Ontario Rare Bird Alert for the week starting December 17, 2021 Species mentioned (all caps indicate species on the OBRC review list): BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (Niagara) GREEN-WINGED TEAL (EURASIAN) (Toronto) King Eider (Halton, Hamilton, Niagara, Prince Edward) Harlequin Duck (Algoma, Durham, Lambton, Toronto) Barrow's Goldeneye (Durham, Grey, Ottawa, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry) Virginia Rail (Ottawa, Simcoe) Sora (Toronto) Purple Sandpiper (Chatham-Kent, Ottawa, Toronto) Least Sandpiper (Chatham-Kent) RAZORBILL (Niagara) GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL (Simcoe) Black Vulture (Niagara) White-eyed Vireo (Prince Edward) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Chatham-Kent, Halton) MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (Wellington) Townsend's Solitaire (Thunder Bay) Varied Thrush (Timiskaming) GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW (Toronto) Harris's Sparrow (Algoma) Nelson's Sparrow (Chatham-Kent) Brewer's Blackbird (Algoma) Black-and-white Warbler (Norfolk) Orange-crowned Warbler (Chatham-Kent) Palm Warbler (Toronto) Summer Tanager (Norfolk) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Toronto) Indigo Bunting (Bruce)
Details: I have tried to indicate the finder, where known. My apologies to those who I have left out. BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (Niagara): The long-staying bird remained at Dufferin Islands to at least December 22. GREEN-WINGED TEAL (EURASIAN) (Toronto): After a break in reports, the male was reported again this week from G. Ross Lord Park on December 19. King Eider (Halton): Up to two females were at Coronation Park in Oakville this week. King Eider (Hamilton): A female remained off Stoney Creek (mostly reported from Green Road) this week. King Eider (Niagara): A male was off Niagara-on-the-Lake (mostly from Nelson Park) December 19-23. King Eider (Prince Edward): A female was reported off Point Petre December 21 by Matthew Tobey and Luke Berg. Harlequin Duck (Algoma): The female-type bird continued off Sault Ste. Marie in the vicininty of Whitefish Island on December 18. Harlequin Duck (Durham): The male was again off Thickson's Point, reported December 18 and 19. Harlequin Duck (Lambton): The female-type bird continued off the Point Edward area to December 23. Harlequin Duck (Toronto): A male continued at Marilyn Bell Park to at least December 23 and a female-type bird continued off the area near Ashbridges Bay to at least December 17. Barrow's Goldeneye (Durham): A male continued off Whitby to at least December 23. Barrow's Goldeneye (Grey): The Owen Sound Harbour bird continued. Barrow's Goldeneye (Ottawa): At least one male continued from the Strathcona Park area this week. Virginia Rail (Ottawa): One bird was photographed by Gordon Johnston from the Watt's Creek Pathway December 23. Virginia Rail (Simcoe): One bird was found in Barrie at the Welham Rd pond on December 18 by Burke Korol and Ted Down. Sora (Toronto): One bird was phtoographed at Tommy Thompson Park December 19 by Owen Strickland. Purple Sandpiper (Chatham-Kent): One bird was photographed at Erieau December 21 by Will Doel and was reported again December 23. Purple Sandpiper (Ottawa): One bird was photographed at Britannia Park December 18. Purple Sandpiper (Toronto): One bird was seen by many at Peninsula B of Tommy Thompson Park December 19. Least Sandpiper (Chatham-Kent): The bird found earlier this fall at Keith McLean CA was seen again by several observers December 19. RAZORBILL (Niagara): Up to three birds were seen at once this week, with many observations of one and two birds off Niagara-on-the-Lake GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL (Simcoe): The Barrie bird was reported again this week but only on December 17 and 20. Black Vulture (Niagara): Up to 4 birds were reported from Queenston this week. White-eyed Vireo (Prince Edward): One bird was found at Sandbanks PP December 21 by James Barber and Mike Burrell. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Chatham-Kent): The Rondeau PP bird was reported and photographed by several people December 17 and 19. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Halton): Up to two birds were reported from Sedgewick Forest Park this week. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (Wellington): One bird was found during the Guelph CBC December 19 by Mike Lepage, Patrick Tuck and the rest of their team along the Great Auk Trail at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre. Townsend's Solitaire (Thunder Bay): One bird continued at Mountain Rd, Thunder Bay GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW (Toronto): The Scarborough Golden-crowned Sparrow found by Karl Konze continued this week. Harris's Sparrow (Algoma): The bird found last week by Tony Ward just outside of Thessalon continued to at least December 21. Nelson's Sparrow (Chatham-Kent): The Keith McLean CA bird was seen again by many observers to at least December 21. Brewer's Blackbird (Algoma): A female visiting a feeder in Sault Ste. Marie was recorded on the Sault Ste. Marie CBC and confirmed December 21 Black-and-white Warbler (Norfolk): Evan Sinclair reported one bird December 19 in St. Williams (town). Orange-crowned Warbler (Chatham-Kent): Alvan Buckley and Rob Palin found one bird in Shrewsbury December 19. Palm Warbler (Toronto): The bird found last week at Trillium Park/Ontario Place was reported December 17 and 19. Summer Tanager (Norfolk): The female continued at a private residence in Simcoe. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Toronto): A female was coming to the Nature Sanctuary feeders on Toronto Islands December 19. Indigo Bunting (Bruce): The bird reported coming to a feeder in Kincardine last week was reported again December 18. Report compiled by Mike Burrell from a variety of sources, primarily eBird; most other sources are listed here: http://ofo.ca/site/content/ontario-hotlines-and-news Mike Burrell -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. 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