At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 16th, 2004, this is the HNC Birding Report:
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE PARASITIC JAEGER WILLET WHITE-WINGED DOVE Pied-billed Grebe AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN American Bittern Great Egret Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane Pectoral Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Plover American Golden Plover Red Knot Buff Breasted Sandpiper Ruby-throated Hummingbird Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Blue-headed Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Common Raven Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren Swainson's Thrush Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Magnolia Warbler Yellow Rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler American Redstart Wilson's Warbler White-throated Sparrow A long list of birds this week signifying an active week on the home front in Hamilton. Yesterday, at Shell Park in Oakville, I was fortunate enough to spot a WHITE-WINGED DOVE flying over my head and eventually wheeling around and sitting at the top of a tree in the south west part of the park. This bird stayed for about 4 minutes and then headed off but was seen again in the evening for a brief flyby. Attempts to locate the bird today have come up short however this bird may be in the area still so keep an eye out for those doves. Also seen here this week were 5 Winter Wrens, Wilson's, Nashville and Magnolia Warblers. Van Wagner's Beach did not disappoint again this week. Two BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, one juvenile and one seldom seen adult graced us with their presence on Monday of this week. A number of Parasitic Jaegers were seen off the beach with the possibility of a Pomarine Jaeger speculated as well but not confirmed. Also along the beach a Red Knot was spotted just west of the Go Cart Track along the same stretch. Dundas Marsh is still home to 2 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS however today, along the trail out to the Willows a patch of wet muddy conditions brought in a juvenile WILLET along with Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Virginia Rail and 18 Great Egrets. Also noteworthy in the area was a Pied-billed Grebe in the Desjardins Canal. In the shorebird department, last weekend there was an American Golden Plover present for a short time at Tollgate Ponds. Buff breasted Sandpipers made their appearance this week with one and possibly two birds being seen on Airport Road on the sod farms and one reported yesterday from Hamilton Sod on Hwy 6. In the irrigation pond at Hamilton Sod last Saturday a single Sandhill Crane was spotted, a bird not often seen in the HSA. Shoreacres/Paletta was busy last Monday with an influx of warblers and some surprises, those being Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper and White-throated Sparrow. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher and Swainson's Thrush were also present. A trip from the Bruce Birding Club was productive at Woodland Cemetery with Blue-headed Vireo. Nashville, Magnolia, Yellow Rumped, Black-throated Green, Pine Warbler and American Redstart. In the odds and sods department, an American Bittern was heard calling on the Northshore of Cootes Paradise at the Long Valley Brook Bridge, Tennessee Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo were seen at the Christie Conservation Area and a pair of Common Ravens were reported flying over the Mount Nemo area. That's all for this week. Hope to hear some reports from the weekend. Have a great week. Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
