On Friday, October 12th, 2012, this is the HNC birding report:
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE LECONTE'S SPARROW Cackling Goose Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle Merlin Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Common Tern Eastern Screech Owl Long-eared Owl Ruby-throated Hummingbird Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Eastern Phoebe Least Flycatcher Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Common Raven Horned Lark Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Roby-crowned Kinglet Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Eastern Bluebird Brown Thrasher Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler American Redstart Northern Waterthrush Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Nelson's Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Lapland Longspur Eastern Meadowlark Purple Finch Pine Siskin It's been another busy week here in the Hamilton Study area with the hotspot this week being Van Wagner's Ponds. Last Saturday a LECONTE'S sparrow was flushed from a field across from Baranga's Restaurant by the group on the OFO Outing. Being typically secretive the bird gave some good looks and others frustration. Yesterday on the trail between the ponds a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was found around the noon hour and seen until dusk. There are no reports today. This entire area from the Lakeland Centre down to Confederation Park and Van Wagner's Ponds has been a hot bed of activity this week with many of the later migrants. Just to make things interesting, there were late records of earlier migrants that gave people some extra flavour! The following sightings are birds that occurred this week at VanWagner's Ponds and Confederation park: Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruby-throated Hummingbird (late), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Least Flycatcher (late!), Eastern Phoebe, Blue-headed Vireo, Horned Lark, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Winter Wren, Swainson's, Gray-cheeked and Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Northern Parula, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped, Palm, and Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush (late), Common Yellowthroat, Mourning Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Field, Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Purple Finch. Another late Northern Waterthrush was seen Monday at Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek. East of here at Fifty Point Conservation Area, Long-eared Owl, Eastern Phoebe, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Wren, Winter Wren, Swainson's and Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers were amongst migrants here. Woodland Cemetery was busy last weekend. A high flying Sandhill Crane was a highlight on Monday. Cackling Goose, Common Loon, Merlin, Black-bellied Plover, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler, Lapland Longspur and Purple Finch were among migrants seen there on Sunday. Nearby at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery on Old York Road, many of the same migrants were seen with differences including Eastern Towhee, Chipping, Song, White-throated and White Crowned Sparrow, Purple Finch and Eastern Meadowlark. At LaSalle Park Red-necked Grebe, Blue-headed Vireo, both Kinglets, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Blackpoll and Pine Warblers were birds of note. At Shoreacres in Burlington, Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's and Hermit Thrush, Fox, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow were among migrants moving through. At the Clappison's Corners wetlands last weekend, a great place this time of year for migrants, House Wren, both Kinglets, Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warbler, Field, Lincolns, Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows and nine Eastern Meadowlarks were birds on the list. Lastly, out at Waterdown Wetlands, an Eastern Screech Owl was heard calling, Blue-headed Vireo, Magnolia, Nashville, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Fox Sparrow and Purple Finch were seen. Shorebirds are becoming scarce now. A few flyovers of Black-bellied Plover above, Black-bellied and American Golden Plover at Windermere Basin, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper at Van Wagner's Ponds and Confederation Park, Pectoral Sandpiper and a Dunlin at Princess Point are the wrap up for shorebirds this week. A spectacular hawk migration is occurring today over south Burlington, Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered and Sharp-shinned Hawks make up the bulk of the migration. A Common Raven was seen over my yard in South Burlington today, migrating with a group of Vultures. In the odds and sods this week, a Blue-winged Teal in full alternate plumage was seen at Princess Point, unusual for this time of year. Of interest was a report from a sailboat out on the lake. Out on the water were Surf Scoters, building numbers of over 1000 White-winged Scoters, Common Loons, an adult Golden Eagle going over the lake and a Common Tern at LaSalle Marina on the way in. A Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen in front of Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Bonaparte's Gulls are building in numbers at the Dundas Marsh. A Virginia Rail was flushed in Cootes Paradise. Lastly a Nelson's Sparrow was seen at the back of Mountsberg Conservation Area off Leslie Road. These lovely sparrows have also been seen in the other traditional areas where they are found yearly. That's the news for this week. Wind and weather are great catalysts for bringing in rarities. They are ours to find! Have a great week, 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/
