On Friday, May 22nd, 2009, this is the HNC Birding Report: AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN GREAT CORMORANT CATTLE EGRET BLACK TERN CERULEAN WARBLER YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Brant Red-necked Grebe Least Bittern Virginia Rail Sora Common Moorhen Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Osprey Bald Eagle Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Solitary Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Whimbrel Ruddy Turnstone Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Dunlin Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Phalarope Iceland Gull Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Willow Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Marsh Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Blue-winged Warbler Golden-winged Warbler Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Paula Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Palm Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-White Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Connecticut Warbler Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Eastern Towhee Lincoln's Sparrow Migration peaked this week in the Hamilton Study Area. Every day something new showed up, and almost every day a rarity was reported in the area. The problem was trying to catch up with them. Another AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN made its way to Rat Island in Cootes Paradise on Tuesday. This bird could have been one of the five or maybe another stray. The group of 5 were last seen on Saturday. Along with it, flying around the island was a beautiful BLACK TERN. Sadly I have put this in capitals as a rarity as these are birds not often seen here in Hamilton any more. Another one was seen at Valens Conservation area though within the past couple of days. Standing at Fifty Point an experienced birder was lucky to see a GREAT CORMORANT flying with 5 Double-crested Cormorants in an easterly direction. Hard to catch up with this one. On the islands off Eastport Drive, although water is higher this year, a group of 4 Ruddy Turnstones were seen on the second island south of the Burlington Lakeshore last Sunday. On Monday during a birdathons, the Turnstones seemed to have disappeared however a CATTLE EGRET roosted here maybe for the night but was not seen a few minutes later when the observer returned with another birder. I'm sure it would be easier to report what warblers were not seen in the Hamilton Study Area last week! Two great birds found were a CERULEAN WARBLER at Shoreacres in Burlington and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at Shell Park in Oakville. Warblers were everywhere last week and most people were able to capture 20 + warblers on their daily lists. Among the species seen at Shoreacres, Shell Park, Sherwood Forest Park in Burlington and Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek were Blue-winged, Golden-winged (Shoreacres), Tennessee , Orange-crowned (Shell Park), Nashville, Northern Paula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Pine, Prairie (Shoreacres), Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-White, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Connecticut (Sherwood Forest), Mourning (Shell), Common Yellowthroat, Hooded (Sherwood Forest), Wilson's and Canada Warbler. These sites were also good for Vireos and Flycatchers this week with Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow, Alder, Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated (Edgelake Park) Blue-headed, Warbling, Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireo all being reported. Thrushes include many Veery and Swainson's with the occasional Gray-cheeked mixed in. An Eastern Towhee and Lincoln's Sparrow were reported from Shoreacres in Burlington. Green and Black-crowned Night Heron were both seen at Shoreacres. Shorebirding continues to be good in the HSA despite the lack of habitat. As mentioned 4 Ruddy Turnstones were present on the island off Eastport. At Windermere Basin, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper and Dunlin were present. Up in Saltfleet, Semipalmated Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Least and White-rumped Sandpiper were there in fluctuating numbers this week. At the Rockton Berry Farm, Semipalmated Plover, Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper and Dunlin were present here. Yesterday and today at Bronte Pier and further down at Burloak Park a flock of approximately 60 Dunlin were swirling around. A flock of Whimbrel were seen last weekend from Burloak Park. At the corner of Great Lakes Blvd and Rebecca in Oakville, Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin, Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper have been seen in the stormwater pond on the northeast corner. On Britannia Road between 4th and 5th Line in Oakville, Black-bellied, American Golden and Semipalmated Plover, Least, Semipalmated and Spotted Sandpiper and a Wilson's Phalarope were all found in a flooded field today At the Millgrove Loam Pits on 5th Concession West in Flamborough, Least Bittern, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoo, Marsh Wren and Wilson's Warbler were all seen this week. A canoe ride into the area is helpful for locating the water birds. In the odds and sods this week, an Iceland Gull was seen at the Petro Canada Pier. A late dark phase Rough-legged Hawk was seen flying along the Oakville lakeshore earlier in the week. Common Nighthawk was seen near Lowville and again at the High Level Bridge in Hamilton. A Bald Eagle, nesting at Cootes was seen soaring over McMaster University. That's the news for the week. Please report your sightings no matter how small! Thanks and Good Birding! Cheryl Edgecombe 905-381-0329 HNC Hotline _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
