EURASIAN WIGEON GLOSSY IBIS SWAINSON'S HAWK HARRIS'S SPARROW
Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Redhead Lesser Scaup Ruddy Duck Ruffed Grouse Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey Vulture Sharp-shinned Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Golden Eagle Common Gallinule Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Little Gull Glaucous Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Common Raven Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow House Wren Winter Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Northern Waterthrush Yellow Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Field Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Pine Siskin It seemed like a quiet week in the Hamilton Study Area but this list was longer than expected and the rarities good for this time of year. So, bottom line, not a bad week here in the Hamilton Study Area. In the rarities department, the EURASIAN WIGEON from just outside our area to the north and west of Cambridge at Bannister Lake was present up until last weekend, could still be there. A nice find for the week was a GLOSSY IBIS at 8th Line and Britannia last Tuesday. As you may recall one showed at the same location last year. It didn't stay long but it came closer to view to identify it as a GLOSSY and then flew high and to the west not to be found again. A good day at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch last Saturday yielded a SWAINSON'S HAWK among the more than 1300 Broad-winged Hawks seen that day. To round out the rarities the HARRIS'S SPARROW that was refound earlier in April has now changed into almost full breeding regalia and is still being seen on the Sheldon Creek Trail in Oakville. Shorebirds seem to be coming to the forefront of migration as passerine migration has been slow this week. In various flooded fields an assortment of shorebirds have been seen but things change within the day and numbers come and go. Up in Saltfleet on 10th Road east, east of 10th Road at the railway tracks south of Ridge Road, a number of Greater Yellowlegs (up to 30) were seen midweek. A raptor flushed them and they were relocated west of 10th Road east on Ridge Road along with Lesser Yellowlegs. Dunlin and a Lesser Yellowlegs were seen on 5th Road East between Powerline and Green Mountain Road. Another great spot for shorebirds is the 8th Line and Britannia Location where Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers were seen. At the Windermere Basin, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Dunlin were seen in single numbers. Upland Sandpipers were reported from 15th Side Road south of Mud, 10th Sideroad East and 8th Sideroad East in Saltfleet. Other new arrivals this week include Common Gallinule and Yellow Warbler seen at the Millgrove Loam Pits, Yellow Warbler was also seen and heard on the Northshore trails at the RBG. A House Wren was a welcome harbinger of spring singing in a backyard in Dundas. Northern Waterthrush have returned in numbers at the Beverly Swamp, Grasshopper Sparrows have returned to the traditional spot on 6th Concession West west of Westover Road. Windermere Basin should be a hotspot in the next weeks as the Caspian and Common Tern colonies set up. Other birds seen there this week in addition to the shorebirds above include Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Black-crowned Night Heron, Caspian and Common Tern, Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Bank, Cliff and Barn Swallow, Field Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. In the odds and sods department, Ruffed Grouse could be heard drumming at the Westover Tract at 6th Concession West and Valens and at the Millgrove Loam Pits. Osprey were seen carrying nesting material near Kerncliffe Park early in the week, they seem to be finding more and more places to nest in the HSA. An adult Little Gull was seen off Confederation Park last Sunday. A Glaucous Gull is making a late appearance through the week at Canada Centre for inland waters. Forster's Tern (up to 5) were present at Bronte Harbour up to last weekend. Common Ravens were seen in pairs at Kerncliffe Park and at Appleby and Dundas in Burlington. A late Winter Wren was seen along Tuck Creek. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are settled into Shoreacres Park in Burlington. Lingering migrants at Sherwood Forest Park in Burlington and Sedgewick Park in Oakville include Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush and Pine Warbler. Lastly, Pine Siskins were reported in numbers on Hillview Rd in Grimsby and east Hamilton at feeders this week. These next days and weeks are what we birders are all about. Please report your sightings here. Happy May! 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
