At 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 17th, 2005 this is the HNC Birding Report: RED THROATED LOON RED-SHOULDERED HAWK KILLDEER GREAT GRAY OWL PINE WARBLER
Red-throated Loon Red-necked Grebe Turkey Vulture Tundra Swan King Eider Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Rough-legged Hawk Northern Goshawk Ring-necked Pheasant Great Horned Owl Eastern Screech Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Red-bellied Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Shrike Brown Creeper White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow American Tree Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Purple Finch House Finch Pine Siskin Top of the evenin to you.....Happy St. Patrick's Day. New birds enter the Hamilton area picture this week with the presence of some spring migrants. The never ending saga of where is the Great Gray in the Dundas Valley continues this week with the bird being spotted on the Reforestation trail of the Dundas Valley accessed from the Maintenance Yard just off of Mineral Springs Road. A hot pursuit of noisy crows yielded the bird for one lucky observer last Saturday. The bird has not been seen since....surprise surprise. Other birds of note at the feeder at the yard were Pine Siskin, Purple Finch and House Finch. Other owls are still in the news this week with two Northern Saw-whet Owls being seen at Fifty Point Conservation area this week. Please note to keep a distance when viewing. I had several complaints on the phone line and emails regarding close approaches of the owls. A Great Horned Owl was seen at the Department of National Defence property next to Fifty Point C.A. being mobbed by the crows. Also seen in this area was a Northern Shrike which seems to have wintered here. One fortunate person this week has had an Eastern Screech Owl visiting their yard in Ancaster actually perched on a shed for the past two days. Also located more recently is another great bird which has been around here all winter. Today a male PINE WARBLER was refound in Shell Park near the Rebecca Street end of the pipeline. The bird was heard singing from the tall pines here. Other birds seen on this journey were the first KILLDEER reported in the area over the field on the west side of the pipeline, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrows, many American Tree Sparrows and a Brown Creeper. The lake and bay areas are starting to fill in with migrants with three Tundra Swans being seen at LaSalle Park today. Eight Red-necked Grebes were seen out on the bay along with one RED-THROATED LOON. On the lake side an amazing fourteen King Eiders were seen today off of Green Road and L.P. Sayers Park. This is truly a significant number even for our neck of the woods. Surf Scoters and White-winged Scoters were also present there today. The regulars have gathered at Beamer Conservation Area in Grimsby to welcome the raptors back. This week a trickling of raptors have been brave (or stupid) enough to return. Among them six Turkey Vultures, one RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, a Bald Eagle, a few Rough-legged Hawks and many Red-tailed Hawks to lead off the pack. This coming week temperatures are supposed to improve as will the numbers. A Northern Goshawk was reported from the Captain Cootes Trail at the RBG. Other odds and sods this week was the presence of a stately male pheasant in a front yard of a house in Hamilton along with a White-crowned Sparrow at the same feeder. Flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds and Common Grackles have been reported through the week. Its nice to see these birds return. Keep up the sightings and keep me busy..... Have a great week, good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
