EURASIAN WIGEON BLACK VULTURE FISH CROW Wood Duck American Wigeon Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal King Eider Red-throated Loon Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Little Gull Bonaparte's GUll Caspian Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe Northern Shrike Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Fox Sparrow Evening Grosbeak
As you can see, warm weather brings birds and this week there has been a push of migrants moving into the Hamilton Study Area. Our bird of the week was a EURASIAN WIGEON found on Saturday at Windermere Basin. The bird was seen for most of the morning before being spooked and flying off to the southeast. It has not been seen since. Another BLACK VULTURE made an appearance at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch last week, perhaps one of the Niagara birds taking a wander. Flights have been steady this week with an increase in Sharp-shinned Hawks and the first Broadwings. Other raptors include a steady stream of Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks. FISH CROWS are still in the mix this week with up to 8 being seen at the location off Lakeshore at Wilton in Burlington. One was reported over a yard in North Burlington and several seen along the Burlington/Oakville/Mississauga Lakeshore in the week. Migrants coming into the area this week include a Great Egret seen at Bronte Marsh. Virginia Rails are here early (Auburn Road up in Halton, back at Kerncliffe Park in Burlington, at the Marsh Boardwalk at the Arboretum, Grass Lake and one lost soul along the pipeline at Shell Park). Shorebirds up in Saltfleet and in the flooded field at Eighth Line and Britannia include Solitary Sandpiper (8th road East), Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper (5th Road East). Caspian Terns are here in growing numbers and a Forster's Tern and Common Tern were seen along the west end of the lake on the weekend. Bonaparte's Gulls were streaming through on Saturday. A careful watch picked out a Little Gull down at the Suncor Pier. Tree, Northern Rough-winged and Barn Swallows have all been moving in. A few Purple Martins were seen in Saltfleet with one checking out the martin house at 10th Road East and Ridge Road. A pair of House Wrens were seen in a yard on Sawmill Road in Ancaster. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are starting to creep into the area along with a growing number of Golden-crowned Kinglets. Our first Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were seen at Sedgewick Park in Oakville and at Fifty Point on the weekend. Brown Thrashers were reported from shrubs at an office at Walkers and Harvester (lol) and from Fifty Point Conservation Area. Freshly decorated Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen at Fifty Point on Saturday. The first Pine Warbler of the season was seen at the RBG arboretum and another on Traquility Ave in Ancaster. Chipping, Field and Fox Sparrows continue to filter through the area in growing numbers. In the odds and sods, ducks can still be found in some numbers in the flooded fields of Flamborough. Species reported include Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal. A pair of Blue-winged Teal has remained at the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons for a couple of weeks now. A young male King Eider was seen at the Suncor Pier on the weekend. Red-throated and Common Loon, Horned and Red-necked Grebes are sprinkled around the lake being seen at virtually every lookout point. A Pied-billed Grebe was in the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons. Sandhill Cranes are back at Grass Lake in Glen Morris. Earlier migrants are still lurking in the woodlots along the lakeshore including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush. A Northern Shrike was present till mid-week on 10th Road East in Saltfleet. Lastly an e-bird report of the wintering Evening Grosbeak from Riverwood Conservancy last Thursday is getting extremely late for this species. That's the news for this past week, this week should be better now that we are past that mess of yesterday. Report your sightings here. 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 birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
