On Friday, June 29th, 2012, this is the HNC Birding Report: Ring-necked Duck White-winged Scoter Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe Black-crowned Night Heron Osprey Bald Eagle Merlin Common Gallinule Sandhill Crane Lesser Yellowlegs Caspian Tern Horned Lark Cliff Swallow Yellow-billed Cuckoo Winter Wren Marsh Wren Hooded Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Bobolink Eastern Meadowlark Orchard Oriole
This is time of year known as the summer doldrums, many birders switch to butterflies or finally attend to yard work and we give pause for birds to breed and migration to start up again. This compiler welcomes the break, hence the every two weeks reports. As you know fall birding in Hamilton is never short of exciting with the specialties so a rest is a good thing. No notable rarities were detected in the area over the past two weeks. There are very few reports to go by so here are a few places and birds to look for over the long weekend. A good place to visit this time of year is Grass Lake out near Glen Morris. This extensive wetland is home to breeding Sandhill Cranes and Common Gallinule both of which were seen in the past two weeks. The Sandhill Cranes have one chick. Other birds seen in this area along Shouldice Road were Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Marsh Wren and in the extensive grassland across the street from Grass Lake, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolinks, Horned Larks and Eastern Meadowlarks can be seen and heard. Another good spot not too far away for Sandhill Cranes is a marsh near Deer Run Court in Brantford. Down at Bronte Harbour in Oakville, it appears that there will be only one chick hatched from the brood this year. A Pied-billed Grebe has been present for the past month and a great sight to see is the colony of Cliff Swallow nests at the restaurant down there. The FISH CROW has not been reported in the past couple of weeks but is likely still there. In the odds and sods, two White-winged Scoters were seen down at Canada Centre for Inland this week. A Ring-necked Duck was seen at Bayfront Park. The colony of Black-crowned Night Herons seen off Eastport Drive seems to be faring well despite competition from the cormorants. Also down there on the islands is a healthy colony of Caspian Terns. At Brant Park, one of the eaglets fell out of the nest. Hopes are that the adult is feeding the bird on the ground and it is able to scurry from any hazards that may come up. Ospreys seem to be successfully nesting along the Grand River near Paris. A Merlin is nesting across from 142 Howe Ave near Upper Wellington, south of Fennell, a good nesting record for this area. A Lesser Yellowlegs was a first of season returning migrant at the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. Winter Wrens singing in Flamborough and especially in South Burlington last week were unusual for this time of year. Hooded Warbler was heard at the traditional spot of Martins Road in Ancaster and a male Orchard Oriole was seen at the end of Winston Road in Grimsby. Last but not least I received a report of a rogue Rooster at Hutch's last week! Please send your sightings along as they happen. Enjoy the long weekend! Cheryl Edgecombe HNC _______________________________________________ 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/
