Snow Goose Cackling Goose Canada Goose Tundra Swan American Wigeon Northern Pintail King Eider Black Scoter Hooded Merganser Red-throated Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Merlin Peregrine Falcon Killdeer American Woodcock Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Common Raven Golden-crowned Kinglet Lapland Longspur Yellow-rumped Warbler White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Evening Grosbeak
The past week has seen a few more migrants in the Hamilton Study Area. We would really like a strong push of temperatures in sustained days in a row to get things moving though. Migrants seen this week include a Snow Goose, seen in the Desjardins Canal and then flying off and relocated at Rock Chapel Golf Course. A group of seven Cackling Geese were seen mid-week at Water's Edge Park in Oakville, east of Bronte Harbour. Up in Saltfleet, large flooded fields look ripe for incoming waterfowl. Seen around Saltfleet yesterday were mostly Canada Geese but on a flooded field on Green Mountain Road east of 6th Road East, Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, American Wigeon and Northern Pintail were present. Tundra Swans were also reported over Dundas in the week. A first of year King Eider was seen from Green Road last Sunday, viewing is difficult here until the ice mountain melts at the end of the road. Other points east and west of here might be good to check. A Black Scoter was a reward for someone looking for the Eider. Hooded Mergansers were part of a group of Canada Geese and Mallards at Fairchild Creek. This is a great place in spring for migrating waterfowl and access is west of Lynden Road on 5th Concession West. Look for a large flood plain on the south side of the road. A nice treat here today was a singing Eastern Meadowlark, a small step toward spring. A Pied-billed Grebe continues at Bronte Harbour as well as a growing number of Red-necked Grebes. Killdeer have arrived in good numbers and our first American Woodcocks were seen at Rattray Marsh in Mississauga and heard off York Road in the traditional spot near Hopkins Tract earlier in the week. It has to get a little warmer again for these birds to start calling. A sizable group of 20 Lapland Longspurs were seen on West Dumfries Rd between Pinehurst Rd and West River Road near Paris. Blackbirds have arrived en masse. Throughout Saltfleet and Flamborough flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds can be seen in the fields and certainly make their presence known by song. Lastly, it seems like Evening Grosbeaks continue their journey back north with one being photographed near Puslinch Lake in the week. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer Memorial Conservation area in Grimsby has had a couple of banner days on March 19th and 20th. On these days, good numbers of Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks and Golden Eagles were seen. Smaller numbers of Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk and Merlin were noted but more are yet to come. If you get a chance to come up and help out the counters or just work on id skills it's a great place to visit. Other migrants this week included Tundra Swans, Killdeer, Common Raven, Golden-crowned Kinglet and of course the Blackbirds. Finishing up with raptors, another sub-adult Golden Eagle was seen over the Pinetum Trail at Cootes on the 17th and nine Bald Eagles continue to be seen on the melting ice in Hamilton Harbour. In the odds and sods this week, Red-throated Loons were seen in the waters near the Lift Bridge and off Van Wagner's Beach at Lakeland Tower. An overwintering Horned Grebe was seen at the Burlington Pier. Peregrine Falcons were seen copulating at the lift bridge location. It looks like the pair at the Sheraton is brand new this year. Ossie and Lily have set up shop there replacing Madame X and Surge. An Iceland Gull was seen flying over the Skyway Bridge at Eastport and one on an ice flow off the beach at the Lakeland Tower. Three adult Glaucous Gulls were noted last weekend, one on the ice in the bay and another two at Tollgate Pond. Ring-billed Gulls have certainly made their presence known. Two Snowy Owls were reported this week, one at the Suncor Pier in Oakville and another at Highway Five and Trafalgar. Behind Olympic arena a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was seen, likely the overwintering bird that has been scarce as it is early for a migrant. Pileated Woodpecker and Yellow-rumped Warblers were also reported here. Up on 10th Road East about half way between Ridge and Green Mountain Road, two White-crowned Sparrows were seen with a flock of American Tree Sparrows scratching at the side of the road, a week ago Saturday. That's the news for this week, mid-week warm up will likely bring another round of migrants. Be sure to report your sightings here. 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
