ROSS' GOOSE RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET ORAGE-CROWNED WARBLER EASTERN MEADOWLARK Snow Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck Northern Pintail King Eider Harlequin Duck Common Loon Black-crowned Night Heron Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl Short-eared Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Shrike Yellow-rumped Warbler Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Snow Buntings
The deep winter cold is upon us this weekend. Despite the cold temperatures, birders have been out looking around and have turned up some good birds this week. On Monday a ROSS'S GOOSE was seen in Caledonia just south of the bridge through town. On Tuesday, the bird was replaced by a Snow Goose! RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS have hung on in two locations, one at Sedgewick Park in Oakville and another at LaSalle, will be tough going in this cold though. ORANGE CROWNED WARBLERS are still being seen in three locations, one at Sedgewick Park in Oakville, one at LaSalle Park in Burlington and one at Bayfront in Hamilton. The LaSalle bird seems to be the most reliable. To round out the rarities, another EASTERN MEADOWLARK was reported last Sunday from Westbrook Road in Hamilton south of Hall Road. I am certain the one at 10th Road East is still about although has probably gone underground in this cold. Waterfowl is always in the news here in Hamilton. Another Snow Goose was seen yesterday and today at the Desjardins Canal in Dundas. Three Cackling Geese were seen on the Peachtree Count at the lake end of Robert's Road, in Grimsby. Tundra Swans were present around Hickory Island in Cootes Paradise, gone know with the ice. A female Wood Duck was seen in the Desjardins Canal. A male Northern Pintail continues at the Red Hill Outlet. King Eiders seem to be plenty with two seen at the Burlington Ship Canal along with the female Harlequin Duck. Up to 7 King Eiders from the point (4 juveniles and 3 adult females) were seen from Fifty Point. There were at least 5 Common Loons seen from the dock on the bay at LaSalle, likely pushed out from lakes being frozen up north. The annual Lake Ontario Duck Count is tomorrow so we will see what numbers turn up out there. In the odds and sods this week, a Red-shouldered Hawk was seen today in Aberfoyle,. Rough-legged Hawks were seen at 10th Road East (dark morph) and on York Road near the Hopkins Tract this week. Today a great find was a trifecta of winter gulls, Iceland, Lesser Black-backed and Glaucous Gull at Pier 4 in Hamilton. A Snowy Owl was seen flying past Canada Centre for Inland Waters yesterday and rested on a roof there for a good part of the afternoon. At least one Short-eared Owl continues up on 10th Road East in Saltfleet, best time is just before dark at the tracks between Ridge and Green Mountain Road. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has returned to a house in Ancaster. Northern Shrike was seen today near Hopkins Tract off York Road. Yellow-rumped Warblers are still being reported from the Dundas Sewage Treatment Plant and two from Sedgewick Park in Oakville. Fox Sparrows are still plenty for this time of year, seen at feeders in Flamborough and at the Valley Inn at the beginning of the trail into the Hendrie Valley. White-crowned Sparrows have also been showing up with two seen today at the Urquhart Butterfly Gardens and birds on 10th Road East in Saltfleet. Lastly a sizable flock of 241 Snow Buntings were seen in a stubble field on the junction of Grassie Road/Concession 7 Road in Grimsby. That's the news for the week, stay warm and report your sightings here! 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
