NEOTROPIC CORMORANT SNOWY EGRET possible LITTLE BLUE HERON
Redhead Long-tailed Duck Great Egret Great Blue Heron Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron American Coot Merlin Semipalmated Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Great Horned Owl Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Barn Swallow It's been a somewhat quiet week in the Hamilton Study Area. The focus this week has been on shorebirds but a couple of interesting birds have been noted this week. A NEOTROPIC CORMORANT was seen flying over Windermere Basin on Thursday of this week with a flock of Double-crested Cormorants. It is possible this bird has been here since the spring but with the numbers of Cormorants in the area, it would be like "Where's Waldo" to find. The SNOWY EGRET is still at Windermere Basin, patience is necessary as sometimes it is not visible. A scope is helpful in the quest to see this bird. While looking for this bird there are a few notables. We now have two broods of Redhead ducks a very significant nesting record for the Hamilton Study Area. Also present is a summering Long-tailed Duck and American Coot. Over the course of the week the following shorebirds have been seen, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted, Semipalmated, Least and Stilt Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Sanderling and a number of Short-billed Dowitchers. An Adult Baird's Sandpiper was a notable early in the week but has not been reported since Sunday. Of note as well this week was the sighting of a possible LITTLE BLUE HERON which was roosting with Great Egrets in Cootes Paradise. It flew out toward the west pond and was not relocated. Later that evening a search for the bird did not turn it up but many Black-crowned Night Herons and Great Blue Herons and one Green Heron were found at the West Pond. Off Princess Point a few Great Egrets were seen in the marsh. On the east side of the high level bridge (Burlington Heights) at dusk Great Egrets will come into roost along with Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned Night Herons. Eleven Great Egrets came into roost here. Just before dark, masses of mostly Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts were feeding over the water. A pleasant surprise was a Common Nighthawk flying around here just before dark. Out at the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons, the mix of shorebirds remained similar to Windermere Basin but included Pectoral and Solitary Sandpiper. A Leucistic Solitary Sandpiper has been here for a couple of weeks. PLEASE NOTE: THIS SITE IS NOW OFF LIMITS TO BIRDERS TEMPORARILY. The Region is extending the Waterfront trail through here and a viewing tower for the ponds is being constructed in the next couple of weeks. Please respect the construction zone as the workers do not want people in there when construction is going on for safety reasons. In the odds and sods this week a Great Horned Owl was seen perched at the top of a tree on Old Guelph Road near the entrance to the Arboretum last Monday night and it appears that Merlins have successfully nested in Dundas with a group of three birds being seen and photographed in a yard near the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. That's the news this week, please send along your sightings here. Things will be picking up in the next week or so. Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ 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
