POMARINE JAEGER Brant Wood Duck Tundra Swan Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Red-throated Loon Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Northern Goshawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Merlin Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's Snipe Red Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Common Tern Short-eared Owl Eastern Phoebe Northern Shrike Blue-headed Vireo Common Raven Tufted Titmouse Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush American Pipit Snow Bunting Orange-crowned Warbler Northern Parula Yellow-rumped Warbler American Tree Sparrow Fox Sparrow Purple Finch Rusty Blackbird
Fall is here in full force this week in the Hamilton Study Area. The winds might tell you otherwise today though. Our rarity of the week was a POMARINE JAEGER seen on strong east winds on Thursday. Surprisingly quiet for such strong winds, other birds noted that day were Brant, Common and Red-throated Loon, Bonaparte's and Lesser Black-backed Gull. A good late record for this area was of a Common Tern seen east of 50 Point with a flock of Bonaparte's Gulls last Sunday. As is this time of year, waterfowl is starting to gather along the west end of Lake Ontario. This week at Sayers Park, good numbers of Surf, White-winged and Black Scoter were seen yesterday. Up to 8 males were seen of Black Scoter always a nice sighting. Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser were seen here as well. A couple of good days of northwest winds brought raptors along the Burlington Lakeshore. Noted this week were Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle and Merlin. A Sandhill Crane was a balcony highlight at Appleby and New street. There seems to be a surge of Northern Goshawk this year. In addition to the birds above, another was seen on York Road near Dundas and another mantling its Wood Duck prey on 11th Concession East in Flamborough. Shorebirds are still in the news. At Green Lane Ponds in Brantford, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin were highlights. The new opened Grimsby Sewage Lagoons highlighted Black-bellied Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral and White-rumped Sandpiper. Red Hill Stormwater Pond featured a Wilson's Snipe mid-week. Down at Valley Inn, a good number of Dunlin and Pectoral Sandpipers were present last weekend. An interesting and yet heart breaking sight last weekend was a group of Herring Gulls chasing and eventually destroying a Red Phalarope at the end of Fruitland Road. A challenging game of identifying flyovers is good at Woodland Cemetery and at the High Level Bridge this time of year. Passerines seen on flyover this week include Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, American Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Rusty Blackbird and many Purple Finch. In the odds and sods this week Tundra Swans were moving with birds reported over Cootes Paradise. A Red-necked Grebe was a good photographic subject near the Leander Boat Club. A Short-eared Owl was a good sighting over the High Level Bridge in Hamilton. Now is a good time to note these birds flying for hours over Lake Ontario. Northern Shrike and Fox Sparrows were birds noted along Spencer Creek in Dundas. At Sedgewick Park in Oakville this week, Blue-headed Vireo, Orange-crowned and Northern Parula were lingering birds here. As you know this place is famous for winter listing. There was also a report of a late Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in South Shell Park. Common Ravens once again were seen over Brantford. Tufted Titmice have become very common this week with two reported from Bronte Bluffs, two at LaSalle Park and another pair coming into feeders near Iroquois Conservation in Ancaster. Hermit Thrush continue to move through with one devouring berries all week in this back yard. Lastly, Snow Bunting sightings came from Spencer Smith Park and Hutches along the beach strip. There were quite a few reports of Fox and American Tree Sparrows this week, keep your feeders well stocked! That's the news for this week, please report your sightings here. South winds could bring something in for our fall bird count next weekend. Please send all your sightings along to Bill Lamond for our Noteworthy Bird Records at [email protected]. Good Birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
