On Friday, December 18th, 2009, this is the HNC Birding Report: Brant Tundra Swan Harlequin Duck Barrow's x Common Goldeneye Red-throated Loon Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Rough-legged Hawk Peregrine Falcon Killdeer Purple Sandpiper Little Gull Bonaparte's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Great Horned Owl Short-eared Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Shrike Common Raven Golden-crowned Kinglet American Pipit Yellow-rumped Warbler Snow Bunting Brown-headed Cowbird
It's been a fairly quiet week here in the Hamilton Study Area. A couple of nice birds to mix things up in the week but with Christmas Counts starting this weekend, who knows what will turn up. Last weekend at Fifty Point Conservation Area, a single Purple Sandpiper made a one day appearance on the jetty at the east side of the park. While out observing the beast two keen and lucky observers saw a Bonaparte's Gull and a Little Gull make a pass heading east. A tour last Saturday of a few areas in the area turned up some good species for the winter list. On Saturday, twenty nine Tundra Swans were seen off Princess Point. A group of eight Snow Buntings were seen flying over Cootes Paradise and two adult Bald Eagles were seen in the nest tree along the Northshore trails of the Royal Botanical Gardens. A swing by Bayfront Park in Hamilton yielded a Killdeer feeding along the beach. Last Sunday, two Common Ravens were seen Hwy 5 at Orkney Rd. A dark morph Rough-legged Hawk was seen on Woodhill Rd. south of Hwy 5. An Iceland Gull flew over the Dundas Valley. Also at the west end of Hamilton Harbour a first year Glaucous Gull was seen and a Barrow's x Common Goldeneye was also present here, maybe the one from the lake or maybe a different one. Seventeen Tundra Swans were seen off Woodland and an adult Bald Eagle. A female Harlequin Duck was present last weekend in Port Credit west of Saddington Park. Other notable birds seen there were American Pipit and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Today at Mowhawk Lake in Brantford, three Glaucous Gulls were present on the ice. A couple Turkey Vultures were also viewed flying from the dump. In the odds and sods Short-eared Owls have returned to the wintering areas in Saltfleet, being seen 8th Rd. E. between Green Mt. Rd. and Mud St.. A sizable flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds were seen at 11th Road East and Highland. A juvenile Northern Shrike has been seen regularly at Dartnall rd and Stonechurch Road on the mountain. A few Golden-crowned Kinglets seem to still be around at LaSalle Park. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is present at a feeder in Greensville. A couple of Great Blue Herons were seen at Valley Inn earlier in the week. Peregrine Falcons have been present regularly around Canada Centre for Inland Waters. A Red-throated Loon flew by CCIW earlier in the week. Two Brant are hanging in there at Spencer Smith Park seen yesterday. Near Sydenham, a mixture of raptors were viewed including three Bald Eagles and several Northern Harriers. Great Horned Owls are calling at Binkley's Hollow in Dundas. This weekend is the South Peel Christmas Bird Count. Please report your sightings to me so I can pass them along to the compiler. On December 26th the Hamilton Christmas Bird Count takes place. Count week begins mid week so please pass along what you see. Hopefully something is buried in the circle somewhere! Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 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/
