31 participants met me at Van Wagner's beach, for some fall birding along the Hamilton waterfront. A pleasant andsunny morning was welcome. 4 Sanderling on the beach and 2 Great Black-backed Gull on the lake, were a good start. That good start quickly turned not so good though, as the group quickly discovered that songbirds (even very common ones) were nearly impossible to turn up.Despite checking many traditional warbler hotspots on the first leg of the trip, our entire group only had 1 WARBLER OF 1 SPECIES! A Myrtle! The trend continued with only a couple of the usually numerous sparrows we regularly see.Herons put in a good show with Great Egrets, Green, Black Crowned Night, and Great Blue, all being seen in the same location. Shorebirds were later well represented with Marbled Godwit, Golden Plover, Bairds Sand, Ruddy Turnstone , Spotted, and a getting late Short-billed Dowitcher. The Godwit and Turnstone being lifers for different participants. Ducks also played a role in boosting our moderate species count, (about 60)with White-winged Scorer, American Wigeon, Canvasback, Pintail, and Black Duck being notable. Upon returning home, I discovered a rogue Parakeet in my backyard. He's here as I type this. Does he count? I thank Andrew Don and Rob Palin for their great assistance, and also Dave Milsom for his tireless work in putting these many OFO outings together. Len Manning
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