On Friday, January 18th, 2013, this is the HNC Birding Report: RED-HEADED WOODPECKER BARN SWALLOW RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET BROWN THRASHER BOHEMIAN WAXWING ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER NASHVILLE WARBLER BAY-BREASTED WARBLER HOARY REDPOLL
Harlequin Duck Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Peregrine Falcon Turkey Vulture Iceland Gull Barred Owl Golden-crowned Kinglet Yellow-rumped Warbler Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Pine Grosbeak Common Redpoll Pine Siskin The list is a little shorter this week with cold weather moving in and unstable conditions from hot to cold moving birds around. The top of the list is still packed with punch though. The great "winter" birds continue to thrive here in the area. The BARN SWALLOWS were seen sporadically during the week and in the warmer temperatures even venturing from their usual cell at the sewage pits across from Beachway Pavilion on Lakeshore in Burlington. Only one was noted today but the other could have been about as it is hard to see into the lagoons and the weather was cold today likely keeping them down low. At Sedgewick Park in Oakville, everything but the Cape May was reported in the week. The least seen was the NASHVILLE WARBLER. Most people going to this location see the ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER(S), BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, Yellow-rumped Warbler and RUBY-CROWNED and Golden-crowned Kinglets. It will be interesting to see what happens in the extreme cold snap this coming week. Another great bird which is just shy of the Hamilton Study Area is a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER coming into a feeder at 3196 Campden Road in Vineland. This bird is 200 m short of the Hamilton Study Circle but noteworthy as a winter bird! The Guelph Arboretum seems to have its own mix of good birds. The BROWN THRASHER was seen again today at the Arboretum Centre nestled in the Asian Honeysuckle. The Barred Owl wintering there seems to be reliable one day and gone the next. It's all luck! Today it was seen briefly near the Centre and then flushed and gone. A flock of 10 Pine Grosbeaks were seen near the parking lot today. A roving flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are around although sporadic. Waterfowl is always in the news here. The Harlequin Ducks have been seen somewhat reliably at the end of Creanona Road in Winona. Sometimes they venture east or west so a check of roads ending at the lake may be prudent. All three scoters were seen at the end of Green Road earlier in the week. A Pied-billed Grebe is still present in the Desjardins Canal. In the odds and sods this week, Turkey Vultures were reported near Garden Road in Brantford this week, likely the same wintering bunch seen a couple of weeks ago. Black-crowned and Great Blue Herons were seen at the Red Hill Outlet off Eastport Drive. A total of four Peregrine Falcons were seen in the area, two at the lift bridge and two at Windermere Basin. An Iceland Gull was seen at the Burlington Ship Canal earlier in the week with another one over the Desjardins Canal. Another Barred Owl was photographed at Christie Conservation Area today, another one wintering here. A Fox and White-crowned Sparrow are present at a feeder at the end of Burloak Drive in Burlington. White-crowned Sparrows were seen at the Windermere Basin. Red-winged Blackbirds were again reported behind the Olympic Arena and at Rattray Marsh in the week, possibly a movement due to the warm weather this Saturday. A feeder in Flamborough near 5th Concession and Middletown was host to a Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Redpoll, a single HOARY REDPOLL and Pine Siskins this week. Cold temperatures drive the birds into the feeders so make sure they are stocked up, you never know what will show up. Please report your sightings here! 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/
