WESTERN GREBE EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL AMERICAN AVOCET BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
King Eider Harlequin Duck Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Virginia Rail Sora Sandhill Crane Pectoral Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Willet Greater Yellowlegs Wilson's Snipe Iceland Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Red-throated Loon Common Loon American Bittern Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Broad-winged Hawk Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Great Crested Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Ruby-crowned Kinglet Veery Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Purple Finch Pine Siskin Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Baltimore Oriole Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Golden-winged Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler Cape May Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Rose=-breasted Grosbeak Life is good in the Hamilton Study Area when you have to type the entire checklist. This week has seen the most influx of migrants yet so let's start at the top of the list. A WESTERN GREBE was reported on Thursday in a group of Red-necked Grebes off the mouth of the creek at Rattray Marsh. This could be the same bird that was seen a month ago down at Port Credit. EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL can be a tough find but a sound recording in the McMaster Forest picked up the song dating a week and a half ago and one was flushed at Forty Mile Creek yesterday. Two AMERICAN AVOCETS were a good find last Saturday as they flew and rested on the Burlington Beach early last Saturday and stayed the day delighting birders and photographers. Lastly, yesterday a surprise guest a first summer BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was found sitting on the rocks off Bronte Bluffs. The bird looked weary and disappeared for a short time but did return to the same spot later in the day. There were many birders out in their local patches this week. Sites reported from include Forty Mile Creek in Grimsby, Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek, Hamilton Cemetery and Princess Point, Spencer Creek Trail in Dundas, LaSalle Park, Shoreacres/Paletta Park, Sherwood Forest Park, Sheldon Creek Trail, Appleby Creek all in Burlington, Shell Park and Bronte Bluffs in Oakville and Lakeside Park in Mississauga. New arrivals this week most of them yesterday include Chimney Swift (flock of a hundred seen over the Waterfront hotel in Burlington), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (feeder in Dundas), Great Crested and Least FLycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo (LaSalle Park), Blue-headed Vireo (in great numbers!), Warbling Vireo, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Swainson's and Wood Thrush (Appleby Creek), Gray Catbird (LaSalle & Spencer Creek Trail), Purple Finch (reporting in at a number of feeders), Savannah, Lincoln's, White-throated (in numbers), White-crowned Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Golden-winged Warbler (LaSalle Park), Black-and-white Warbler, Nashville, Cape May, Blackburnian, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Pine, Yellow-rumped Warblers in numbers, Black-throated Green, a record early Canada Warbler (LaSalle Park), and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Some of the lingering migrants in these spots include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush (in quantity!) and Ruby-crowned Kinglets (still arriving in great numbers yesterday) Shorebirds should be coming into the numerous numbers of wet fields in Flamborough and Saltfleet soon. Good numbers of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Wilson's Snipe have been seen in the field up on 5th Road East. A Pectoral Sandpiper was present week before last. A Willet was seen at Bronte Harbour last week and four were seen in a flyby yesterday down at the same location. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch is in its final two weeks but another push of Broad-winged Hawks came through this week as the bad weather cleared out for a day. There are still some other good birds still hanging around for listers and those doing birdathons. An immature male King Eider was present at the Suncor Pier in the week. A lovely transitioning male Harlequin duck was very photogenic at Bronte Beach, day before yesterday. Horned and Red-necked Grebes, Red-throated and Common Loons are still numerous along the west end of the lake. Up at Safari Road Marsh an American Bittern was still booming as of last weekend. Sora and Virginia Rails also very vocal here. Another good spot for these are the marsh along 11th Road East in Saltfleet and Kerncliffe Park in Burlington. A Sandhill Crane made a flyover at the Safari Road Marsh interesting to see if they nest somewhere in the area. It's been a good spring for Iceland Gulls in the HSA, one seen on the Suncor Pier in Oakville on Thursday. Caspian and Common Terns have returned to their colonies, interesting was a sighting of 9 Forster's Tern around Bronte Harbour. Over the past week with the cold damp weather swarms of all 5 expected species of Swallow and Purple Martins can be ticked off the year list. A good spot for these are Bronte Harbour and Suncor Pier. Pine Siskins were reported in Oakville and at a feeder in Carlisle this week. That's the news this week, there is lots to look for in the days coming and this morning is full of song as I type this report. Send along your sightings here and if something unusual turns up let us know and post to the local listserve! Happy Migration (and end of tax season!) 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
