At 4:00 p.m on Thursday, October 7th 2004, this is the HNC Birding Report: HUDSONIAN GODWIT AMERICAN AVOCET
Common Loon Great Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey Vulture Cackling Goose Wood Duck Green-winged Teal Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Peregrine Falcon American Coot Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Greater Yellowlegs Sanderling Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Red Phalarope (probable) Bonaparte's Gull Common Nighthawk Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Barn Swallow White-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren House Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush American Pipit Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Common Yellowthroat Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Fox Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch Pine Siskin This past weekend was busy with birders from across Ontario here in the area for the OFO conference. A nice weekend with major south winds meant little migration and some disappointment for many visiting Van Wagners Beach. However, bad news aside, a couple of good birds cropped up. I received a phone call from one of the trip leaders for the conference at 7:20 a.m. (barely light out). There on the beach at Van Wagners a stunning AMERICAN AVOCET which sat for the majority of the day on Saturday. A great diversion from the lack of other well known birds expected there. The other good find of the weekend was a HUDSONIAN GODWIT located in the north cell of the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons, also present there for the weekend giving many excellent viewing and photographic opportunities. Other trips out to Dundas Marsh for the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow were successful. A run down of a few of the field trips and other observations is as follows. Grimsby Sewage Lagoons: Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, American Coot, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs, Barn Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, Nashville Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow. Fifty Point: Green Heron, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, both Nuthatches, Orange-crowed Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat. A probable RED PHALAROPE was also seen on Saturday off of Fifty point on Saturday. A Cackling Goose was reported off of Glover Road in this general vicinity. Van Wagners Beach: Common Loon, Dunlin, Sanderling, Bonaparte's Gull, Black-crowned Night Heron, Swainson's Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Redstart, Blackpoll Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and same mix of sparrows as above. Dundas Marsh: Great Egret, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden Plover, Dunlin, Least Sandpiper, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Rusty Blackbird (water has dropped here providing shorebird habitat). In other spots this week, a walk at Courtcliffe Park was generally quiet however migrating Turkey Vultures could be seen streaming overhead in addition to American Pipits, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Purple Finch and a mix of sparrows. Waterdown Wetlands this week had Gray-cheeked Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Nashville and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Red-eyed Vireo, Dark-eyed Junco and a very late Common Nighthawk. Shell Park was busy today with Eastern Phoebe , Blue-headed Vireo , Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ,both nuthatches and both kinglets,Blackpoll,Black throated blue,Magnolia and Yellow rumped warblers, Brown Creeper, Fox Sparrow and also 30 pine siskins. Pine Siskins were also reported in Campbellville today!! Other odds and sods from the week were a Bald Eagle over Dundas and a Yellow-throated Vireo on the Northshore Trails at the RBG. That's it for this week. A turn in the weather should bring in some more migrants and a long weekend gives everyone a chance to get out and find the rarities. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend. Good Birding, Cheryl Edgecombe 905-381-0329
