AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN Blue-winged Teal Green-winged Teal Redhead Lesser Scaup Long-tailed Duck Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Osprey Merlin Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Warbling Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Barn Swallow House Wren Gray-cheeked Thrush Northern Waterthrush Blue-winged Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Canada Warbler Chipping Sparrow Baltimore Oriole
The list grows a little longer as mid-August brings conditions for birds to move and birders are more active to find the goodies out there. An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was seen last Sunday from the Northshore Trails at the Arboretum. Apparently the bird had been present for a couple of days already as there was a photo taken of the bird from last Friday. This bird was still present as of today, likely happy in its surrounding here in the Dundas Marsh. Good venues for viewing include the northshore of Cootes Paradise at the marsh boardwalk viewing platform, the high level bridge on York Road in Hamilton and Princess Point. Shorebirds continue to dominate the scene for the most part with Windermere Basin being the hotspot for viewing. Time and patience are necessary as birds come in and out of view and out of the basin itself. Just in, a juvenile Wilson's Phalarope was seen this evening, new from this morning. A juvenile Baird's Sandpiper was seen this morning extremely elusive amongst the vegetation. Other birds that were seen in increasing or decreasing numbers through the week were Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper (five today) and up to 9 Short-billed Dowitchers. A scope is necessary for viewing the birds. Nearby at the Lift Bridge, a Sanderling along with some Semipalmated Sandpipers were running around on the pier and close by at North Island off Eastport Drive, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers seemed to be the dominant species. A few Lesser Yellowlegs and a Solitary Sandpiper were seen at the Red Hill Stormwater ponds mid week. To round out the shorebirds, a Red-necked Phalarope was found at Townsend Sewage Lagoons yesterday and continues to be seen today. Duck species at Windermere basin include Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Duck. Two juvenile Bonaparte's Gulls continue to be seen on the mud flat among the Common Terns down here Nearby at Tollgate Ponds, two Redheads are still present. Action in the woodlots are starting to improve. Last weekend at Woodland Cemetery, Warbling, Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireo, House Wren, Black-and-white Warbler and Baltimore Oriole were amongst migrants here. A Merlin cruised by low enough to give everyone notice it was around. At Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-bellied and Great Crested Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo (probable resident), Northern Waterthrush, Canada Warbler, Chipping Sparrow and Baltimore Oriole were migrants noted here. In the odds and sods this week, two Blue-winged Teal were seen out in Dundas Marsh last Sunday. A Long-tailed Duck is still present near the lift bridge, seen a few weeks ago too. A Hooded Merganser was seen at LaSalle Marina. Red-necked Grebes and their almost grown young can be seen down at Bronte Harbour. Two Great Egrets were seen in a back yard on Mill Road in Dundas. Two more Great Egrets were seen at the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. Up to six Osprey were seen circling over Woodland Cemetery last weekend. One is probably a family group from the tower near Hwy 6. A Common Nighthawk flew over a yard in Dundas last weekend. Chimney Swifts continue to gather in number with some seen moving out on northwest winds. Today an Olive-sided Flycatcher was seen along the creek bed at John T. Tuck School on Spruce Street in Burlington. Another was seen last Friday at City View Park on Kerns Road in Burlington. Last weekend there was a large push of Barn Swallows and there is a great roost of swallows at Bronte Marsh in the evening for anyone wanting to check this out. A great early record of a Gray-cheeked Thrush comes from the banding station at Ruthven this week. A Blue-winged Warbler was seen as a migrant at LaSalle Marina. Along the escarpment at Borer's Falls/Rock Chapel, Blue-winged, Black-and-White and Canada Warbler were birds of note. That's the news for the week. Please report your sightings here, it's getting busy! 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 including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
