FISH CROW BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER Tundra Swan American Wigeon Blue-winged Teal Northern Pintail King Eider Ring-necked Pheasant Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe American Bittern Great Egret Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle Pectoral Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Little Gull Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern * Forster's Tern Snowy Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Eastern Phoebe Eastern Kingbird * Common Raven Horned Lark Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Cliff Swallow * Barn Swallow Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush American Pipit Lapland Longspur Louisiana Waterthrush * Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Fox Sparrow Purple Finch
It's been a very busy week here in the Hamilton Study Area as sustained warm temperatures and south winds have brought in a flood of migrants over the past few days. Opening up with the rarities, a pair of FISH CROWS were seen on Wednesday at Bronte Harbour flying in from the southwest. A further search on Thursday did not turn them up but they may turn up again. An intriguing report of a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER (female) was received today with the bird visiting a feeder in East Hamilton yesterday. There have been no further reports. Lots of expected migrants have been seen in the week with a few early records. Yesterday a Common Tern was observed at Pier 4 Park in Hamilton cruising between this and the Leander Boat Club. Also seen here were two Forster's Terns and of course Caspian Terns which have come in en masse over the week. Later in the day a Forster's Tern was seen at Princess Point and another was seen off Bronte Bluffs this afternoon. A record early Cliff Swallow was seen early in the week at Bronte Harbour. An Eastern Kingbird was reported at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch on Monday hovering over a field, well described. Another very early arrival was a Louisiana Waterthrush seen at Ruthven Banding Station today. Going down the list, some regular arrivals this week included a lovely pair of Blue-winged Teal photographed at Westover and Sodom Road in Flamborough. An American Bittern was photographed in its "you can't see me" stance with head up and waving on Safari Rd between Westover and Middletown. A Great Egret was seen over the Guelph Arboretum mid-week. Three Pectoral Sandpipers were seen on a flyover of the wet fields on 8th Line and Britannia. Wilson's Snipe have returned in numbers to the flooded field on 5th Road East between Powerline and Green Mountain Road. Bonaparte's Gulls have been moving through the week. Good places to watch their migration are the end of Fifty Road in Grimsby and along the Bronte Shoreline at Bronte Harbour, Bronte Bluffs or Burloak Park. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were noted at the Hawkwatch at Beamer as well. Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush and Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen at Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek yesterday, look for their numbers to increase. Swallows have come in with Tree Swallows being the majority. Barn Swallows were seen over the Dundas Hydro Pond, at the Dundas Sewage Treatment Plant and at Bronte Harbour. Purple Martins were seen up in Saltfleet and one skirted the shoreline today at Bronte Bluffs in Oakville. American Pipits were seen over Sam Lawrence Park. Lapland Longspurs were heard rattling over a field in Saltfleet. Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Eastern Towhee and Fox Sparrow were birds seen at Confederation Park today. At City View Park in Burlington, Field, Vesper and Savannah Sparrows were seen earlier in the week. This is an excellent place for many species of sparrow on migration and breeding. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch is in full swing with the great anticipation of Broadwings possibly even tomorrow. This week Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Sharp-shinned, Coopers and Red-tailed Hawk have been the majority of the flight. If you have some time this week, look for the swarms of Broadwings and a few more American Kestrels to go through. With these strong south winds, you never know what will happen there. A Golden Eagle was seen with a group of Turkey Vultures over Cityview Park in Burlington yesterday. In the odds and sods, Tundra Swans are still being seen but in fewer numbers. A flock was seen flying along the lakeshore last Saturday. Approximately four hundred Northern Pintails were seen on Green Mountain Road between 5th and 6th Road East last weekend. American Wigeon can still be seen in the flooded fields up there. A King Eider was seen from Fifty Point this week and another continues at Bronte Harbour. Ring-necked Pheasant were seen/heard on 10th Road East in Saltfleet near the railway tracks. Common Loons have been noted over the Hawkwatch, look for their numbers to increase signficantly this week. Down in the Bronte area Pied-billed, Horned and Red-necked Grebe were seen in the week. Today 755 Red-necked Grebes were counted at Arkendo Park in Mississauga. The Bald Eagles at Brant Park in Brantford laid eggs in the first week of March. The eggs hatched on April 8. A Snowy Owl was seen on the Suncor Pier in Oakville on Monday, a late bird but maybe not the last given the winter invasion we had this year. Winter Gulls are still around with a Thayer's Gull seen at Burloak Park last Sunday. Iceland Gulls were seen on the rocks off Bronte Beach and another off Lakeside Park today. A Glaucous Gull was seen at Pier 4 park in Hamilton while watching the Terns. A Common Raven was seen over 11th Road East and Green Mountain Road yesterday. Lastly, Purple Finches came into a feeder in Ancaster on their way through a couple days ago. Tomorrow could be a banner day as birds move before two days of rain come in. Get out and scout your local patch. Let me know what you see. Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- 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
