On Friday, January 11th, 2008, this is the HNC Birding Report: KING EIDER HARLEQUIN DUCK YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER EASTERN PHOEBE EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Brant Wood Duck Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Gray Partridge Common Loon Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk (Western Calurus, rufous morph) Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Short-eared Owl Northern Flicker Northern Shrike Tufted Titmouse Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Pine Grosbeak Red Crossbill Common Redpoll Pine Siskin Wild weather was the story this week. Our week started out with balmy temperatures and windy conditions were a factor this week for sure. Our annual waterfowl count occurred last Sunday. Conditions were calm with temperatures bearable for standing at a scope and staring at various waterfowl all day. Some great results came of this annual event. A total of 6 KING EIDERS were seen, 1 male near the Petro Canada Pier (first one on this side of the pond in a number of years), 2 females seen from Green Road and 1 female and 2 first year males seen at Fifty Point Conservation Area. The last place these birds were spotted were at Millen Road. A Common Loon was seen on the lake just south of the Burlington Lift Bridge. Other ducks seen along the Stoney Creek lakeshore included many Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneye, some Greater Scaup Red-breasted Merganser a few Redheads, on Horned Grebe and all three scoters, predominately White-winged Scoter. Also seen at Fifty Point while viewing ducks was a sizable flock of Snow Buntings. On the bay side, a Brant was spotted in a flock of Canada Geese west of the Leander Boat Club, a Wood Duck was seen in the Windermere Basin along with Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck and Ruddy Duck. At Bayfront Park, seen on the duck count a juvenile Thayer's Gulls was spotted amongst the many gulls there and both Iceland and Glaucous Gulls seem to be here in numbers on the bay and on the lake. A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron seems to be making a winter home here too. Along the Burlington/Mississauga lakeshore, other highlights, beside the King Eider include a male HARLEQUIN DUCK seen at Coronation Park. Most of the lakes Greater Scaup are spending time on this side as well. The warm and balmy temperatures provoked a mini migration of birds which spend time slightly south of here. On Tuesday, an EASTERN PHOEBE was reported from Confederation Park, a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds were seen behind Van Wagners ponds and a sizable flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds were seen at a feeder in the Flamborough area. The Brantford Area has been hopping this week with a number of significant sightings. The Gray Partridge were seen on Green Road, last seen on Saturday, before the snow melt, probably difficult to spot now. On the unofficial Brantford CBC, a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was seen along Hardy Road. An EASTERN MEADOWLARK was seen near the Brantford Dump along with a number of Glaucous and Iceland Gulls. A Turkey Vulture was present this week west of the Wayne Gretsky Parkway in Brantford. There have been a number of reports from here of this species. Bald Eagles were seen along the Grand River and Tufted Titmouse and a Northern Shrike were reported from the River Road area. In the odds and sods, a very interesting and exciting sighting for me was of a Red-tailed Hawk (western Calurus rufous morph) just to the east of the intersection of 5th Concession and Middletown Road, probably one of the most beautiful hawks I have seen. A Northern Flicker and a flock of 50-60 Redpolls were seen at this location. This was an exquisite bird and an interesting study of the diversity this species can have across the continent. A Pine Siskin made a visit to a feeder in Dundas. A Tufted Titmouse has been seen again at Paletta Park/Shoreacres in Burlington hanging around with the same group of chickadees. There was an interesting and exciting report last Sunday of Red Crossbills at Shoreacres but they only stayed a brief time. Pine Grosbeaks have been seen at 4250 Walkers Line but since the warm up, sparingly and a Great Blue Heron was well photographed huddling in the melting snow down at the Valley Inn, at Cherry Hill Gate. That's the news of the week, a little mix of north and south. Please continue to report your sightings! Have a great week! Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
