At 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 11th, 2004 this is the HNC Birding Report:
PACIFIC LOON WESTERN GREBE HARLEQUIN DUCK KING EIDER BAIRD'S SANDPIPER YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD Red-throated Loon Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Redhead Bufflehead Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Surf Scoter Black Scoter White-winged Scoter Long-tailed Duck Red-breasted Merganser Purple Sandpiper Dunlin Pomarine Jaeger Black-legged Kittiwake Turkey Vulture Rough-legged Hawk Northern Goshawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Great Horned Owl Eastern Screech-Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Tree Swallow Marsh Wren Hermit Thrush Orange-crowned Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Lapland Longspur Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch Pine Siskin Last Sunday was the Hamilton Naturalists Club Fall Bird Count. Although it was windy and numbers of passerines were low, we had some great birds seen on the count. Fifty Point the Hamilton Hotspot of November continues to produce great birds. At Fifty Point and area on the count last weekend, PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, Pomarine Jaeger, Black-legged Kittiwake, Purple Sandpiper and Dunlin were all seen on Saturday and Sunday. The WESTERN GREBE was last seen on Tuesday . A juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake was seen today at Van Wagner's Beach. Results from the counters on the West end of the lake include Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, loads of Long-tailed Ducks, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Redhead, Black, Surf and White-winged Scoters and our first KING EIDER seen at the end of Fruitland Road. A KING EIDER was seen at Fifty Point C.A. today. Over on the east side, Red-necked Grebes were seen off of Shoreacres and a female HARLEQUIN DUCK was seen off of Bronte. This bird was seen again today just off of the bluff at West River Road in the Bronte Harbour area. Another great bird seen late in the day was a flyby of a YELLOW HEADED BLACKBIRD at the Window on the Bay. Yet, another highlight was the discovery of a juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER at Taquanyah C.A.. Raptors were not migrating Sunday probably due to the south winds in the morning however Northern Goshawks were reported from Dundas Marsh, Van Wagner's Beach and Bronte Harbour. Other raptors of note were Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon. A Turkey Vulture was also seen on the count. Different species of owls seem to be around. Two Eastern Screech Owls were found at Lakeshore and Guelph Line area and at Shoreacres. Today a report from the Joshua Creek area in Oakville had a triple count of Great Horned, Long-eared and Northern Saw-whet Owls at Arkendo Park. Arkendo Park is located at the end of the first residential street running south off Lakeshore Road just west of the terminus of Winston Churchill Boulevard. The primitive trail to the mouth of creek runs through some heavy brush about 150 meters from the parking lot. Passerine numbers were low on the count with the highlights being Black-throated Blue Warbler at Shell Park, Marsh Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Pine Siskin and Lapland Longspur from the Dundas Marsh, Orange Crowned Warbler at Woodland Cemetery, Hermit Thrush from the orchard at Harvester and Cumberland in Burlington and Purple Finch at Tuck Creek in Burlington. Unfortunately no Cave Swallows showed up although there were Tree Swallows from one party. Just in...five Purple Sandpipers along with one Dunlin were spotted along the shore at the Cement Plant between Southdown Road and Winston Churchill in Mississauga. At this same location a male HARLEQUIN DUCK was seen out in the bay. In the oddities department, a Double-crested Cormorant was spotted at LaSalle park this week carrying a chick on its back. A little late for the nesting season, this has been reported the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas. That's it for this week. Rarities seem to be popping up all over. Keep up the reports. Until next week. Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
