On Friday January 4th, 2013, this is the HNC Birding Report: BARN SWALLOW RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET BROWN THRASHER ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER NASHVILLE WARBLER CAPE MAY WARBLER BAY BREASTED/BLACKPOLL WARBLER PINE WARBLER CHIPPING SPARROW HOARY REDPOLL
Snow Goose Harlequin Duck Wild Turkey Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Sandhill Crane Bonaparte's Gull Glaucous Gull Barred Owl Belted Kingfisher Northern Shrike Common Raven Horned Lark Tufted Titmouse Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush Snow Bunting Yellow-rumped Warbler Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Common Redpoll Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak The list is no shorter here in the Hamilton Study Area as birders started a New Year with big days on the 1st. Some very good birds are still around. Who has ever started a New Year with the birds of the top of this list. Many people were out on the 1st at SEDGEWICK PARK in Oakville to see the 5 species of warblers still present there. This week there has been some discussion of whether the BLACKPOLL is a BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and/or there are or were two birds present at one time. A difficult identification at this time of year, experts have been pouring over pictures and advanced field guides for a study. I will keep birders advised of the findings. However, if you have photos of the BLACKPOLL/BAY-BREASTED Warbler(s) from mid-December when it was first found, please email me privately. In the meantime, three ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS of two apparent sub-species, a CAPE-MAY WARBLER and a NASHVILLE WARBLER along with at least two RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS continue to be seen in the park. Other good birds reported down there include Snow Goose (flyover), Wood Duck (in the tanks) and Winter Wren. Also of note this week are the two BARN SWALLOWS found at the Burlington Sewage Treatment Plant in the tanks across from the Beachway Pavilion on Lakeshore Road. If you are ever thinking of starting a winter list, this would be a good one to get on it! A PINE WARBLER was reported in the Bronte Harbour Area as a brief visitor on the 1st. Other good winter birds of note that I placed at the top of the list include a BROWN THRASHER at the Guelph Arboretum apparently dining on Asian Honeysuckle at the Arboretum Centre. A Barred Owl has been hanging about in the Wild Goose Woods there too. A CHIPPING SPARROW was discovered last Saturday at the feeder on Old Waterdown Road and remains there today. A HOARY REDPOLL or possibly two were seen in a growing flock of about 200 Redpolls at Globe Park on Tuesday. Another was seen in a smaller flock of Common Redpolls on Millborough Line last Saturday. The rest of the list is birds from various locales so we will just have plow through a big odds and sods this week! Wild Turkeys were reported from 8th Road East in Saltfleet, a flock of 25, and strangely enough our group saw two birds in a fruit tree on Bronte Road on the 1st. Horned and Red-necked Grebes were seen off LaSalle Marina on the 1st. A number of species of ducks are present here to bump up the New Year's list. At the Desjardins Canal, the Pied-billed Grebe was still present on the 1st in addition to Great Blue Heron and a rattling Belted Kingfisher. Three more Pied-billed Grebes were seen by the Williams Cafe on Hamilton Harbour. Black-crowned Night Heron, one juvenile, was seen at the Red Hill Outlet off Eastport. Four Turkey Vultures were seen over the fields at Colborne Road East and Jerseyville Road and another over Jerseyville Road and Alberton Road. A Merlin was seen terrorizing birds down in the Hendrie Valley. Peregrine Falcons can be seen at the Lift Bridge and at the Cement Pier out at the end of Arkendo in Oakville. The Harlequin ducks located here were last seen on Sunday. A flock of 9 Sandhill Cranes were seen over a yard on 11th Concession East in North Flamborough. A Bonaparte's Gull was an unusual sighting for this time of year at Peace Park near Grimsby today. Gulls seem to be congregating in numbers now that there is ice around. There have been a couple of sightings of Glaucous Gull now at LaSalle Marina and from Canada Centre for Inland Waters. Another Barred Owl has been seen on an intermittent basis at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. A Northern Shrike was reported from 10th Road East in Saltfleet yesterday. Common Ravens were seen up on 10th Road East in Saltfleet near the quarry and at Hyde Tract in Flamborough this week. Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and even Lapland Longspurs have been noted in increasing numbers with Snow Bunting flocks being the most numerous. A Lapland Longspur was seen at the Brantford Airport. Tufted Titmouse has been reported from a feeder on Sawmill Road. Winter Wrens were found along the Dofasco Trail boardwalk between 6th and 8th road east in Saltfleet. Eastern Bluebirds were seen in Bronte Creek Provincial Park. A Hermit Thrush is becoming a regular visitor to a yard in South Burlington. Another yard not far from here had a Fox Sparrow as a guest. Two White-crowned Sparrows were seen on Hillview Drive in Grimsby. Eastern Meadowlark along with a Rough-legged Hawk were seen up on 10th Road East on December 30th. A couple of Common Grackles were reported this week, one in Flamborough around Middletown Road and one near Caledonia. Blackbirds seem to be scarce this winter. Again at a feeder in Caledonia, a Brown-headed Cowbird was seen at a feeder and another a feeder on Gravel Pit Road, off of Mineral Springs Road. Large flocks of Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins have been reported throughout the area. Two Evening Grosbeaks were seen at the edge of the Hamilton Circle at Brant Conservation area in Brantford. That's the news this week. Please continue to report your sightings. If there are any photos about of the Blackpoll/Bay-breasted please email me privately. Happy New Year! 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/
