AMERICAN AVOCET EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE FISH CROW PROTHONOTARY WARBLER Blue-winged Teal Redhead Ruffed Grouse Least Bittern Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green Heron Red-shouldered Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Peregrine Falcon Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Bonaparte's Gull Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Barn Swallow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Cedar Waxwing Purple Finch Northern Waterthrush Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut- sided Warbler Canada Warbler Bobolink
This week saw a little more passerine movement so things are slowly starting to get going on the fall migration front. As always we will start at the top of the list. The AMERICAN AVOCET that was present at Hespeler Mill Pond the week before last took flight. Last Sunday another AMERICAN AVOCET was found at Windermere Basin where it remains. On Thursday, August 15th around 5:17 p.m. a EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE was seen on the junction of Highway 52 and Wilson Street in Ancaster. It has not been reported since. FISH CROWS have successfully bred at the Sioux Lookout location in Burlington with two family groups seen feeding young in the past week. A group of 10 FISH CROWS were seen two days ago on Lakeland Ave which borders this area going to roost in the trees. A single FISH CROW was seen at Confederation Park this week. A bird not found yearly in the HSA, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was seen at Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle around noon on Thursday, August 15th. The bird was sighted upstream from the iron bridge which crosses Bronte Creek. It was travelling with a probable female. Other birds seen here which could be considered migrants were Least Flycatcher and Eastern Kingbird. Yellow Warbler and Baltimore Orioles are also on the move but it's hard to tell at this time whether these were migrants. The PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was only a short wonder as an attempt to go back with a camera to refind it came up short. Shorebirds are still in the news. The Hespeler Mill Pond is still offering up a variety of species including Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Least, Semipalmated and Pectoral Sandpiper. Two Sandhill Cranes were again present last weekend and this is also a good place for Great Egret and Great Blue Herons in numbers. At Windermere Basin along with the AVOCET, a number of Lesser Yellowlegs are present , Least Sandpiper and a Baird's made a short appearance on Tuesday before it disappeared into the grasses. A juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher is also present today. A short distance away, at Tollgate Ponds (probably the best spot at present), a Baird's Sandpiper was found on Tuesday and multiplied to 6 today, one remaining adult Stilt Sandpipers was present this week from the two found the week before. Along with the 6 Baird's Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers and a moulting American Golden Plover to add to the mix. Other birds noted here were Blue-winged Teal, Redhead, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least and Pectoral Sandpiper (week before last) and a Sanderling (week before last). Another jewel of a spot for shorebirds was found this week at a farm pond at #952 Hwy 5 W on the east side of Taylor's farm market which is just east of Flamborough Downs (on the south side of the road). Found here on Wednesday, a Great Egret, 1 juv. Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper , Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Passerines are on the move this week. At Woodland Cemetery yesterday, Chimney Swifts (158), Eastern Kingbird (15), Barn Swallow (48), Purple Martin, Cedar Waxwing, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Yellow-bellied and Least Flycatcher were noted . Raptors were starting to move with 6 Broad-winged Hawks seen. Another spot with some passerine variety was Joe Sams Park in Waterdown. Here this week were Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Wood Pewee, Least Flycatcher, a number of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Black and White, Blackburnian and Chestnut sided Warbler and many American Redstart. A nice non-migrant resident of 4 Ruffed Grouse were flushed here as well. In the odds and sods this week, three Sandhill Cranes and an ever elusive Least Bittern were seen and heard at Grass Lake. A Red-shouldered Hawk was seen at 8th concession West and Westover Road. A single Broad-winged was seen in the same area but likely nest there so hard to tell if it's a migrant. A few juvenile Bonaparte's Gulls have been seen this week, one at Valley Inn and several at Windermere Basin today. A report from the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons yielded Virginia Rail and Green Heron. Common Nighthawks were on migration last night over south Burlington. A pair of Peregrine Falcons were seen over Lions Valley Park in Oakville. An odd sighting of a Purple Finch at a feeder in Carlisle came last weekend. A Bobolink was seen at Courtcliffe Park, most of these have left already. At Rock Chapel up on the escarpment an early Northern Parula and Cape May Warbler were noted. A Northern Waterthrush was unfortunately a window casualty in South Burlington last week. A Canada Warbler was seen last weekend in Grimsby, one of our fist migrants to move through. Regular reports are coming now as we arrive at the best season for Hamilton Birding. Lots to look for in the next week so come out and see the hotspots. East winds will be kicking up some specialties. As I type an Eastern Screech Owl is calling outside the window a nice way to end the report! 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 [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
