On Wednesday, June 30, 2010 this is the HNC Birding Report: Wood Duck Green-winged Teal Redhead Greater Scaup Common Goldeneye Ruddy Duck Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Least Bittern Great Egret Green Heron Peregrine Falcon Lesser Yellowlegs Upland Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Great Horned Owl Black-billed Cuckoo Chimney Swift Pileated Woodpecker Willow Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Marsh Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Brown Thrasher Canada Warbler Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark
Summer birding is starting at a slow pace here in the Hamilton Study Area. It has been a quiet couple of weeks but as predicted southward shorebirds have already started back. This week a couple of places were reported from that have not been in a while. Up at the Dofasco Trail on 10th Road East in Saltfleet, it appears that Upland Sandpipers have bred here again this year. Up until now there have been few reports but this week there were two reports of multiple birds up here in the field north of the tracks on the east side. Also seen here were Bank Swallows, Black-billed Cuckoo, Willow Flycatcher, Brown Thrasher Field and Savannah Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark. Up in the Millgrove Loam Pits, located on 5th Concession West just west of the hamlet of Millgrove, a canoe trip through the dense vegetation yielded the discovery of a Least Bittern nest. Other birds seen in the tangles here were Wood Duck, Green Heron, Great Horned Owl, Willow and Least Flycatcher and Marsh Wren. At the Windermere Basin a check of the basin turned up Greater Scaup, Redhead, Green-winged Teal and Ruddy Duck. Two Green Herons were present in the pond in the middle of the circular trail. A Least Sandpiper was seen on Monday and a Lesser Yellowlegs was seen yesterday. Great Egret turned up in the Red Hill Stormwater Pond yesterday. Behind the Canada Centre for Inland Waters, a summering Common Goldeneye was seen late last week. On the bay near Carroll's Point a Common Loon made an appearance. Nesting birds to report this week include the Red-necked Grebes at Bronte Harbour. There was a nest in the creek, up from the harbour that was active up until last weekend however this has been abandoned. A nest at the traditional site in the harbour right near the Compass Restaurant is harbouring 5 eggs at present. The peregrine falcons are keeping volunteers on the watch very busy. All of the chicks at the Sheraton Hotel have fledged. At times with Mom and Dad active, there can be up to 6 falcons to watch. No news this week on the Lift Bridge Falcons but dedicated volunteers have the added peril of the water to deal with here. In the odds and sods, several people have been reporting Chimney Swift roosts in Oakville, Dundas and Hamilton. All information is appreciated by the volunteers at Swiftwatch. A Canada Warbler was seen on the LaFarge Trail near 10th Concession West in North Flamborough. This is a traditional nesting spot. A Pileated Woodpecker made an excellent local sighting over Indian Road in Mississauga last week. As you can see, my reports have been somewhat sporadic lately. Please forward your sightings, things will start to pick up and reports more frequent. Have a great Canada Day! 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
