EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE FISH CROW ACADIAN FLYCATCHER Wood Duck Redhead Hooded Merganser Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Sandhill Crane Dunlin Lesser Yellowlegs American Bittern Great Egret Least Bittern Great Egret Osprey Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-throated Vireo Clay-colored Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Orchard Oriole Pine Warbler Scarlet Tanager
It's been a very quiet two weeks here in Hamilton, typical of this time of year but since there have been a couple of notables as far as breeding goes it warrants a report. The breeding record of the year is of EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE, likely the same birds as were found last fall, this pair moved locations slightly and were found around the block encompassed by Burlington St., Hillyard St., Niagara St. and Land St. near the port. The birds were seen this morning accompanied by a juvenile that the original observer had thought he had seen near the site. An new breeding record for this neck of the woods and one of just a couple in Ontario. FISH CROWS are still in the news, likely bred here in south Burlington. One was seen at Lakeside Plaza which is near Burloak and Lakeshore and yesterday, one was heard here at the house at Walkers and New Street. Up in Britton Tract the ACADIAN FLYCATCHER continues to be seen and heard at the same location accessed from the north parking lot on 6th line Nassawagawa along the second loop that goes North-South across a small creek near some flagging tape. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-throated Vireo and Winter Wren are also highlights here. In other news, shorebirds are on the return with a single Dunlin and a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs seen at Windermere Basin. A Redhead that has bred there continues with one less chick (down to 3) here at the basin as well. The lift bridge Peregrines have all fledged and can be seen occasionally in the area refining their hunting skills. In the odds and sods, a Hooded Merganser was seen with 3 chicks at a puddle on Orkney Road south of Hwy 8 and another juvenile at the Smithville Sewage Lagoons. A Wood Duck with 11 chicks was also present in Smithville. An interesting record of 3 Horned Grebes came from Spencer Smith Park, not often found in the summer here. They were in the company of Red=necked Grebes. Down in the south of the circle, a pair of Sandhill Crane was seen week before last on River Road south of Cayuga with two downy chicks. Up to 15 Cranes were seen at Grass Lake near Glen Morris. An American Bittern was seen flying over the Millgrove Loam Pits. A Least Bittern made an appearance at Grass Lake in Glen Morris week before last. Great Egrets were seen at the pond on Hwy 8 East of Middletown Road and one was still present at the stormwater pond on North Service Road between Guelph Line and Brant Street. Ospreys have set up shop on cell towers throughout the area with a pair nesting SW of Hwy 6 and Greens Road in Caledonia, at the Grand River south of McClung Road, and on the Grand at Windecker Road. A Pileated Woodpecker was seen along the Dundas Valley Rail Trail. Yellow-throated Vireos were also hear at the Millgrove Loam Pits and at the North Cayuga Slough Forest along Indiana Road. There were 3 singing male Grasshopper Sparrows at Valens Road south of concession 8. A Pine Warbler was heard singing in a Dundas back yard, likely a post breeding dispersal. Orchard Orioles seem to be a plenty with birds being seen along the Rail Trail from Dundas to Brantford and three singing males at sites from York to Cayuga. Lastly four Scarlet Tanagers were seen/heard along the trail at Rock Chapel this week, a popular breeding site for this species. That's the news for this week. Happy Canada Day! 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
