American Wigeon Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Ruffed Grouse Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Least Bittern Great Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Osprey Broad-winged Hawk American Coot Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Red-necked Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Black Tern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Eastern Screech Owl Ruby-throated Hummingbird Eastern Wood Pewee Alder Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Common Raven Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Scarlet Tanager Rose-breasted Grosbeak Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole
Well this compiler has not dropped off the face of the earth, the past three weeks has been very quiet but as is typical this time of year, breeding mode makes things quiet and then slowly you start to see a change. Most of this change is about shorebirds returning to local wetlands and so hope begins again that birds will be back in the area. There are no rarities for the week but the hotspot for the past week has been Windermere Basin where lower water levels have seen an increase in sightings of returning shorebirds, non-breeders and a few other surprises. Here this week Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, our first of season Stilt Sandpiper (Wednesday), Short-billed Dowitcher (Wednesday), Red-necked Phalarope (elusive and only seen briefly yesterday), Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Bonaparte's Gull (2 seen yesterday, 1 has been summering here for a few weeks) and Black Tern (another record for this locale holds great promise that this is ideal habitat for them). Summering ducks here include Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and American Coot. Another great place this time of year for summer breeders is Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle. This park offers a variety of habitats and this week has been productive for Green Heron, Osprey (nesting close by), Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Screech Owl, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Alder, Willow and Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow and Chestnut-sided Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Field, Vesper and Savannah Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole. Elsewhere over Carlisle a Broad-winged Hawk was an interesting sighting. In the odds and sods, a Ruffed Grouse family was spotted in a field up near the Crieff Bog. A Common Raven was being harassed by an Eastern Kingbird near the same locale. An unusual date sighting of a Horned Grebe found at Valley Inn was interesting the week before last. Three families of Red-necked Grebes are doing well 2 near Bronte and 1 near Burloak Bluffs. Least Bitterns appear to be nesting at Bronte Marsh where they have been heard regularly. Eastern Towhee was putting on a show for an HNC Hike at Fletcher Creek on Wednesday. A Black-billed Cuckoo was also present there at Fletcher Creek. Mid-summer is up on us and things are starting to shift around. Get out to the local hotspots and let me know what you see. I need sightings to make a report! Cheryl --- 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
