AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN SNOWY EGRET American Wigeon Green-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Great Egret Black-crowned Night Heron American Coot Merlin Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher Lesser Black-baked Gull Forster's Tern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift
This has been a fairly quiet week here in the Hamilton Study Area but the top of the list birds seem to be sticking around for viewers and a couple of new birds have graced the list this week. The SNOWY EGRET continues to be seen at Windermere Basin usually in the company of a Great Egret but today in the company of a Black-crowned Night Heron. American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler and American Coot are water birds present for the list. Shorebirds seem to be changing up this week with the arrival of two Stilt Sandpipers both seen today and a single Sanderling found this afternoon. Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper, Dunlin and Short-billed Dowitcher were all seen up until today. The Long-billed Dowitcher was last reported on Wednesday morning along with a first year Forster's Tern. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN continues to make an appearance at Cootes Paradise but yesterday seen flying over Dundas. It is likely settled back into Cootes. The fields up in Saltfleet are proving promising with fields at 5th Road east between Powerline and Green Mountain Road, one on Green Mountain Road just east of 6th Road East, a wet field between Ridge and Green Mountain Road on 8th Road East and another east of 10th Road East on the Dofasco trail worth a check every few days. A Solitary Sandpiper was seen at 5th Road East. The rest of the fields were sprinkled with Least Sandpipers and many Killdeer. Going forward into the end of July, these fields could be goldmines. In the odds and sods this week a Merlin has been found nesting in east Hamilton on Queensdale. A Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen at the end of Green Road as a flyby. Both Cuckoos were present at Powerline Road in Ancaster at the Headwaters trail of the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. An interesting sighting was of 4 Common Nighthawks over Sydenham Road in Dundas this week. Chimney Swifts seem to be growing in numbers at their favourite haunts in the old chimneys in Dundas, in Hamilton at the Scottish Rite and in south Burlington. Although small right now there seems to be a changeup of birds over the last week so things are starting to move around. A strong system of thunderstorms on Sunday could drop a rarity to the HSA. Keep cool and hydrated this weekend. Report your sightings here! Good birding Cheryl Edgecombe --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 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
