At 8:00 p.m. on May 6th, 2004 this is the Hamilton Naturalists Club Birding Report:
WHITE-EYED VIREO YELLOW BREASTED CHAT PRAIRIE WARBLER New Migrants Least Bittern Green Heron Least Sandpiper Common Tern Whippoorwill Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpecker Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Marsh Wren Veery Wood Thrush Blue-winged Warbler Nashville Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Ovenbird Common Yellowthroat Rose-breasted Grosbeak Baltimore Oriole Evening Grosbeak Pied-billed Grebe Blue-winged Teal Broad-winged Hawk Virginia Rail Sora Common Moorhen Sandhill Crane Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Gray Catbird Yellow Warbler Palm Warbler Northern Waterthrush Hooded Warbler White-crowned Sparrow Purple Finch What a busy week its been. Thank goodness that migration slowed the last couple of days so I can catch my breath. As expected there were a few good birds lurking about the Hamilton Area. A bird that is not often seen in this area appeared at LaSalle Park yesterday, a WHITE-EYED VIREO. The bird was seen at the lunch hour and present most of the day but not seen today. Two other uncommon birds for this area seen in Shell Park this week include a PRAIRIE WARBLER (missed by 10 minutes by this observer) on Friday and a YELLOW BREASTED CHAT seen after the rain let up on Sunday. Subsequent attempts to relocate these birds came up short. Most areas in town had migrants. Shell Park was well birded this week with migrants such as Whip-poor-will, Least Flycatcher, Veery, Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, Baltimore Oriole, Blue-winged Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Chestnut sided Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black & White Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Waterthrush and Purple Finch all being reported from this location. In a small pond located through the fence up the pipeline on the east side of the park shorebirds such as Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Blue-winged Teal have all been present this week. Also being extremely vocal is a Pileated Woodpecker making its home in this tiny woodlot. Black-throated Blue, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Chestnut Sided, Black & White Warbler and Rose breasted Grosbeak all reported from the Hendrie Valley this week. A Hooded warbler was seen on the hillside at the Arboretum off of Old Guelph Road this week. A Great-crested Flycatcher also reported here. Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington has been fairly quiet however a Green Heron was present here on Friday. The Willows off Olympic Drive in Dundas has been noteworthy for Least Bittern, Common Tern, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Marsh Wren, Carolina Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird and a smattering of Nashville, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers this week. Kerncliffe Park on Kerns Road is also home to a pair of Virginia Rails. A pied-billed Grebe was seen at the Dundas Hydro Ponds. White-crowned Sparrows seem to be apparent anywhere. Lincoln Sparrows should be in the next wave along with Clay-coloured and Grasshopper Sparrows. The Niagara Peninsula is wrapping up for the season with a few Broad-winged Hawks still moving today despite the Northwest winds. Also seen was a Golden Eagle. A lucky feeder in Beamsville has been host to a Ruby-throated Hummingbird all week. Other feeder reports include many Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. A Red-headed Woodpecker has been reported from the Canboro area apparently in a tree behind the church. A report of a Eurasian Collared Dove in the area was checked out but we could not locate the bird. A touch of winter, while birding 16 mile creek in Oakville yesterday one observer reported hearing and then seeing an Evening Grosbeak, not a common bird in this area and likely heading north for the summer. Another noteworthy late sighting was a Rough-legged Hawk flying today seen on our HNC 85 minute walks for 85 Years. My most unusual sighting for the week was a Sandhill Crane circling at Guelph Line and QEW last Saturday morning. Next week there will be a familiar face doing the HNC report for me. Thanks to Keith Dieroff for doing the report while I'm away at Pelee!!! Good Birding Cheryl Edgecombe
