Canvasback Turkey Vulture Golden Eagle American Golden-Plover Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Shrike Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Cedar Waxwing Orange-crowned Warbler Northern Parula Blackpoll Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Chipping Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle
Short and sweet is what sums up the list this week. Not really worth writing a raving report but there were some nice late records so worth some salt. There were no rarities this week. However, people who are gearing up for winter listing might note some places to keep checking in the next weeks to see if birds there will hang around. A late juvenile American Golden Plover was a great find at the Red Hill Stormwater Ponds in the week. Any water that stays open like this is worth checking for migrants who are spending excess energy just to feed. A Northern Rough-winged Swallow was photographed at the marina at Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby. This is a good record for this species. Of note, another Swallow sp. was seen over the QEW on Thursday. There have been sporadic reports on the ABA blog of Cave Swallows in the east so no bird of this ilk should be passed over. Today at the famous spot from last year, Sedgewick Park in Oakville, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler (2), Yellow-rumped Warbler (6), White-throated Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird were present. Temperatures were warm today so birds were further afield but once it turns cold as its suppose to this week, this is a place worth watching for late migrants, rarities and potential birds for winter listing. The sewage tanks there are a bit ripe and the midges are thick. In other late sightings, a Northern Parula was a good find last Monday at LaSalle Park. A late Blackpoll Warbler was banded at Ruthven on Nov 10th. A Chipping Sparrow made an appearance at a feeder in Hidden Valley, Burlington earlier this week. In the odds and sods, a group of 50 Canvasbacks was seen at LaSalle Marina. A Turkey Vulture flew over Gage and Main Street last Saturday. A Golden Eagle was well photographed at Morristown in the week. Hermit Thrush was spotted in Sam Lawrence Park in Hamilton. Northern Shrike and Eastern Meadowlark were birds seen and photographed on 10th Road East in Saltfleet. A single White-crowned Sparrow was flushed off the gravel path on the way into the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. Believe it or not, this is the prime time for rarities. Explore your local parks and ravines. Stock your feeders, it's an important time to have food out for birds with changing weather conditions approaching. As incentive, A Virginia's Warbler showed up in St. Johns, NFLD this week. That's just plain crazy. Let's match and one up that here in the Hamilton Study Area. 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
