Trumpeter Swan Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Lesser Scaup White-winged Scoter Hooded Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Sandhill Crane Semipalmated Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Bonaparte's Gull Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Bobolink
It's another quiet week in the Hamilton Study Area. The most unusual sighting was that of a Northern Bobwhite which showed nicely and sang loudly for a few days. As much as saying this was a migrant from Walpole Island would be ideal, this bird is almost certainly an escapee. The crux of the action remains with the ever changing landscape of shorebirds at Windermere Basin and very close to the HSA at Townsend Sewage Lagoons. This week at Windermere Basin shorebirds included Semipalmated Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, Stilt Sandpiper (3 today) and Short-billed Dowitcher. Great Egret and Bonaparte's Gull were also birds seen here in the week. Down at Townsend Sewage Lagoons which is slightly out of the HSA conditions are ripe in the first cell where today over 200 birds were present including Killdeer, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper and at least 20 Short-billed Dowitchers. Ducks here include Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead and Ruddy Duck. This will be a good place to check going forward! In the odds and sods this week an unfortunate story if of the demise of one of the adult nesting Trumpeter Swans at the Clappisons Corners Wetland in Waterdown. One adult and two chicks remain, cause of death is unknown at this time. Four Lesser Scaup were seen in Tollgate Ponds late week. A White-winged Scoter was photographed near the Burlington Pier today. Hooded Merganser was seen near LaSalle earlier in the week. An unusual date record of a Red-breasted Merganser was seen at Fifty Road in Grimsby. Down at Bronte Harbour, four of the chicks from the nest at the Outer Harbour were photographed yesterday. Other nests in the area do not appear to be as successful. The Bald Eagle family has been seen near Wilkes Dam, the young have fledged successfully here. Sandhill Cranes, one adult and one chick were seen at Grass Lake near Glen Morris this week. Listers on the hunt for Cuckoos were able to locate both species at the Fletcher Creek Reserve in north Flamborough this week. Yellow-billed Cuckoo was also found near Kraemer Road on the Rail Trail near Brantford and at Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle. A number of Wood Thrush (up to 5) were heard at a property near Rock Chapel, their calls a welcome sound to hear on an evening walk. Finally today a neat sighting for this birder was over a dozen Bobolinks gathered at the side of the Road at 10th Road East north of the railway tracks. There were many moulting males in the group. Numbers could have been closer to two dozen with many hiding in the grass at close range. That's the news for this week. Thanks to those who sent in their sightings. Have a great week. 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
