AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE SABINE'S GULL PARASITIC JAEGER
Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Common Loon Horned Grebe Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Sharp-shinned Hawk Golden Eagle Greater Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Short-eared Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Eastern Phoebe Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush American Pipit Cedar Waxwing Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Eastern Meadowlark Rusty Blackbird Purple Finch There was another change up in the mix of migrants this week in the Hamilton Study Area. Many of the long distance migrants have passed through and some of the birds which may not travel as far are starting to show up here. As usual, our rarities come first. The long staying AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN has been seen throughout the week making a comfortable roost on Hickory Island out in the middle of Cootes Paradise. East winds on Tuesday brought in a couple of treats. An adult SABINE'S GULL was spotted at a distance among a group of Bonaparte's Gull. For those there later in the afternoon the SABINE'S came in to sit on the water between the beach and the wave tower affording good looks. Also seen out in the flock of Bonaparte's was a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE which made another pass later in the afternoon. Two BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES were seen at a distance last Saturday down at Lakeland Centre. Finally two PARASITIC JAEGERS, 1 adult and 1 juvenile were seen on Tuesday giving decent looks as they barrelled in towards shore to chase the gulls. Other birds seen here in the week included Black and White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon and Lesser Black-backed Gull. A neat sighting at this time of the year are Short-eared Owls which seem to spend endless amount of time flying over the lake. One was seen over the lake from the beach last Friday and two more were seen on Monday from Green Road. Also at Green Road were Surf Scoter and Horned Grebe. Confederation Park had a mix of migrants in the week. Great Egrets are still spending time in the pond there, perfect for the photographers. Other migrants seen here include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, both Kinglets, Swainson's and Hermit Thrush and a large flock of twelve Field Sparrows. Woodland Cemetery is a great spot to go to work on flyover migrants and an excellent place on northwest and west winds to watch a raptor migration. Migrants here this week include Ruddy Ducks -23 on the Harbour, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Bluebird, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird and Purple Finch. Today a small raptor flight yielded a few dozen Turkey Vultures, Sharp-shinned Hawk and a low flying Short-eared Owl. At Shoreacres this week, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrush, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, White-throated Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. Herons and Egrets are still around. From Princess Point fourteen Great Egrets, thirty five Great Blue Herons and a few Black-crowned Night Herons were noted. A late Green Heron was present at Valley Inn along with Great Egret and Black-crowned Night Heron. In the odds and sods this week, an Osprey was seen at Waterdown Wetlands catching frogs, a Golden Eagle was seen at City View Park in Burlington. A Greater Yellowlegs was seen in Dundas Marsh along with three Bonaparte's Gulls. A Pectoral Sandpiper was present Tuesday at the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. A Clay-colored Sparrow was a great bird found in a group of sparrows Tuesday in the field bounded by South Service Rd., McPherson Rd and Wyecroft Rd in west Oakville. A group of sixty American Pipits was seen in a field near Great Lakes Blvd just south of here. That's it for this week. More south winds forecast could bring in southern specialties like Cattle Egret or Ibis. It's good to diversify your birding and look everywhere. Send your sightings along here! Good Birding, 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 including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
