FRANKIN'S GULL PARASITIC JAEGER LECONTE'S SPARROW
American Wigeon Red-breasted Merganser Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron Great Egret Merlin Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Great Horned Owl Traill's Flycatcher Blue-headed Vireo Common Raven Horned Lark Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Palm Warbler Common Yellowthroat Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Rose-breasted Grosbeak Eastern Meadowlark Purple Finch Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak It's been a quieter week here in the Hamilton Study Area as many of our earlier migrants have moved on and we wait for the next wave to come in. Some great birds have been seen this week though. A FRANKLIN'S GULL was seen on Saturday flying down the VanWagner's Beach at close range. Too close we couldn't see it for some! This was a different bird than the one seen before so there may be two still lurking about. There have been no reports since the weekend. Mid-week a good east/northeast wind late in the day brought a raft of PARASITIC JAEGERS to the west end of the lake. None were seen super close and some even moved over land on migration but a number of birds were seen. Lastly at a secretive LECONTE'S SPARROW was seen at the east end of Heritage Pond near Guelph. It has been brought to our attention from the developer that the location of the bird is on private property. I suspect the bird has moved on. Passerine migration has been slow this week, perhaps due to unfavorable migration winds, perhaps because many have moved out. A few stragglers were seen in various locations. At the Waterdown Wetland Trails in Waterdown, Blue-headed Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green and Palm Warbler, Field, Lincolns, Swamp, White-throated, White-crowned Sparrows were seen this week. At Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Palm Warbler and last week a lingering Yellow Warbler, Chipping, Lincoln's, Swamp and White-crowned Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark were highlights noted from a couple of groups here this week. Another great place to visit this time of year is the University of Guelph Arboretum. Here in the week, Common Raven, Nashville, Orange-crowned, Tennessee and Palm Warbler, Evening Grosbeak and Pine Siskin were birds of note. This seems to be a good place for finch migration. Finally at Clappison's Corners Wetland Traill's Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler and Common Yellowthroat were highlights. This is a great place to visit in the fall to work on sparrow identification. It is located behind the Rona just east of Hwy 6 at Hwy 5 (Dundas) in Waterdown. Shorebirds have cleared out with only Semipalmated, Black-bellied and American Golden Plover being different from the many Killdeer out in Cootes Paradise. In the odds and sods this week, American Wigeon and Green-winged Teal were seen flying along the lake at Shoreacres in Burlington. First of season Red-breasted Merganser was seen off VanWagners Beach along with a growing number of Common Loons. A Pied-billed Grebe has re-established itself at the Desjardins Canal. A huge number of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were seen off Princess Point last weekend, they will soon be on the move. A Merlin was seen over Dundas at the Desjardins Canal. A nice flock of 18 Sandhill Cranes were seen near Glen Morris. A Great Horned Owl was heard near University Plaza in Dundas and another near Glen Ave in Burlington. Two more Common Raven sightings came in this week, one from near University Plaza in Dundas and another near the QEW at Guelph Line. Hermit Thrushes seem to be on the move now with birds being reported from yards in South Burlington. A bewildered Northern Parula was caught between some apartment buildings in Dundas but let go and flew off! A sizable group of Horned Larks were seen on Fallsview Road in Flamborough. Finally feeder reports are coming in from Carlisle, Flamborough and South Burlington. Purple Finch, Pine Siskin and a late Rose-breasted Grosbeak were highlights. It's a great weekend to get the feeders cleaned up and ready to go. Cold temperatures will drive birds into the feeders and you never know what will turn up. That's the news for the week. This weekend is always good for birds and birders getting out. A change in weather conditions could prove interesting for migrants and maybe even a few rarities. Happy Thanksgiving! 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/
