At 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 28th, 2004, this is the HNC birding report:
RED KNOT GOLDEN EAGLE RED CROSSBILL DICKCISSEL Red-throated Loon Common Loon Great Egret Tundra Swan Brant Greater Scaup Common Goldeneye Rough-legged Hawk Northern Goshawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Semipalmated Plover Black-bellied Plover Greater Yellowlegs Spotted Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Semipalmated Sandpiper Dunlin Pomarine Jaeger Parasitic Jaeger Long-tailed Jaeger Lesser Black-backed Gull Black-legged Kittiwake Great Horned Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Eastern Phoebe Northern Shrike Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Tufted Titmouse Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Pipit Eastern Towhee American Tree Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Fox Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Eastern Meadowlark Purple Finch Pine Siskin An interesting mix of our rarities this week. A bit of spice of winter along with some later migrants leaving the country. Let's start with winter. RED CROSSBILLS were reported from Mayfield Park in Guelph this week. Seen with some Pine Siskins on Sunday, these birds were not refound so far. The fog was a major factor in the weather this week so despite East winds birds were hard to see at times due to the pea soup that ensued on the beach. However, one lucky observer walking the trail behind Beach Blvd. along the Hamilton Beach Strip, spotted an immature DICKCISSEL in a flock of about 45 House Sparrows. Subsequent attempts to relocate the bird have come up short. Other birds seen at Van Wagner's Beach and the strip this week however have been Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Brant, Sanderling, Pomarine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger (juv.), Black-legged Kittiwake, Peregrine Falcon, GOLDEN EAGLE, an immature being chased by a Jaeger out on the lake and a skulking Common Yellowthroat. At nearby Tollgate Ponds and the Bay area, a late Semipalmated Sandpiper and Semipalmated Plover were seen along with Dunlin. A Ruddy Turnstone was present on Neare Island off of Eastport Drive and Black-bellied Plover were seen also near the islands off of Eastport Drive. A Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen on the rocks here last Sunday. Along the shoreline of Spencer Smith Park in Burlington, a RED KNOT was seen on an afternoon lunch hour dash on Monday where it remained for the afternoon. Another late shorebird was a Spotted Sandpiper at Shoreacres/Paletta Park. Passerine migrants this week have been steady. At Shell Park in Oakville, a Saw-whet Owl was being harassed by Ruby-crowned Kinglets. An mature and immature Northern Shrike were seen on Friday and Saturday. Also on these walks were Northern Goshawk, Winter Wren (many), Golden Crowned Kinglet(many), Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit Thrush (many), Yellow-rumped Warbler (many), Orange-crowned Warbler, six Eastern Meadowlark, at least eight Eastern Phoebe, American Pipit, Eastern Towhee and the mix of American Tree, Fox, White-throated, White-crowned, Lincoln's, Swamp Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and Purple Finch to wrap it up. Woodland Cemetery also held some goodies with Merlin, Vesper Sparrow (unusual in migration)and Tundra Swans. At nearby Valley Inn the Great Egrets are still being seen this week. LaSalle Park had a first report of Common Goldeneye, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireo. No sign of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows at Dundas Marsh this week however Greater Yellowlegs, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Meadowlark and Gray Catbird were among the migrants here this week. Further west in the Hamilton Area a Merlin and a Northern Goshawk are present in the Victoria Park area and moving into Ancaster, a Tufted Titmouse was a first time visitor to a feeder . Rough-legged Hawks could be seen heading south this week, another phase of migration. There are still lots of great birds around. That's it for the somewhat long and winded report. Speaking of which, the next coming days forecast warmer weather and south winds. Let's try to match Thunder Bays flycatcher frenzy!!! Look for Cave Swallows in the warm south winds and report your sightings via email or phone! Have a great week, good birding Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
