On Friday, October 10th, 2008 this is the HNC Birding Report: NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW AMERICAN AVOCET
Wood Duck American Wigeon American Black Duck Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Pintail X Mallard Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Great Egret Black-crowned Night Heron Bald Eagle Peregrine Falcon Sora Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Great Black-backed Gull Forster's Tern Black-billed Cuckoo Great Horned Owl Short-eared Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Phoebe Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Tree Swallow Carolina Wren House Wren Winter Wren Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Gray-cheeked Thrush Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Cedar Waxwing Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler American Redstart Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Pine Siskin With the OFO Convention last weekend, 270 + pairs of eyes scoured the Hamilton Study area for migrants. Unfortunately, the day before there were birds everywhere. They must have known the crowds were coming however, some good birds turned up during the convention and into the week. At Woodland Cemetery a large group was on hand and birds seen here during the morning trip included and adult Bald Eagle, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireo, Tree Swallow, House, Carolina and Winter Wren, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped (WAY WAY TOO MANY!), Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm , Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow and a small group of Pine Siskins. In the afternoon a small hawk flight occurred but a highlight was a Wilson's Snipe flyover. Continuing on the morning walk into the Hendrie Valley, Wood Duck, Black-crowned Night Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs and a great scope view of a Pileated Woodpecker were the highlights. For those who brave the Dundas Marsh, fairly decent looks have been reported all week of NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. These were seen today by walking the west side of the creek past the old bridge and just into the manna grass, a little easier trudge than out to the marsh. Other birds seen on the hikes out there this week include American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Peregrine Falcon, Black-bellied and American Golden Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, White-rumped, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper and Dunlin, Bonapartes and Great Black-backed Gull, Marsh Wren, Hermit Thrush, more Yellow-rumps, Swamp, Song and many White-throated Sparrows. One of the highlights was a Forster's Tern last Sunday. Van Wagners beach was quiet without those east winds last weekend however on the weekend and in the days following 2 Short-eared Owls could be viewed flying endlessly over the lake. Unfortunately only seen briefly last Friday on a flyby, an AMERICAN AVOCET flew over and down the beach, not to be caught up with on the weekend. Other birds seen on the lake include a variety of waterfowl coming in to spend the winter months here, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter and White-winged Scoter. Behind the Van Wagners ponds Gray-cheeked and Hermit Thrush were seen yesterday. A bird of interest at Windermere Basin last weekend was a cross Pintail x Mallard picked up by a keen observer. Short-eared Owls were also viewed at Windermere Basin. Along the lakeshore properties this week, things have settled down significantly. At Paletta/Shoreacres in Burlington, Red-necked Grebe, Eastern Wood Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Winter Wrens (many!), Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Black-throated Blue and Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Redstart and a variety of sparrows were the highlights. A similar mix occurred at Shell Park this week with numerous Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, House and Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Black-throated Blue Warbler, American Redstart and Eastern Towhee. A nice surprise was a Black-billed Cuckoo flyby on the Sheldon Creek Trail last weekend, fairly late for this species. A neat place to visit this week was the Rona Ponds located behind the Rona in Waterdown just east of Clappison's Corners. Here this week was a good place to study and flush sparrows. In addition to large numbers of Song, Swamp, Savannah, Lincolns, White-crowned, White-throated and Field Sparrows, House Wren, Orange-crowned and Palm Warbler were also seen here. In the odds and sods, Sora can still be found with increasing difficulty at Kerncliffe Park. A Long-billed Dowitcher was still present up in Saltfleet on Green Mountain Road just west of 8th Road West. A late Scarlet Tanager was seen behind the Dundas Arena. Eastern Bluebirds and a Great Horned Owl calling were reported from Deer Run Court in Brantford. That's the news for this week. Use the extra time and great weather to go out and find a great rarity. Happy Thanksgiving! Good birding, 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
