On Friday, December 30th, 2011 this is the HNC Birding report: SPOTTED SANDPIPER FRANKLIN'S GULL LITTLE GULL BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER GRAY CATBIRD BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER PINE WARBLER COMMON YELLOWTHROAT FIELD SAPRROW BOBOLINK EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Brant Cackling Goose American Wigeon Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Northern Harrier Rough-legged Hawk Peregrine Falcon Killdeer Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Northern Shrike Common Raven Horned Lark Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush American Pipit Yellow-rumped Warbler American Tree Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle It's been another busy week here in Hamilton. It is hard to decide which birds this time of year should be highlighted so I have put a list of rarities at the top but included other great winter birds. Our Hamilton Christmas Bird count was on December 26th and some interesting birds came up although results are still filtering in. An adult FRANKLIN'S GULL was seen flying over the Bayfront Park area early in the morning when the gulls fly out. On count day, the BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER and WILSON'S WARBLER were seen. The BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER continues to be seen today at Bayfront first at the 1600 mark feeding low next to the trail for about 40 minutes and then going up to the top ridge and then being relocated at 1200 metres where it fed low again. A FIELD SPARROW was seen at the Plains Road end of the Valley Inn Road which is closed to traffic from Plains Road. Walking up the Valley Inn Road from the bottom of the hill parking lot, the bird was relocated on the hill mixed in with Tree and White-throated Sparrows. Other birds seen on the count/count week were a Brant on the lawn at Spencer Smith Park on Christmas Day, Common Loon (a few off Bayfront Park), Red-necked Grebe (LaSalle Marina), Great Blue Heron (Valley Inn), Killdeer (count week at the Dundas Marsh), LITTLE GULL (location undetermined), Thayer's, Iceland, Lesser Black-backed and Glaucous Gulls (on the flyout from the bay/Princess Point area), Eastern Bluebirds at the Cartwright Property, Hermit Thrush near the Central Library, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Bayfront Park) and Fox Sparrow (location to be followed up). Rusty Blackbirds were seen at 5th Concession West east of Brock Road along with Red-winged Blackbirds. Two Common Ravens flew over the quarry on Brock Road between 4th and 5th concession West. The other winter bird of the year, the BOBOLINK, continues to be seen as of yesterday near the first opening of the south berm of the creek on 10th Road East in Saltfleet. The bird was seen flying a couple of times yesterday, giving its call which is a bonus. A Northern Shrike was also seen near the berm. Also in the field south of here three EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were flushed and well seen. Horned Larks and Snow Buntings were seen feeding on the grass at the model airplane field. A Rough-legged Hawk and a couple of Harriers were also in the vicinity. Two Common Ravens were seen cavorting over the quarry mid week. The SPOTTED SANDPIPER seen at Lakeside Park in Mississauga was last reported Saturday but could still be around. American Wigeon were seen here as well. Out near Grimsby the GRAY CATBIRD continued to be seen through the week although elusive yesterday. A White-crowned Sparrow was seen in its place. A search of the Kinsmen Park on the mountain in Beamsville did not turn up the PINE WARBLER reported there in the week but a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds made for nice viewing. A Rough-legged Hawk flew over this area as well. Up in the north part of the Hamilton Study area, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT continues to be seen or heard up just east of Cambridge. The bird was in a cattail marsh on the east side of Townline Road just north of the intersection with Saginaw Parkway. This location is in the extreme southwest corner of Wellington County and in the northwest part of the Hamilton Study Area. Another bird which was seen at a feeder in Aberfoyle on Aberfoyle Mill Crescent today is a Common Grackle. In the odds and sods, a Cackling Goose was reported at Burloak Park in the last two days and today three American Pipits were seen near Spencer Smith Park on the lawn of a soon to be condemned hotel just east of it. Please send along any sightings from the past week as we are still getting results for the Christmas Bird Count. Have a great week. Happy New Year Cheryl Edgecombe Hamilton Naturalists Club _______________________________________________ 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/
