On Friday, March 18th, 2011 this is the HNC Birding Report: BOHEMIAN WAXWING
Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck American Wigeon Northern Pintail Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck King Eider Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Wild Turkey Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Sandhill Crane Killdeer American Woodcock Common Raven American Robin Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Common Redpoll It's been a good week for the influx of migrants in the Hamilton Study Area, many more to come. The rarity of the week were sightings of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. One was seen in a flock of robins on Foreman Road last Friday. On Saturday, a sizable flock of about 60 birds were seen on Valens Road just north of Concession 6 West in Flamborough. The group moved to west of Valens Road along Concession 6 West but were last seen Monday. Hopefully there will be more to follow. Waterfowl is always a good bet in March. One of the best places to visit for migrating waterfowl is the Fairchild Creek floodplain located on Concession 5 West west of Lynden Road and east of Sheffield Road. Here this week were many Canada Geese, Snow Goose, Tundra Swans, Northern Pintail and American Coot. This will be a good place to watch in the coming weeks. The Dundas Hydro Ponds and Desjardins Canal were good for additional ducks this week with Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck and Pied-billed Grebe all seen earlier in the week. Down at the lake on Thursday, a Cackling Goose flew past Fifty Road and last weekend an immature male King Eider was seen from Fifty Point Conservation Area. Horned Grebes are around in numbers with 12 being seen from LaSalle Marina. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area was active this week with Turkey Vultures in numbers, Bald Eagle (7 seen last Tuesday), Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk and Northern Harrier being noted in the week. Other migrants seen there were Tundra Swans, Killdeer, Great Blue Herons and a Common Raven. Turkey Vultures have been seen in higher numbers this week everywhere and there appears to be a roost near University Plaza in Dundas again where the Black Vulture was seen last year. A pair of Bald Eagles is on nest in Cootes Paradise. In this area near the Hawkwatch known as Saltfleet, flooded fields are always productive this time of year. They were quiet this week but always worth watching as waterfowl and especially shorebirds arrive. Increasing numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and a Rusty Blackbird were noted here in the week. Northern Harriers were seen and photographed cruising the fields on 5th Road East. Wild Turkeys were seen in a couple of places here one group of 9,on 11th Road East, and the other group of 15 at Twenty Rd. An interesting sighting this week was the return of Great Blue Herons at the rookery at Lower Baseline Road and Trafalgar Road. Up to ten were seen here earlier in the week. In the odds and sods this week, Sandhill Cranes were seen and heard near Deer Run Court in Brant County. Wild Turkeys were also seen along Lynden Road just south of Highway 8. A Red-shouldered Hawk was seen mid-week in Flamborough at Concession 6 in Flamborough just east of Kirkwall Road and at Concession 8 just west of Westover in the Beverly Swamp. American Woodcock are peenting in the traditional areas of York Road parking lot of the RBG on the route to Dundas, Lower Lions Club Road in Dundas and the east side of Bronte Creek Campground in Oakville. Common Ravens appear to be nesting in the quarry on Concession 5 West just west of Brock Road in Flamborough. There have been several sightings in this area and areas north of here. A sizable flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds were seen at Woodhill Road just north of Highway 5. A single Common Redpoll was seen at a feeder in north Flamborough this week, numbers of this species have decreased over the warm spell. That's the news for this week. Please report your sightings. More birds are in the forecast! Thanks and 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 [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
