On Friday, May 13th, 2011, this is the HNC Birding Report: BLACK TERN YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER PRAIRIE WARBLER CERULEAN WARBLER PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Green Heron Osprey Peregrine Falcon Virginia Rail Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Least Sandpiper Dunlin Yellow-billed Cuckoo Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpecker Eastern Wood Pewee Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Common Raven House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Veery Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush Gray Catbird Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula 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 Palm Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Louisiana Waterthrush Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Scarlet Tanager Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Rose-breasted Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Bobolink Baltimore Oriole Pine Siskin Its high migration time here in Hamilton. There are lots of places to go and it's hard to cover it all but we try. There are no mega-rarities this week but the highlighted birds at the top are birds that are scarce in Hamilton and deserve some attention. A BLACK TERN was seen for the day at the Clappison's Corners Wetland in Waterdown, scarce in these parts but such a beautiful bird in such a small space. This area has promising shorebird habitat with Least Sandpiper being seen here too. A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, the same or perhaps a different bird was located at Rattray Marsh in Mississauga last weekend. A pair of PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS were found at Edgelake Park on the Oakville/Mississauga border. A male was found early morning and then the male moved west and was joined by a female. A CERULEAN WARBLER was seen and heard in the Curry Tract up in North Halton. This has been a breeding ground in the past for this species. A couple of PRAIRIE WARBLERS have been found this week as well, one at Shell Park and one at 40 Mile Creek in Grimsby today. The list has shifted to passerines and many of the traditional areas for these migrants are hopping. It is impossible to cover them all but there are a few highlighted areas that have been reported from this week. Shoreacres in Burlington and Shell Park in Oakville have been productive the past few days with the following reported: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Blue-headed, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireo, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Tennessee, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Mourning Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Scarlet Tanager, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and Baltimore Oriole. The Northshore Trails at the Royal Botanical Garden's had a similar mix today and is well worth a look as there are many more of these species to come through. Yellow-throated Vireo was a highlight today on the trail and Pine Warblers seem to be in a few places on territory on these trails. Rattray Marsh in Mississauga has been a hotbed of migrants. In addition to the above warblers, Palm Warblers are still being seen, Canada Warbler and a Philadelphia Vireo were additions to their list. Along Sheridan Creek here, a female Hooded Warbler was feeding low on Tuesday. Green Heron, Virginia Rail, Eastern Wood Pewee, Blue-winged Warbler and Orchard Oriole were notable highlights from Tuesday including the area around Jack Darling Park next door. A flight of Dunlin were seen passing by the marsh. Riverwood in Mississauga is another area not often mentioned in my reports but well worth going to for folk near Mississauga. Louisiana Waterthrush are hard to find in this area but this area has reported them consistently this week. A good variety of thrushes including Veery, Swainson's, Hermit and Wood Thrush have been reported from here. Field, Lincoln's Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow and a late Dark-eyed Junco were also notables at the park. Riverwood park is on the north side of Burnamthorpe road just east of Mississauga Rd. and the Credit River. We have baby news in the area this week. The Peregrine Falcons at the Sheraton Hotel have hatched three healthy chicks. The live feed website can be accessed through http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/ Also in the baby news a pair of Common Ravens have successfully hatched three chicks on a nest in Puslinch near the Fletcher Creek Reserve. An Osprey has set up shop on a communications tower behind the City View Motel on Plains Rd. West near the junction of Hwy 403 and Hwy 6 North. Shorebirds are in short supply with lots of wet fields and habitat and very few birds. Last weekend two Black-bellied Plover were seen along with Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpipers on 5th Road East. Any reports of shorebirds in the area would be appreciated as we are gearing up for the Baillie Birdathon in the next week. In the odds and sods this week, a Red-headed Woodpecker was banded at Ruthven this past week. There was another archived report sent to me from Shell Park of this species on May 3rd. There have been many reports of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds returning to feeders in the area. Louisiana Waterthrush have returned to the Dundas Valley being heard from the trail at the end of Lions Club Road in Dundas. Blue-winged Warbler have returned to the Berry Tract. An early Yellow-billed Cuckoo was heard at Rock Chapel and in the Dundas Marsh today. A Grasshopper Sparrow was seen at the hydro right-of-way path at Guelph Line and Upper Middle Road earlier in the week. These should be back on territory out in Flamborough already. A Clay-colored Sparrow was singing on territory in Puslinch Twp (SE corner of Conc 1 &Conc 7) last Monday. A Bobolink was seen today on 8th Line just above Britannia Road and on the McCormack Trail in Dundas. Pine Siskins still seem to be lurking about as reports have come in from Ancaster. If these birds are still coming into your feeders, please email me privately. Thanks for forwarding all of your sightings. This is a busy time of year for birds. Please keep the reports coming and get out and find those rarities. Good Birding, Cheryl Edgecombe _______________________________________________ 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/
