Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) weekly bird sightings report, June 1, 2019
BROWN PELICAN BRANT LITTLE GULL FISH CROW Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler American Wigeon Canvasback Redhead Greater Scaup Long-tailed Duck Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Pied-billed Grebe Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Virginia Rail Common Gallinule Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Upland Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling Dunlin Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Lesser Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Common Loon Peregrine Falcon Great Crested Flycatcher Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Cliff Swallow Marsh Wren Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing Pine Siskin Clay-colored Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Orchard Oriole Black-and-white Warbler Tennessee Warbler Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Scarlet Tanager Cheryl Edgecombe, who has diligently done this weekly report for many years, is taking a break this week so I am filling in for her. Over the past two weeks local birders have anxiously been anticipating seeing Brown Pelican in the Hamilton Study Area (HSA) as a bird has been flirting with us showing up at numerous sites along Lake Ontario both to the north in the Toronto area and the east in Niagara. Finally, on the morning of May 30 one lucky observer spotted the BROWN PELICAN off Confederation Park (third record for the HSA), but it flew off to the east before others could get there, and it reappeared at Jordan Harbour in Niagara, eventually soaring high and disappearing. The bird may now be gone from the Lake, or it could still be around, who knows. Following on the impressive movement of shorebirds along the lakeshore last weekend, good numbers were again noted migrating on May 28, mostly DUNLIN and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS. This was also reflected in the numbers of shorebirds at Windermere Basin on May 28 (at which the water levels have been substantially drawn down over the past week providing excellent habitat): 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, 14 SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, 2 RUDDY TURNSTONE, 200 DUNLIN, 500 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, and 2 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER. Single WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS were also noted there on May 27. An impressive flock of 35 RUDDY TURNSTONES were seen on May 29 at Bronte Harbour. On May 30 four SANDERLING and one RUDDY TURNSTONE were on the beach at Fifty Point C.A. The lakeshore has produced other birds of note, including a flight of BRANT (sometimes missed in our area in spring) with 6 birds past Fifty Point C.A. May 26, and 9 past Burloak Waterfront Park and 24 past Port Credit on May 29. Oakville Harbour continues to provide a roosting site for large numbers of gulls, including one adult and two first summer LITTLE GULLS amongst hundreds of BONAPARTE'S GULLS. A new viewing platform at Tannery Park on the west side of Sixteen Mile Creek provides excellent sightlines. While most of the diving ducks have now departed from Lake Ontario, a few waterfowl are lingering including at Windermere Basin at which a pair of AMERICAN WIGEON, a male BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 3 male NORTHERN SHOVELER, 2 male REDHEAD, a male GREATER SCAUP, a female LONG-TAILED DUCK and a female HOODED MERGANSER were found during the week. A female CANVASBACK was on the Harbour next to Tollgate Pond on May 29. Four COMMON MERGANSERS flew past South Shell Park on May 31. Three COMMON LOONS were off LaSalle Marina on May 29. Spring passerine migration is now winding down, however some birds were still noted in numbers during the past week at stopover sites along the lakeshore and elsewhere, mostly late season warblers and flycatchers with late dates for some earlier migrating species. Locations reported from this week include Fifty Point C.A., Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek, Confederation Park in Hamilton, Joe Sams Park (North Waterdown Wetland Trails) in Waterdown, LaSalle Park in Aldershot, Shoreacres (Palleta) Park, Burloak Waterfront Park and Sherwood Forest Park in Burlington, Shell Park, South Shell Park, Bronte Creek Provincial Park and Sedgewick Park in Oakville as well as a few random sites. Species reported included: GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (Kelson Ave and Credit River Valley in Streetsville), EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, ALDER FLYCATCHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO (Joe Sams Park), PHILADELPHIA VIREO, RED-EYED VIREO, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, WOOD THRUSH, CEDAR WAXWING, PINE SISKIN (Kelson Ave), LINCOLN'S SPARROW, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, AMERICAN REDSTART, CAPE MAY WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, CANADA WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER and SCARLET TANAGER. In the odds and sods this week, the King-Benton abandoned gravel pit on Oak Park Rd in Brantford is hosting impressive numbers of several species of breeders. On May 27 one birder tallied 28 singing WILLOW FLYCATCHERS, 22 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, 5 BROWN THRASHERS, 2 ORCHARD ORIOLES and one UPLAND SANDPIPER. ORCHARD ORIOLES were also found at the Brantford Dump, Van Wagners Ponds and Bronte Creek Prov. Park. At Valens C.A. on May 30, 18 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were counted foraging over the reservoir at dusk and 4 MARSH WRENS were singing in the marshes here. On May 30 breeding PIED-BILLED GREBE and COMMON GALLINULE were heard at the Safari Rd Wetland. A VIRGINIA RAIL was heard calling from a small marsh at Confederation Park on May 29. Two WILSON'S SNIPE found at Bronte Creek Prov. Park on May 31 may be breeding. CLIFF SWALLOWS were noted breeding on the Burlington Pier at Spencer Smith Park and the Suncor Pier at South Shell Park. The nesting pair of PEREGRINE FLACONS at the Burlington Lift Bridge were noted to have 3 downy chicks this week. A YELLOW-THROATED VIREO was singing on territory at Sassafras Point on the south shore of Cootes Paradise. Lastly, a pair of FISH CROWS were noted at the Fifty Point C.A. marina on May 27, and four were in south Burlington on May 28. That's the news for this week, Rob Dobos, Hamilton Naturalists' Club. _______________________________________________ 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
