LAUGHING GULL WORM-EATING WARBLER Blue-winged Teal Wild Turkey Red-throated Loon Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Spotted Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Whimbrel Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Dunlin Short-billed Dowitcher Bonaparte's Gull Little Gull Common Tern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpecker Eastern Wood Pewee Alder Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Gray-cheeked Thrush Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Orchard Oriole
Things have quieted down here in the Hamilton Study Area as migration tapers off and breeding bird areas are set up. There were still some late migrants filtering through and the bigger story this week was the shorebirds. We will start with our rarities of the week. The LAUGHING GULL seen last Friday continued into early Saturday morning and then disappeared. A WORM-EATING WARBLER was recorded in a yard in Central Burlington on two consecutive days. The bird was only partially seen but a recording was made of the bird which was sent out for analysis. It appears from the sonogram and from the recording that it was a valid record. The bird was in a private yard and has not be heard subsequently. As stated above, this was the week for shorebirds to move through. As always the biggest numbers of Whimbrel occur at Colonel Sam Smith Park which is out of the HSA but favourable winds and a few loose flocks always seem to move through just at the boundary of the circle. On Sunday a flock of 13 Whimbrel flew in circled the Port Credit Marina and one landed on the break wall then the group departed. Also last weekend a couple of thousand Dunlin could be seen on the break wall just to the east of Port Credit Harbour. Mixed in with them were Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper and one Short-billed Dowitcher. Gulls were plenty and a careful screening of the Bonaparte's Gulls yielded one Little Gull to a keen observer which others were able to see and compare as they sat in the water at the harbour. Common Terns seem to have set up a colony on the roof of the marina to the east of the harbour. An odd sighting at the harbour was a flying male Blue-winged Teal. The woodlots have been quieter this week. A check of Lakeside Park in Mississauga on the way back from Port Credit yielded Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Willow and Least Flycatcher, Mourning Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Black-throated Green, Canada and Wilson's Warbler. At the Joshua Creek Trail things were quieter but an interesting sound was a Mourning Warbler mimicking a Common Yellowthroat. American Redstart and Wilson's Warbler were also here. In the odds and sods this week, my weird sighting of the week was a Wild Turkey flying from the Suncor Property to north Shell Park over Rebecca. A significant record of two Red-throated Loons were late migrants seen and photographed at Confederation Park last Saturday. Common Loons were seen daily flying over New Street and Rebecca on my drive to Oakville. Red-necked Grebes are nesting in three locations this year, Bronte Harbour where they have 5 eggs, Bronte Marsh and Burloak Park. A Ruddy Turnstone and a half dozen Short-billed Dowitchers were seen at Windermere Basin. A sizable flock of Dunlin were seen near the Sunfish Pond at Valley Inn but unable to land due to high water. Highlights from Brantford in the Hardy Road area were a pair of Upland Sandpipers and Orchard Orioles. Yellow-billed Cuckoo was heard at Cityview Park in Burlington, a Gray-cheeked Thrush also present in the woodlot here. A Black-billed Cuckoo flew across York Road near Dundas in the week. An interesting sighting was of Common Nighthawks over Princess Point and in downtown Hamilton which were seen again flying around the next morning. Chimney Swifts seem to have a significant roost here in the vicinity of the Scottish Rite in Hamilton. A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers were seen in the west end of Confederation Park. Alder Flycatcher, Mourning and Wilson's Warbler were highlights of a walk in Shoreacres in Burlington. Clay-colored and Grasshopper Sparrows were singing at 6th Concession and Valens in Flamborough. There are many good places for both species here as well as Cityview Park. Finally a Rose-breasted Grosbeak migrant or potential breeder was heard singing on Charlton Ave earlier in the week. That's the news for this week. Please keep sending your sightings along, its important to note late migrants and unusual breeders. Cheers, 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
