EURASIAN WIGEON HARRIS'S SPARROW Ross's Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Redhead Ring-necked Duck Hooded Merganser Ruffed Grouse Common Loon Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Merlin Sandhill Crane Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe American Woodcock Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Eastern Phoebe Tree Swallow Barn Swallow House Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Yellow-rumped Warbler Fox Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle Brown -headed Cowbird Common Redpoll
Spring creeps in slowly here in the Hamilton Study area with many frustrated birders wondering when is it (spring) going to happen? The weather has not been conducive to migration but there are still some good birds about here in the area. The EURASIAN WIGEON seems to have a wide range but is still around this week last being seen at the quarry pond on Green Mountain Road between 10th and 11th Road East on Tuesday. The HARRIS'S SPARROW first discovered several weeks ago continues to be seen at the feeder and on the lawn of the house immediately east of 6547 Ellis Road near Cambridge as of today Waterfowl are still very much in the picture. The Ross's Goose was seen with a flock of Canada Geese flying over a field on 4th Concession in Flamborough. Attempts to locate the bird came up short. In the quarry pond where the Eurasian Wigeon was seen Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Merganser were seen. Flooded fields on 5th Road East are good places for Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal. A flooded field on 8th Line and Britannia in Oakville contained Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal. Decreasing numbers of swans were reported in fields in this area and up in Saltfleet, the bulk of them moving through already. A pair of Blue-winged Teal were seen at the Valley Inn. Shorebirds are starting to arrive albeit in miniscule numbers. Fifth Road East in Saltfleet between Powerline and Mud Street was host to our first Wilson's Snipe of the year. The field at 8th Line and Britannia had 3 Wilson's Snipe today. Earlier in the week, Pectoral Sandpiper and a Greater Yellowlegs were present. A Greater Yellowlegs was seen at a distance at the Valley Inn. American Woodcocks are being heard in all their traditional areas. A good place to listen is off York Road near Dundas at the RBG Property there known as Hopkins Tract. There have been a couple of good hawk migration days up at Beamer Memorial Conservation area in Grimsby. This week's haul includes arriving Osprey, Bald and Golden Eagles, Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Merlin. The Bald Eagles continue to attend to their chicks on nest at Cootes Paradise. The Merlins continue to exhibit territorial behaviour at the same site they have been on Howe Avenue in Hamilton for the past three years. Another Merlin was seen on Upper Middle Road and Walker's Line. In the odds and sods department, Ruffed Grouse are still coming into a feeder at Westover Road and 8th Concession East in Flamborough. Common Loons are beginning to be seen migrating onto and over the lake. Sandhill Cranes were seen west of Glen Morris likely returning to the breeding grounds near Grass Lake. Our first Caspian Tern of the year was seen at 40 mile creek in Grimsby last weekend. Another was seen in front of Canada Centre for Inland Waters mid-week. At the Suncor Pier at the end of Great Lakes Blvd in Oakville, both Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were seen last Sunday. A Belted Kingfisher returned to the bluffs at Burloak Park in Burlington. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe and Rusty Blackbirds were seen at 8th Road East near the Dofasco Trail in Saltfleet. Tree Swallows have been coming in this week with multiples being seen at Bronte Harbour, at the Hendrie Valley Trail off Unsworth and at Windermere Basin. A Barn Swallow was an early arrival with a flock of Tree Swallows at Bronte last weekend. A House Wren was reported from Inglewood and Gloucester in Hamilton. Golden-crowned Kinglets seem to be creeping their way into the area with a few reported at various locations. Eastern Bluebirds were seen checking out nest boxes near Deer Run Court in Brantford. A Yellow-rumped Warbler was seen in a back yard in Dundas, overwintering successfully in this location. Fox Sparrows have been seen at feeders at the hawk watch at Beamer, in downtown Burlington where one appears to have successfully overwintered and just west of Raspberry House at the RBG Arboretum. Mixed flocks of Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds seem to be everywhere now. Lastly a Common Redpoll was a guest at a feeder in South Burlington, these birds have significantly decreased in number over the past couple of weeks, on their way north. That's the news for this week. 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/
