COMMON EIDER POMARINE JAEGER MARSH WREN Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup King Eider Black Scoter Common x Barrow's Goldeneye Ruddy Duck Horned Grebe Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Rough-legged Hawk Merlin American Coot Bonaparte's Gull Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Flicker Tufted Titmouse Winter Wren Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush Snow Bunting Yellow-rumped Warbler Chipping Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Purple Finch
The Hamilton Christmas Bird Count was held on December 26th. Brutal weather conditions preceded the count moving birds around and out of the area, making it difficult for some to find birds, however there were a few notable sightings this week to report. On the count a POMARINE JAEGER was seen at the beach canal and then later heading east past Frances Road, this is an excellent bird for this time of year and for our count. The bird was being harassed by a Herring Gull when seen at the second location at Frances Road. Another notable seen this week but not in the CBC circle was the reappearance of the COMMON EIDER seen on Christmas Eve Day. It is of note that this bird is of the subspecies Borealis which is a first record for Ontario. According to historical records three subspecies of Common Eider Sedentaria, Dresseri and now Borealis have occurred here in the Hamilton Study Area. Not quite countable but interesting was a Common x Barrow's Goldeneye seen this week at the end of Gray's Road. To cap off the rarities, today a MARSH WREN was found at the Slote Road Bog near Copetown chattering while the observer spished in a Swamp Sparrow. There were other good birds seen on the count and during count week. A Wood Duck is wintering in the Desjardins Canal. A King Eider was seen at the Burlington Ship Canal on December 28th and continues today. Black Scoters were still being seen at the west end of the lake in the count circle. All three Scoter Species are present. Eight Great Blue Herons and ten Black-crowned Night Herons were of note in one area on the count. Most were probably seen at the Red Hill Creek Outlet and Windermere Basin. Up to 8 Bald Eagles have been seen on the Harbour, look for them on the ice from various lookout spots. Yesterday 5 were seen on the ice near Tollgate Ponds. A Northern Harrier was an unusual bird seen flying over the ice off Willow Point. A couple of Rough-legged Hawks were seen on the count over the harbour and up along the escarpment. A Merlin stood post over Woodland Cemetery and along the bank further east there. Gulls seen on the count included Glaucous, Iceland, Bonaparte's (four seen at Confederation Park), Thayer's, Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gull. A huge number of Great Black-backed Gulls were counted in the frozen harbour as 150 sat on the ice and another 100 were seen flying at dusk. A good place to look for gulls is off Eastport Drive just past the lift bridge and before Tollgate Ponds. The ice may be significantly less over the past days but with frigid temperatures forecast will reform. Snowy Owls continue to be seen throughout the area with count area birds seen at Tollgate Ponds and sitting on the ice near Bayfront Park. Probably the same bird as at Tollgate Ponds was sitting on the Steel Care building on Burlington Street but then again it could be another bird. One was seen during count week roosting on a building in downtown Dundas. A Northern Saw-Whet Owl was heard calling in the pre-dawn hours at Valley Inn. A Northern Flicker and Eastern Bluebirds were seen on the escarpment trail east of Sydenham Road. More Eastern Bluebirds were seen at the Berry Tract and behind Dundas Arena yesterday. A Tufted Titmouse was a nice surprise along the bank near Dundurn Castle. Winter Wren was found in the ravine across from LaSalle Park. A Hermit Thrush was seen at the top of King Road. Three Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen in the Red Hill Valley. Several flocks of Snow Buntings were seen during count week within the CBC circle. Two Chipping Sparrows were reported from a feeder in Ancaster. A significant flock of 30 White-throated Sparrows were counted at Valley Inn. Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbirds were coming into a feeder just over the lift bridge in the city parking lot where someone has put seed down. A Common Grackle was seen in the tall phragmites along the creek at the Hendrie Valley. A Rusty Blackbird made a one day appearance Christmas Eve Day at a feeder on Sumach Drive in Burlington. A female Purple Finch was seen here as well. A pair of Purple Finch were seen at a feeder in Dundas. For those looking to list at new years, Tundra Swans are still present at LaSalle Marina and along Eastport Drive near the Northshore Islands (now frozen). Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup and Ruddy Duck are all birds potentially found at the Red Hill Creek Outlet at Eastport. Redhead, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Greater and Lesser Scaup and American Coot were seen from LaSalle Marina. Horned Grebes were present off LaSalle Marina, they have likely moved with the ice but could still be on the harbour in open areas. Another Merlin was seen near Bronte Harbour. A Snowy Owl seems fairly reliable on the docks at this location. Yellow-rumped Warblers are still being seen at Sedgewick Park in Oakville, the rest have either dispersed or perished. In the odds and sods this week, a Cackling Goose made a flyby at Frances Road on Christmas Eve Day. A King Eider is still present at the end of Millen Road and another King Eider is present at the mouth of the Credit River in Mississauga. Four Yellow-rumped Warblers are also present near the gazebo on the east side. A Long-eared Owl was a day visitor in a South Burlington yard on Christmas Eve Day. A White-crowned Sparrow was a feeder guest at a feeder near Appleby and Lakeshore for a couple of days. Birds are moving around alot and with the cold snap coming in, will be moving again and concentrating on feeders. The New Year begins in a few days, time to get out and bump up the list for this year. It should be an interesting week with the cold weather upon us. Keep sending your sightings along! Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2014. Cheryl Edgecombe --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com _______________________________________________ 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
