AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE POMARINE JAEGER PARASITIC JAEGER SWALLOW SP. LARK SPARROW
Brant Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe Turkey Vulture Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle Killdeer Dunlin Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Short-eared Owl Eastern Phoebe Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee American Tree Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Purple Finch This week has been busier than the last one for sure but as the list dwindles, it signals that migration is drawing to a close. However, the top of the list suggests that its always worth getting out as rarities are all around us and in our midst. The strong winds today set up great conditions for strays to be found. This Sunday, November 3rd is the Hamilton Naturalists Club Fall Bird Count so if you are out in the area this weekend, please forward your sightings for the record. Now to the top of the list. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN has not been reported from Cootes Paradise since last week but may still be around. If anyone has further information on it, please email me. The lake once again proved worthy of a look as northeast winds brought in a few BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES seen at Fifty Point and Lakeland Centre, PARASITIC and POMARINE JAEGERS. To round things out a nice find was a LARK SPARROW at Fifty Point Conservation Area which unfortunately was elusive and only a one day wonder. Something to look for that I included in the top list were two SWALLOW SP. seen at Windermere Basin yesterday. We haven't seen swallows here for two months almost so it's worth a check in various spots for Cave Swallows that may have ridden the southern stream. The action around the west end of Lake Ontario is getting a different beat these days with thousands of waterfowl moving in for the winter. Long-tailed Ducks are by far the most numerous but among them Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead and Red-breasted Mergansers were mixed in. The big story last weekend was a new Hamilton record number of 255 Black Scoters found at the end of Green Road. Also there were both White-winged and a significant number of Surf Scoters. Other birds seen at Van Wagners Beach included Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Dunlin, Bonaparte's, Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gull. Two Short-eared Owls were seen floating around for part of the afternoon on Tuesday. There was a bit of a raptor movement this week. Last Sunday along the Burlington Lakeshore, Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks were moving. This same mix was moving along the Sydenham Hill in Dundas on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a juvenile Golden Eagle was seen flying along the escarpment near the Kenilworth access in Hamilton. Last weekend seemed to be a good weekend for a number of sparrow species to be moving. At Confederation Park, Van Wagners Ponds and Fifty Point an amazing number of Chipping Sparrows were seen moving through. Other species found include American Tree, Field, Fox, Song, Swamp. White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow and many Dark-eyed Juncos. A Vesper Sparrow was found the week before at Sam Lawrence Park which is located at the northern terminus of Upper Wellington at Concession, along the mountain brow, where Upper Wellington turns into the Jolly Cut. Other birds besides sparrows seen in these locations include Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper. Winter Wren, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warbler. In the odds and sods, a single Brant flew past Fifty Point on Monday and another one was found yesterday at Windermere Basin. Horned Grebes were seen at LaSalle Park. Trumpeter Swans are starting to return here and a group of Tundra Swans were seen here this week. Two Killdeer and a dozen Dunlin were at the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. Another Dunlin was seen at Windermere Basin. An Eastern Towhee was a nice yard bird in south Oakville today and a couple of Purple Finches were heard over Woodland Cemetery but these numbers pale in comparison to last year's finch exodus from the province. As stated before, it's a big weekend in Hamilton for counting birds. Please send along your sightings and get out there and find the rarity that I know is here. Cheers, 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
