On Thursday, February 8th, 2007, this is the HNC birding report: GRAY PARTRIDGE * TURKEY VULTURE YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL
Cackling Goose Ruffed Grouse Wild Turkey Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shrike Horned Lark Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush American Tree Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Snow Bunting Brown-headed Cowbird *denotes out of the Hamilton Study Area (but not by much!!!) A quiet winter week in the Hamilton Study Area but with some different species in the mix this week just to keep us on our toes. To start the list the elusive GRAY PARTRIDGE which seemed last year to be extirpated from the HSA have reared their heads again. The birds were found last weekend about .9 km east of Rest Acres Road near the Brantford Airport and have since moved to a field just across from 1059 Colbourne where they have remained for the last three days. Colbourne can be accessed by exiting south on Rest Acres Road from the 403 and turning left at the first light where the Hydrospa place is. There were 13 of them here today. Other birds in the area include many American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and a flock of 41 Wild Turkeys which were on Potruff Road just north of Robinson. On the way to the site, a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk was seen near Oak Park Drive and the 403. Another great find this week was a flock of at least 10 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in the Patterson Tract which is located on Concession 4 west of Woodhill Road. The birds were first reported last Saturday and heard today in the same general location. There is a main trail leading from the concrete blocks which are at the front of the tract. Follow the main trail, it will bend to the right and then head north again. The birds were seen in the area just south of an orange hunting cap which has been left here on the main trail. Many other good birds have been reported in this area such as Long-eared Owl, Hermit Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Ruffed Grouse. Down the road from here to the west there is a field with fresh manure spread on it. A flock of 71 Horned Larks were seen feeding here today but last Saturday three Snow Buntings were mixed in with the Horned Larks. This would be a great place for Lapland Longspur as well. The Hamilton bay has totally frozen over which means that duck species have moved to other locations. Today there were a few Bald Eagles on the ice and it will be a good place to view eagles sitting on the ice in the next few days as well as looking for any Snowy Owls which have moved into the area. White-winged Gulls are also a find here on the ice. An immature Iceland Gull flew past Canada Centre for Inland Waters today. Lots to report in the odds & sods so take a deep breath. A couple of Northern Saw-whet Owls were reported in the Bronte area this week, perhaps moving into the area with large amounts of snowfall north of here in the past few days. A Northern Shrike was reported from the 4th Concession and Brock Road Area. A Cackling Goose was spotted again at LaSalle Marina. A Red-shouldered Hawk was seen just north of Lowville on Guelph Line. Up a Ryckman's corners along Kenedy Ave, an overwintering TURKEY VULTURE would make a nice addition to a winter list. Down at the RBG Arboretum, White-throated Sparrows and a Fox Sparrow were seen on a walk down from Raspberry House. Brown-headed Cowbirds continue to be seen in numbers at feeders. A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER is coming into a feeder at the headquarters of the Dundas Valley Conservation Area off of Governers Road. An Eastern Bluebird was reported last week from Slote Road and Mineral Springs Road and a Hermit Thrush was seen along with many American Robins and some Cedar Waxwings in the McCormack Tract accessed off of Governors Road just west of Dundas. That's the news of the week. Hopefully it will warm up soon! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329
