were seen earlier this week. A Solitary Sandpiper was seen at Grimsby Sewage Lagoons this week, other birds seen there were Wood Duck and Blue-winged Teal. Up on the Dofasco Trail between 8th and 10th Road east, three Upland Sandpipers were seen. If you haven't seen Uplands this year, have a look as they will be heading off soon and not easy to find on fall migration. A good place to visit for breeding birds is Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle. Residents here include Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, Red-eyed and Warbling Vireo, Wood Thrush, Field and Savannah Sparrows. A nice and slightly different habitat to visit is Fletcher Creek Conservation Area in Puslinch. More northern breeding species breeding here include Broad-winged Hawk and Black-and-White Warbler. Also breeding there Clay-colored and Grasshopper Sparrow. Similar habitat not far away on 10th Concession West in Flamborough where Veery, Northern Waterthrush, Canada Warbler and White-throated Sparrows are breeding here. In the odds and sods this week, Red-necked Grebes are having some success in breeding at Bronte Harbour and Burloak Park. At Bronte Harbour, one chick is about half grown and there is a report six eggs are on the nest. At Burloak Park, there are two chicks. Seventy-one Red-necked Grebes are summering off Rattray Marsh in Mississauga. Green Herons seem to be doing well with several nests with fledged young being found at Rattray Marsh and at 8th Concession East and Centre Road. Osprey are on nest on the tower on Curtis Road in Paris. Some sad news, one of the Bald Eagles from Cootes Paradise was found dead near the nest tree at the RBG. It is interesting that an antennae was found on the bird but not from Bird Studies Canada. Toxicology results are pending. The Bald Eaglets are doing well at Brant Park, parents are feeding the fledged young and both appear to be doing well. Merlins are nesting in urban centers. Five fledged young were seen on Springfield Drive in Brantford and two fledged Merlins in the tree opposite 142 Howe Ave in Hamilton last Friday. Two Bonaparte's Gulls were seen on the lake last Friday and again Wednesday. Yellow-billed Cuckoos were seen and heard in the Dundas Valley last weekend and on the Northshore Trails at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Swallows are gathering at the Suncor Pier in Bronte with the majority being Bank Swallows with a small portion of Cliff Swallows making up the rest. A Veery was heard in the wee hours of the morning over Brantford, an early migrant. Mourning Warblers are breeding near Paddy Green Road in Ancaster. Clay-colored Sparrows seem to be more abundant this year with reports from a private field on 5th Concession West in Flamborough, near the radio tower off Paddy Green Road in Ancaster and a single bird was seen near Troy last week. A Pine Siskin was a yard guest on Deer Run Court near Brantford. Reports will be more regular now as things start to turn around. Thanks to those who have sent in their sightings. 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/
