At 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22nd, 2005 this is the HNC Birding Report:
FRANKLIN'S GULL SABINE'S GULL MARBLED GODWIT CERULEAN WARBLER. Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Great Blue Heron Green Heron Broad-winged Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk Northern Harrier Merlin Osprey Lesser Yellowlegs Ruddy Turnstone Parasitic Jaeger Bonaparte's Gull Great Horned Owl Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Phoebe Barn Swallow Common Raven Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher American Pipit Red-eyed Vireo Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Palm Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat Wilson's Warbler Scarlet Tanager Rose-breasted Grosbeak Vesper Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch An exciting day in the HSA with the arrival of a FRANKLIN'S GULL today at the Binbrook Dump. The bird was spotted later this afternoon but then disappeared perhaps travelling with other gulls out to the lake. A check of the lake was futile in the rain but I did it anyway. Perhaps a check of the dump tomorrow will be more productive. I am waiting specifics on location so anyone needing them, please email me privately. Another goodie in the Hamilton Area found by the same lucky person this week was a MARBLED GODWIT found at the end of the Willows in the Dundas Marsh. The bird was a one day wonder, searching for this bird was also futile but I did that too. The next day turned up very few shorebirds other than Lesser Yellowlegs. Other birds seen in the marsh were Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Bonaparte's Gull, Barn Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, American Pipit, a slough of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat and Swamp Sparrow. Fifty Point C.A. was alive with birds last Saturday with again a variety of warblers including Chestnut-sided, Black and White, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Nashville, Tennessee Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, House Wren, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Swainson's Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, many White-throated Sparrows and a few Dark-eyed Juncos kicking about. At the same time as I was at Fifty Point, down the road at Van Wagner's Beach an incredible 27 SABINE'S GULLS were observed over a two hour period. Also seen were Parasitic Jaegers. Woodland Cemetery was a productive spot this past week. Many species of warblers, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Vesper Sparrow, Clay-coloured Sparrow and a Great Horned Owl all reported in the week. Shoreacres/Paletta Park and Shell Park were also good this week with a variety of the same warblers as Fifty Point C.A. in addition to Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Gray Catbird, Eastern Wood Pewee and Winter Wren. In North Halton this week, a Common Raven was added to the yard list in addition to Purple Finch and Pileated Woodpecker. This region has also been good for warblers with a female CERULEAN WARBLER being seen at the back of Mountsberg C.A. last Thursday. At LaSalle Park at the end of Waterdown Road in Burlington, Ovenbird, Pine-Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Wood Thrush, Red-breasted Nuthatch gave some variety to the spots above. Waterdown Wetlands Trail was an excellent spot for hawk migration with the passage of a large flight of Broadwings, which included Osprey, Northern Harrier and several Sharp-shinned Hawks in the kettles. Lots of fodder for the odds & sods department: a Merlin was spotted in Dundas, two Ruddy Turnstones were seen on the breakwall at CCIW, a single Chimney Swift was flying over Sherwood Forest Park, Green Heron seen at Valley Inn, Rusty Blackbirds were seen at Bronte Marsh, another Great Horned Owl visited Shell Park and Purple Finches visited a bird bath in the Aldershot area for two days this week! That's all for now, a bit windy this week!!! Keep sending me reports good birds are arriving all the time! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
