AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN AMERICAN AVOCET WHIMBREL BLACK TERN SNOWY OWL FISH CROW
Gadwall Northern Shoveler Redhead Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Hooded Merganser RUddy Duck Red-necked Grebe American Bittern Great Egret Bald Eagle Peregrine Falcon Virginia Rail Sora Common Gallinule American Coot Sandhill Crane Willet Semipalmated Sandpiper Dunlin Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Golden-winged Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Bobolink Eastern Meadowlark Things are supposed to be quiet in June but as you can see by the top of the list, birds are still being found by keen observers and you never know what will show up. Today was an unusual day in the HSA with a very late WHIMBREL sitting on the rocks all day at Burloak Park in Oakville, a very late SNOWY OWL being harassed by gulls on a building at the QEW and Appleby Line and a FISH CROW sitting on the rail at the SUNCOR PIER. Earlier in the week and then again yesterday two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS have been in and out of Cootes Paradise making themselves very inconspicuous to people trying to find them. They did disappear for a couple of days. There were no reports today. For those looking for them last weekend a BLACK TERN was a consolation prize. To round out the rarities an AMERICAN AVOCET was a short staying bird which flushed out of Windermere Basin on Tuesday. The rest of the list is an assortment of sightings so here it goes. Summering waterfowl reported around the area includes Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Long-tailed Duck, Hooded Merganser and Ruddy Duck at the Windermere Basin. A group of Long-tailed Ducks along with White-winged Scoter had a hidden surprise of a summering Black Scoter in the flock. Red-necked Grebes are nesting at Bronte Harbour and attempting to renest at Burloak Park after heavy wave action took the nest with 5 eggs. American Bittern could be heard kalunking in the Robertson Tract along with Common Gallinule and Sora. A family of Sandhill Cranes walked across the road on 4th Line Nassawagawa where the entrance to the Robertson tract is in north Halton. Another Common Gallinule was seen at a distance from Princess Point swimming around at the edge of Cootes Paradise. An American Coot was exhibiting some nesting behaviour at the Windermere Basin where two were seen, one of them carrying food. Great Egrets were seen at Princess Point/Cootes Paradise, an unusual sight this time of year. A Bald Eagle was patrolling the marsh. The Peregrine Falcon nest at the lift bridge has failed this year due to the presence of a new female from Michigan who overtook the original nest. The eggs were destroyed and her two eggs have not hatched. Only one chick hatched at the Sheraton Hotel this year, her name is Ancaster. Virginia Rails are very present at Kerncliffe Park a good breeding Area. A good number of Semipalmated Sandpipers and earlier in the week a few Dunlin were present at Windermere Basin. Cuckoos are still being reported often with this birder getting a Black-billed Cuckoo added to the yard list this week. A Common Nighthawk made a flyover in Brantford, likely on its way north. Golden-winged Warbler is quite reliable in Currie Tract just across from the Mohawk Raceway on Guelph Line. Grasshopper Sparrows were back in their traditional nesting spot at the Westover Hydro Tract on 6th Road West just west of Westover. Lastly, Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark are present and nesting in Olympic Park in Ancaster. This is the Hydro corridor that extends from the West end of Mohawk Rd. (Tim's) down to the escarpment on Scenic Drive. That's the news this week. Now is not the time to slack off, look what the finds were today. Strong thunderstorms overnight could bring some rarity in. Get out to your local patch and report what you see. 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
