On Friday, August 10th, 2012 this is the HNC Birding Report: . WILLET Canvasback Ring-necked Duck Common Goldeneye White-wined Scoter Long-tailed Duck Common Merganser Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Black-crowned Night Heron Osprey Bald Eagle Merlin Sora Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Bairds Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Yellow-billed Cuckoo Common Raven Chimney Swift Purple Martin Barn Swallow Cliff Swallow
Its been a quiet two weeks in the Hamilton Study Area with the highlight being shorebirds coming and going as water levels change in the local spots. On July 31st before a major line of thunderstorms came through, a lucky observer was witness to a very large (approx 200) Short-billed Dowitchers taking off from Rattray Marsh in Mississauga. Other birds seen at this time before the storm were Semipalmated Plover, Solitary, Semipalmated, Least, Bairds and Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and east of here at Jack Darling Park, three Black-ballied Plovers and a WILLET. After the storm the shorebirds were cleared out. A Horned Grebe was seen offshore at Jack Darling Park. Another hotspot in the area is the back of Mountsberg Conservation Area viewed from Leslie Street. Up here in the past two weeks Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Semipalmated, Least and Pectoral Sandpipers. A Great Egret was present earlier in the week. An Osprey, likely the local nester at Badenoch and two Bald Eagles (1adult, 1imm) were seen last weekend. The Red Hill Stormwater Pond has been quiet the past week but last week an adult Stilt Sandpiper was present. A Least Sandpiper with a rather long bill was a good study. A Great Egret was also present here. An unusual bird for this location was a Common Goldeneye. Bronte Marsh was an interesting place to visit this week as hundreds of swallows, the majority Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows, Purple Martin and Chimney Swifts swirled over the tiny marsh at dusk. Solitary and Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Black-crowned Night Herons and a juvenile Sora were also highlights. In the odds and sods department, a Canvasback was present at Beachway Park in Burlington, a Ring-necked Duck and Hooded Mergansers were seen at Great Lakes stormwater pond. Common Goldeneye were seen in the Windermere Basin channel. A White-winged Scoter was present at Shoreacres in Burlington. The pair of Red-necked Grebes at Burloak Park have two young that seem to be doing well. Another Great Egret was seen at Van Wagners Ponds (maybe the same bird as the Redhill) and three were seen roosting on Rat Island in Cootes Paradise. A Merlin was seen over South Burlington, maybe a local nester. Sandhill Cranes were calling from a small marsh behind Deer Run Court in Brantford. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was an unexpected yard bird here as well. A Common Raven was seen over Lowville mid-week. Have patience, I expect that things will begin to change in the next two weeks. Please forward your sightings! 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/
