Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) weekly bird sightings report, Saturday, March 7, 2020
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE EURASIAN WIGEON FISH CROW WILSON'S WARBLER Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck American Wigeon Northern Pintail Ring-necked Duck Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Sandhill Crane Killdeer Red-throated Loon Black-crowned Night-Heron Golden Eagle Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Northern Shrike Tufted Titmouse Ruby-crowned Kinglet Chipping Sparrow A few days of milder conditions earlier this week brought in some migrant waterfowl including a couple nice rarities. A male EURASIAN WIGEON, a less than annual rarity in the Hamilton Study Area, was found on the Grand River in Brantford on Mar 2 and was seen sporadically until Mar 4 near the Glenhyrst Gardens and the Brantford Golf & Country Club, although was mostly elusive. Another male EURASIAN WIGEON was found late afternoon on Mar 4 at the extreme west end of Hamilton Harbour along the ice edge in Carroll's Bay below Woodland Cemetery, but was not seen the following day. Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were spotted among a flock of flyby Canadas at Fifty Point C.A. on Mar 4. Cackling Geese were still present at Bronte Beach with 4 there Mar 1, while single birds were at the Alton stormwater ponds on Dundas St west of Appleby Line on Mar 1 and with a flock of Canadas over Central Park in Burlington on Mar 4. A harbinger of spring for many, a large flight of Tundra Swans occurred through the Hamilton area over several days this week, with over 1000 counted over Dundas on Mar 4 and flocks noted over Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton mountain, Stoney Creek and Brantford as well. About 350 tundras were staging in the fields on the west side of Flamboro Downs that day. Several flocks continued to pass over the area the next few days but in smaller numbers. Other migrant waterfowl of interest include 1-3 Wood Ducks on the Grand River at the Brantford Golf & Country Club on Mar 2-3 and 3 Wood Ducks at the west end of Hamilton Harbour Mar 5. Ten American Wigeon and 16 Ring-necked Ducks were at the latter site Mar 4. Nine Northern Pintail were at the Grand River in Brantford on Mar 4 and 8 were in Saltfleet at 5th Rd E south of Powerline Rd on Mar 5. Two Red-necked Grebes have returned to Bronte Harbour Mar 4-5. The first Red-throated Loon was a single on Lake Ontario off Grays Rd on Mar 1, while 3 were on Hamilton Harbour off Bayshore Park on Mar 5 along with 1 Horned Grebe. Nine Sandhill Cranes were migrating north along the Grand River in Brantford on Mar 4. The first Killdeer of the year were 1 over a Stoney Creek yard on Mar 2 and 1 at Fifty Point C.A. on Mar 4. One wintering immature Black-crowned Night-Heron has been seen on occasion earlier this week along Red Hill Creek at Woodward Ave. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer Memorial C.A. on the Escarpment above Grimsby began its annual spring raptor migration count on Mar 1. Mar 5 saw its best day this week with the first Golden Eagle and 5 Bald Eagles counted, and a Rough-legged Hawk was there on Mar 4. Otherwise small numbers of the regular species have been tallied so far. The warmer weather forecast for the next few days should see some better flights. The first FISH CROWS of the year were noted this week with 1 bird heard calling in southeast Burlington on Mar 4, 1 bird at a yard near Lakeshore Rd and Maple Grove Dr in Oakville on Mar 5, and 1 bird at Lakeshore Rd east of Bronte Rd on Mar 6. A Northern Shrike was at Orkney Rd north of Hwy 5 on Mar 4. Tufted Titmice were found in the Dundas Valley C.A. on Mar 5 with 1 bird at the Hermitage and 2 birds at Mineral Springs. Another titmouse was at Woodland Cemetery on Mar 5, where the 2 Chipping Sparrows continue to be seen. The male WILSON'S WARBLER is still present at Sedgewick Forest Park in Oakville being seen up to Mar 5, and surprisingly a Ruby-crowned Kinglet was also there that day after no reports for almost 2 months. That's the news for the past week. Please report your sightings to the local (and provincial if warranted) email listserves. Rob Dobos, Hamilton Naturalists' Club. -- 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
