On Friday, September 11th, 2009, this is the HNC Birding Report: SABINE'S GULL BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE POMARINE JAEGER LONG-TAILED JAEGER
Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal Green-winged Teal Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Surf Scoter Common Loon Horned Grebe American White Pelican Great Egret Green Heron Merlin Peregrine Falcon American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Tern Common Nighthawk Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpecker Eastern Wood Pewee Least Flycatcher Warbling Vireo Marsh Wren Common Raven Gray Catbird Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Palm Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-White Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Mourning Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler If I didn't put Hamilton in the title of this report you would think that this a bird report from the east coast this week. What a week it has been with east winds and plenty of specialties. The long weekend proved to be a banner weekend for bringing in birds and birders to VanWagner's Beach and the week continued with gripping looks at BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and SABINE'S GULLS that you didn't actually have to squint to see. At least one BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was seen along the beach today and SABINE'S GULLS were seen up until yesterday. Jaegers were plenty last weekend with at least 35 sightings of Jaegers last weekend including an adult POMARINE JAEGER, an early treat for people on the beach watch. Our local pelagic zodiac had the unique experience of a Sub-adult POMARINE JAEGER dive-bombing the boat for about 45 minutes last Monday. PARASITIC JAEGERS were here in numbers and at one point 5 and later another group of 8 of them were seen together coming up the lake and over land. Other birds seen on the lake during this frenzy were Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Common Loon, American Golden Plover (from the zodiac), Peregrine Falcon, Sanderling, Red-necked Phalaropes for the lucky, Bonaparte's and Great Black-backed Gull and Common Tern. Nearby at North Island viewed off Eastport Drive in Burlington an adult Red Knot appeared on Tuesday and is still present today. Other birds on the mud in front of this island included Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone. Another hotspot this week was a large flooded field on Britannia Road between 4th and 5th Line in Oakville. This field just recently drained was a great place for finding migrant shorebirds including Semipalmated Plover Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted, Solitary, Semipalmated, White-rumped, Baird's, Pectoral, Stilt and Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Wilson's Snipe. At Rattray Marsh in Mississauga, water levels have dropped and today Semipalmated Plover, Least, Pectoral, Semipalmated and Solitary Sandpiper were reported. Finishing up the shorebird department it appears that Buff-breasted Sandpipers have made their appearance on the sod farms south of Hamilton with one being seen at a distance on Haldibrook Road just west of 6 and one on Unity Road behind the school just east of Hwy 6. We do have passerine migrants here too but very few have been out looking for them. Today down Kelson Road near Fifty Point Gray Catbird, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue and Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart and Ovenbird were seen. Within the past week and a half at Shell Park, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black-and-white Warbler and American Redstart were seen. Nearby at Sherwood Forest Park, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Canada and Wilsons Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush and Ovenbird were noted. Down at the Valley Inn Great Egret, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Marsh Wren, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Mourning, Palm and Black-and-white Warbler and Ovenbird were seen over the long weekend. In the odds and sods, Common Nighthawks were seen over Burlington and Hamilton. Great Egrets are present in numbers in the Dundas Marsh and another American White Pelican was seen flying out of there yesterday! A Horned Grebe was seen off Shoreacres Park in Burlington. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen on Airport Road during a search for Buff-breasted Sandpipers. Common Ravens flew over the Crieff bog in north Flamborough. Merlins seem to be setting up winter territory in Central Park in Burlington already. On a personal note, its been great meeting birders from all parts of the province this week. Thanks for saying hello, its nice to put faces to some of the names I get reports from! 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
