SNOWY OWL LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Redhead Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe Great Egret Osprey Merlin Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Bairds Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Red-necked Phalarope Bonapartes Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern Common Nighthawk Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood Pewee Yellow-bellied FLycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Red-eyed Vireo Northern Waterthrush Northern Parula Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Magnolia Warbler Canada Warbler Mourning Warbler Baltimore Oriole Well the list is a little longer this week as more migrants are starting to move with the cold fronts.
Of interest this week the SNOWY OWL has continued to be seen off Eastport Drive at Pier 25, sometimes sitting on the gray building across from the trailer center, sometimes on the light standards and sometimes on a trailer at the RV Sales Centre. The last report of the bird was on Monday. The bird likely is still around. Be wary that the RV Centre where the bird has been hanging out is under the watch of the Port Authority so it's best to see it on Eastport otherwise you will be kicked out unless purchasing an RV. Another good bird that usually goes undetected in fall migration is LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH at Edgelake Park in Stoney Creek. A Waterthrush was heard chinking on the west side of the park along the creek. A close study of it yielded Louisiana but a Northern Waterthrush was also seen later. Of interest, especially for this birder was a sighting of a Northern Saw-whet Owl which unfortunately hit a neighbours window. The bird recovered and flew off but it took me by surprise that it was a Northern Saw-whet and not the local Eastern Screech Owl. There are several theories as to whether it bred in the area, just outside of the area or was a bird on migration from further north. As has been the last few weeks, shorebirds are the bulk of the news. Several places have been good for shorebirds in the area, North Island off Eastport Drive, Tollgate Pond on Eastport past the lift bridge, Windermere Basin and Red Hill Stormwater Ponds. The following have been seen at these locations. Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Spotted, Solitary (Red Hill), Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, Bairds (reported from North Island and Windermere), Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper (Red Hill) and Short-billed Dowitcher. Townsend Sewage Lagoons which is just outside the circle was host to a Red-necked Phalarope amongst other shorebirds mentioned above. A check of the sod farms around Hamilton Airport yielded three Black-bellied Plover on Haldibrook just west of Highway 6. These sod farms should be more productive in the coming weeks. The west end of the lake was quiet this week but Green-winged Teal, Common Loons, an early Horned Grebe and Bonapartes Gull were some birds seen. Last Monday a large chunky gray shorebird was probable juvenile Red Knot at a distance flying east. All of the Common Terns seem to have cleared out, there were a number of Caspian Terns along the shore of the lake and in Windermere Basin. The woodlots have been picking up with migrants starting to move through. Some reports this week include a Northern Parula, Black-and-White Warbler and Baltimore Oriole at Shoreacres in Burlington. Magnolia and Canada Warbler were seen at Edgelake Park along with the waterthrushes and Canada and Mourning Warbler at 40 Mile Creek in Grimsby last weekend. Other birds seen in these parks that could be migrants or local breeders include Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo and American Redstart. A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was seen at the Laking Garden at the RBG and an Olive-sided Flycatcher was seen and photographed at Albion Falls C.A. in Hamilton In the odds and sods this week, ducks seen at Windermere Basin and Tollgate Pond include Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Greater and Lesser Scaup and Redhead. A Red-throated Loon was seen at Bronte Harbour. More Great Egrets are showing up at local wetlands. Up to three have been seen at Windermere Basin, one seen at Red Hill Pond. Two were seen at the stormwater ponds on the 407 at Britannia today. Please report any with wing tags. Osprey numbers are continuing to grow, these birds have had a great breeding season. A migrant Merlin was a guest in a back yard in Dundas. Sandhill Cranes with young were seen near Glen Morris at Grass Lake. Common Nighthawks continue their movement south, I am sure these numbers will pick up in the next couple of weeks. It's going to be a great weekend to get out. Check out your local woodlots and continue to look for shorebirds. Report your sightings here! 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
