Ontbirders
Many birders spent the day at Van Wagners Beach in Hamilton today and had a
great reward. Various birds seen throughout the day
by many people include:
2 Long-tailed Jaegers- 1 Juvenile Dark/Intermediate Morph seen mid-day (flying
along very close to shore). 1 Adult seen around 2pm
(great looks). and a Dark/Intermediate Juvenile seen later in the afternoon
(appeared to be the same bird seen earlier in the day)
1-2 Sabine's Gull- 2 morning sightings at different times of 1 Juvenile
Sabine's Gull that was roughly 50ft away from shore. (most
likely the same bird for both sightings)
1 Black-legged Kittiwake- A Juvenile bird that was spotted close to shore,
flying and landing anywhere from 10-40 feet from the
beach in the later afternoon.
Lesser Black-backed Gull- A 1st Basic bird that was seen twice during the day,
first giving amazing looks close to shore, then seen
flying farther out with a Herring Gull.
Parasitic Jaeger- To my knowledge, no full adult birds were seen today. Young
birds ranging from dark/intermediate morph to light
morph allowed good views throughout the day, but more were seen later in the
afternoon as the winds increased.
Both Bonaparte's Gull and Greater Black-backed Gull were seen from the watch as
well, along with Semipalmated Plover, Least
Sandpiper, Sanderling, Green-winged Teal, Scaup sp. and White-winged Scooter
rounding out the interesting sightings for the day. (If
I missed anyone's sighting, I'm sorry!).
It was a great day for the many people who visited today. Forecasts for tonight
are SE winds 15-20kmh, and tomorrow morning SE
15-20kmh. However tomorrow afternoon is predicted to be S winds 20kmh.
Forecasters have been known to be wrong from time to time
however and there's a chance for another good day tomorrow. But don't listen to
me! Check current weather forecasts tomorrow! A good
page is: http://weather.ca/weather/cities/can/Pages/CAON0100.htm and take a
look at the "current weather" to get a better idea!
Winds with an easterly component are the good, with East to North East being
the best.
Good Birding!
Brandon Holden
17
Hamilton, Ontario
