King Eider Surf Scoter Black Scoter Ring-necked Pheasant Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Snowy Owl Northern Shrike Common Raven Horned Lark Snow Bunting Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee Red-winged Blackbird Purple Finch
There is little change in the birds to be seen in Hamilton Study Area. There is hope though that change will come soon as temperatures climb a bit. A highlight here was up to 5 King Eiders at Bronte Harbour seen around mid week. Over the past couple of weeks three have been hanging around the harbour. Also at Bronte Harbour is a Snowy Owl which favours sitting on the docks. Other Snowy Owls have not been reported over the past couple of weeks. Out on the lake, two more King Eiders were seen in the period, one at Millen Road and another at the ship Canal. Surf and Black Scoters were seen from around Greys Road. In a small patch of open water near CCIW a Red-necked Grebe was found a couple of days ago. Today it flew past the Centre and landed in an open patch of water out near the building so the bird is still around. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch has started at Beamer Memorial Conservation area in Grimsby. Obviously a slow start to the season given the lack of the right winds but there have been a couple of Bald Eagles and three Rough-legged Hawks in the first week of the count. To continue with raptors, a Red-shouldered Hawk was seen near Fiesta Mall in Stoney Creek in the Queenston Road area. A Merlin was seen over Dundas earlier in the week. Some signs of spring about in a small way, numbers of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls are continuing to build on the harbour. American Crows seem to be growing in numbers, good to listen out for a Fish Crow among them. Earlier in the week a Common Raven was seen over Aldershot. This species should be back on nest in the quarries up in Saltfleet and on Brock Road in Flamborough. Numbers of Horned Larks are continuing to build along with the flocks of Snow Buntings moving around. A good place for these is on Fallsview Road near Sydenham and out near Ancaster along Fiddlers Green South (crossing over Carluke Road) as well as at intersection where Haldibrook and Sawmill meet, then just east of Shaver in the gully, on Sawmill. There seem to be an abundance in this area. A Red-winged Blackbird was seen near Lakeshore and Verhoven on Wednesday, a sign of many to come. In the odds and sods, a hardy Great Blue Heron was seen over Red Hill Creek. Two Ring-necked Pheasants were present on 10th Road East in Saltfleet north of the tracks on the east side. A Northern Shrike was also present here. A few hardy Yellow-rumped Warblers continue to be present near Snug Harbour in Port Credit. It is an odd place for these to winter yet it seems to be a yearly event. This winter may change their minds for next year! An Eastern Towhee made a one day appearance at a feeder near Sawmill Road in Ancaster, perhaps an overwintering bird moving around. A female Purple Finch has been a guest at a house near Deer Run Ct in Brantford over the past week. Look for more of this species to come as they pass back to the north. That's the news for this week, please report your sightings, its bound to get better. Don't forget to turn the clocks on Saturday. Good birding! Cheryl Edgecombe HNC. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com _______________________________________________ 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
