At 9:00pm, Thursday, January 9th, 2003, this is the Hamilton Naturalists' Club Birding Hotline Report. The Hotline is normally revised on Thursday nights, unless an unusual bird turns up in the Hamilton area.
The most exciting report of the week came this afternoon when a white GYRFALCON was seen flying west about 300m north of the 4th Concession on Westover Road in Flamborough. Additional sightings of this bird would be greatly appreciated. The YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was last reported at LaSalle Marina on Monday. Also seen at LaSalle were COMMON MERGANSER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, and HOODED MERGANSER, AMERICAN COOT, TUNDRA SWAN, TRUMPETER SWAN, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, and NORTHERN FLICKER. Here are some sightings from the RBG. A walk on the South Shore Trails produced 15 species, including GREAT BLUE HERON, WINTER WREN, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, and AMERICAN ROBIN. On the North Shore Trails, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and NORTHERN SHRIKE were spotted near the parking lot off York Road. And in the Hendrie Valley, an EASTERN PHOEBE and a GRAY CATBIRD continue to brave the southern Ontario winter. Other local reports include BELTED KINGFISHER at the mouth of Chedoke Creek, GRAY CATBIRD, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, NORTHERN FLICKER, and AMERICAN ROBIN at the feeders of the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority headquaters on Mineral Springs Road, MERLIN at Fiddler's Green and Highway 403, KING EIDER on the Stoney Creek lakeshore, plus 10 SHORT-EARED OWLS at the Raptor Preserve just north of Fisherville. CAROLINA WRENS seem to be plentiful in area yards. They were reported from Oakville, Burlington, and Brantford. Other yard reports include AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, HOUSE FINCH, HAIRY WOODPECKER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, NORTHERN CARDINAL, MOURNING DOVE, NORTHERN FLICKER, and RED-TAILED HAWK near Appleby Line, and NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD and GREAT HORNED OWL in Binbrook. Briefly, lots of gulls continue to be seen on the Niagara River. The BLACK-HEADED GULL was seen as recently as Tuesday in Queenston, LITTLE GULL and BONAPARTE'S GULL were reported from Niagara-on-the-Lake, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, ICELAND GULL, and GLAUCOUS GULL were sighted at the International Control Dam, and ICELAND GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, and THAYER'S GULL were at Adam Beck. Rounding up the Ontario Christmas Bird Counts is the Algonquin Park CBC. A record 33 species were reported, highlights were SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, NORTHERN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, both species of Crossbills, EVENING GROSBEAK, and PINE SISKIN. Until next week, be sure to let us know about your sightings, leave your name, telephone number, as well as the time and date of your call. Sightings can also be reported by e-mail. GOOD BIRDING! Keith Dieroff C/O Hamilton Naturalists' Club Birding Hotline Report Hamilton, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca Keith Dieroff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
