AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN WILLET PALM WARBLER (Eastern)
Tundra Swan Blue-winged Teal King Eider Black Scoter Red-throated Loon Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe American Bittern Great Egret Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Broad-winged Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Virginia Rail Sora Sandhill Crane Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Common Tern Forster's Tern Snowy Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Common Raven Tree Swallow Northern Rough0winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Brown Creeper Winter Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Black-and-White Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Fox Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Purple Finch It's been a productive week here in the Hamilton Study Area as birds continue to move into the area despite cold and even snowy conditions. This week's rarities include a ROSS' GOOSE found last Sunday at Fairchild Creek on 5th Concession West just east of Settlers Road. An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was found late Sunday off the islands at Canada Centre for Inland waters and seen until midweek on the rock islands there. It has not been reported since Wednesday. Another great early record was that of a WILLET which was seen briefly yesterday flying around Windermere Basin. Unfortunately there was nowhere for it to land. It was not refound. And to round out the rarities was an Eastern/Yellow PALM WARBLER at Shoreacres Park in Burlington. The bird may still be about as it was seen yesterday. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch has seen its first Broad-winged Hawks this week. Other hawks seen this week have been Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed, Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawk. At another location on Hwy 6 and the 403, five Osprey were seen yesterday in a turf war for the nest up on the tower with two of the Osprey battling it to the ground at the City View Motel. The Bald Eagles appear to be nesting at Cootes Paradise again. The woodlots near the lake have been full of early migrants, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Northern Flicker, Brown Creeper, both Kinglets, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Towhee, Fox and White-throated Sparrows. Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher has been seen at 50 Point Conservation Area and at Shoreacres in Burlington. Brown Thrasher was seen at Sherwood forest Park in Burlington. An extremely early Black and White Warbler was recorded at a yard in Bronte last Friday. Pine Warblers are back on territory at LaSalle Park in Burlington and at Sedgewick Park in Oakville. Yellow-rumped Warblers have been seen in small numbers at various locations. Shorebirds are in the news this week with the best locations in the flooded fields in Flamborough, up in Saltfleet and north of Oakville at 8th line and Britannia. If you need a Wilson's Snipe fix, many birds can be seen on 5th Road East in Saltfleet between Powerline and Green Mountain Road. Also here today were Greater Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper. Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were present on Green Mountain Road near 6th Road East in a flooded field on the north side, a scope mandatory for viewing these. Pectoral Sandpiper were also seen on 8th line and Britannia in Oakville. Out in Flamborough, Greater Yellowlegs were present at Middletown road north of 5th concession. An early Spotted Sandpiper was seen at LaSalle Marina last weekend. Another one was seen today along the lake at Green Road. Another hotspot this time of year is the Safari Road Marsh located on Safari Road just east of Kirkwall Road. In addition to the lovely chorus of frogs, American Bittern, Sora and Virginia Rail are all in for the season. In the odds and sods this week, Tundra Swans have all but left but a flock flew over Woodland Cemetery last weekend. The flooded fields in Saltfleet still hold Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal. Blue-winged Teal were seen on Middletown Road south of Concession 4 last weekend, some were seen in Windermere Basin. King Eiders were seen near the beach canal and at Bronte Harbour. Several Black Scoters, Red-throated Loons, Horned and Red-necked Grebes and a Common Tern were seen from Green Road today. Several Common Terns were seen at Windermere Basin and a Forster's Tern was seen at Bayfront Park in Hamilton today. . Common Loons have been seen over the hawkwatch as well as one over Walker's Line and New Street yesterday. Great Egrets are appearing in small numbers with birds seen on Eastport Drive at the Pelican location, at Millgrove and Concession 5 and at Fifty Point Conservation Area today. Sandhill Cranes have returned to Grass Lake in Glen Morris, another seen over Flamborough on Westover Road. Glaucous and Lesser Black-backed Gull were seen from Canada Centre for Inland Waters mid-week. A late Snowy Owl was present for a brief time at the North Service Road and Guelph Line last Saturday. A Common Raven was seen on 10th Road East today. Good places to view swallows of various species were at the end of Green Road where a Purple Martin was also present amongst Tree, Barn and Rough-winged Swallows. All species of Swallow listed above including Cliff and Bank were seen at Bronte Harbour. Sparrows have come in with Chipping Sparrows seen at Confederation Park today, Field, Savannah and Swamp Sparrows seen throughout the area. Vesper Sparrows were seen today at Cityview Park and three seen on Highland Road just west of 6th Road East. A Purple Finch was seen at Forty Mile Creek. That's the news for this week, exciting times here in the Hamilton Study Area. Please send your sightings along here! Cheers, 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
