GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE PALM WARBLER PINE WARBLER RED CROSSBILL Tundra Swan Wood Duck American Wigeon Harlequin Duck Common Loon Ruffed Grouse Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Peregrine Falcon Merlin Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl Northern Flicker Northern Shrike Common Raven Hermit Thrush Northern Mockingbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Pine Siskin
The last full week of winter listing brought in some warm winds followed by freezing rain and snow. Makes for an interesting landscape on the bird front. Up at the top of the list we have a few interesting tidbits. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen at Gairloch Gardens in Oakville today along with a pair of Harlequin Ducks. Another Harlequin Duck was seen at Lakeside Park in Mississauga. Our PALM WARBLER has fared well over the week. I did not see any reports of it today after last night's cold but I expect its lurking about with its friend the Yellow-rumped Warbler. They have been reported all week. After a couple month's absence a PINE WARBLER returned to a feeder in east Oakville today. The last big bird came out of nowhere. While up looking for birds north of Burlington, a check of a bird at the top of a tree on Blind Line north of Colling Road yielded five RED CROSSBILLS which stayed for a few minutes then flew off and came back a while later for another brief stay. During the warm push last week, a spectacular sight of thousands of waterfowl came on 5th Road East just south of Powerline Road. A mix of mostly Mallards, Canada Geese with a few Gadwall and a couple American Wigeon mixed in. The next day when the weather turned cold, not a duck to be seen. A small flock of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were seen here on 5th Road East and on Elm Tree Road just to the east of here. Perhaps more of these migrants will return with the warm weather this weekend. In the odds and sods this week, a Wood Duck was seen in the Red Hill Outlet last Saturday. A Common Loon was seen off Bronte Harbour on Monday. A Ruffed Grouse was a surprise on 10th Concession West, west of Highway 6 in Flamborough. Up in Saltfleet on 10th Road East, a pair of Peregrine Falcons were very vocal and territorial today up at the quarry just south of Green Mountain Road. Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Northern Shrike, Common Raven, Northern Mockingbird, White-crowned Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark and Brown-headed Cowbird were all reported this week. Glaucous Gulls seemed to be the only white-winged Gulls on the ice on the bay this week. A Merlin was seen near the Juravinski Centre on East 36th Street in Hamilton. A Snowy Owl revised Bronte Harbour sitting on the docks there last weekend. Two Northern Flickers were seen on Tapleytown Road in Saltfleet. A Hermit Thrush was an unexpected surprise in the Hendrie Valley today. An Eastern Towhee has been an irregular visitor at a feeder which backs onto the Iroquois Heights Conservation Area. Lastly, Pine Siskins in numbers were visiting a feeder on Concession 11 East in North Halton and sporadic reports have come in through the week of people with small numbers of birds at their feeders so keep those feeders stocked. This weekend should bring in some more birds particularly Sunday. We have an extra winter listing day this year so make the most of it! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC. --- 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
