AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN BLACK VULTURE LITTLE GULL (slightly out of area but noteworthy!!!!) FISH CROW
Ring-necked Pheasant (slightly of area) Ruffed Grouse Wild Turkey Red-throated Loon Common Loon Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Sharp-shinned Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Virginia Rail Sora Common Gallinule Sandhill Crane Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Upland Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's Snipe Common Tern Short-eared Owl Chimney Swift Red-headed Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Purple Martin Tufted Titmouse House Wren Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Nashville Warbler Yellow Warbler Black-throated Blue-Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat Lincoln's Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole Purple Finch You can see by this list there has been a significant change this week in migration as is expected this time of year. Our highlights of the week include an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN which marvelled the counters at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch as the bird passed along the escarpment near the tower. Also from this location a pair of BLACK VULTURES circled around the entire afternoon last Sunday finally settling in the quarry nearby. One of the Vultures or another completely different individual was seen later in the week near this same quarry. This just in, a spectacular show yesterday was of 81 breeding plumaged LITTLE GULLS at Townsend Sewage Lagoons which is just outside the Hamilton Study area but I mention it as this is a good number of a not so common bird to the area. Almost as rare, a Ring-necked Pheasant made an appearance near the lagoons here as well. Another probable sighting of a FISH CROW came from the Centre Mall area of Hamilton. New arrivals this week are many. Virginia Rail, Sora and Common Gallinule are returning residents to the marsh on Safari Road between Valens and Kirkwall. Solitary Sandpiper was a new species of shorebird seen this week at 5th Road East in Saltfleet. Common Terns have arrived in numbers as of yesterday. A Chimney Swift was seen on the north shore of Cootes yesterday. Several were seen, streaming past the Hawkwatch at Beamer a couple days ago. A nice treat was a Red-headed Woodpecker seen in the trail behind the Westfield Heritage Centre in Flamborough. The woodlots have been busy with early arrivals including Least Flycatcher (Edgelake Stoney Creek, Confederation and Sedgewick Oakville), Great Crested Flycatcher (Edgelake, Appleby Creek Burlington), Warbling Vireo (Shoreacres/ Paletta Burlington), Purple Martin (10th road E Saltfleet, 40 mile creek Grimsby), Gray Catbird (Beamer Grimsby, Sherwood Forest Park Oakville) Nashville Warbler (Sedgewick, Oakville), Black-throated Blue Warbler (Sherwood Forest Oakville), Black-throated Green Warbler (Beamer Grimsby, North shore of Cootes Hamilton), Black-and-white Warbler (Edgelake Stoney Creek, Sedgewick Oakville), Ovenbird (Edgelake Stoney Creek, Sherwood Forest Oakville), Northern Waterthrush (on territory in Beverly Swamp), Common Yellowthroat (Shoreacres/Paletta, Burlington), Lincoln's Sparrow (Brantford), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Iroquois CA Ancaster), Orchard Oriole (Binbrook, Brant Co road 22), Baltimore Oriole (first at Woodland Cemetery last Sunday, Dundas, Shoreacres/Paletta in Burlington and up near Rock Chapel). The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer will be winding down soon. Migrating Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks have dropped in numbers. Sharp-shinned and Broad-winged Hawks seem to still be moving through. Common Loons and Sandhill Cranes also have made appearances on migration here this week. A Pileated Woodpecker has made multiple appearances up here at the tower. A Purple Finch was heard near the feeders. Shorebird habitat is still good in the area, we just need birds. This week at 5th Road East, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin and numerous Wilson's Snipe. Upland Sandpipers continue to be seen on territory on South Grimsby Road 15 and Mud Street in the field near the barn In the odds and sods this week, probably the oddest sighting of the week was of two Wild Turkey on the roof at Canada Centre for Inland Waters yesterday. Loons can be seen out on the lake in numbers, mostly common but last weekend a couple of Red-throated Loons also passed through. Two stunning adult Black-crowned Night Herons were seen at Forty Mile Creek in Grimsby along the creek. Two Short-eared Owls continue to be seen even in daylight on 10th Road East near the tracks between Ridge and Green Mountain Roads. Pileated Woodpecker was seen at Safari Road Marsh, a circling Sandhill Crane was also an interesting sighting. Ruffed Grouse could be heard drumming from nearby Hyde Tract. Common Raven was seen over Plains road and Maple last Saturday) Filtering migrants in the woodlots continue from the week before including Blue-headed Vireo, House and Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Pine and Palm Warbler. Some of these birds are just passing through, others will set up shop here. Tufted Titmouse sightings are on the rise in the area, one pair may be attempting to nest near Bronte Bluffs in Oakville. Lastly, Rusty Blackbirds have been present in some numbers in the flooded swamp on 8th Road East and in Flamborough along 6th Concession West. Get out today before the cold and rain tomorrow. Hamilton seems to be shy of a rarity, lets find one today! 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 (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
