On Thursday, May 11th, 2006 this is the HNC Birding Report: WHITE-EYED VIREO
Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe American Bittern Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane Semipalmated Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Common Tern Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Least Flycatcher Warbling Vireo House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Wood Thrush Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Blue-winged Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Pine Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Chipping Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White=throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Baltimore Oriole A busy week species wise but numbers? Where did they go? I have been adding to my 2006 list literally one bird at a time. The major push of migration seems to have either flown over or we are due for a "big day". Nonetheless when counting for the year list all you need is one so here it goes. Many of the lakeshore properties have had warblers, vireos, and flycatchers this week. At Shell Park in Oakville today (hoping for a fallout), Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, House Wren, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-throated and White Crowned Sparrow and Rose-breasted Grosbeak all seen today. Numbers of the aforementioned species were low but Least Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler and Baltimore Orioles seem to be in no short supply this year. Paletta/Shoreacres Park in Burlington also very quiet this week with Black-crowned Night Heron, Pine Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green Warbler and Indigo Bunting being different from the list above. At the small woodlot off of Spruce next to John T. Tuck School in Burlington, Black-and White, Blue-winged , Black-throated Blue Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush and Least Flycatcher all seen here in the week. On the Northshore trails this week at the RBG, Blue-winged Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler along with Yellow Warbler, Chestnut Sided Warbler, Indigo Bunting and Baltimore Orioles were reported on Tuesday. Another interesting spot nearby, the Hendrie Valley trails off of Unsworth Ave in Aldershot provided a number of Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Orioles, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and a singing Wood Thrush. Shorebirds seem to be in short supply in the HSA probably due to lack of habitat but at Smithville Sewage Lagoons, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were present in large numbers last week as well as Solitary, Spotted, Least and Pectoral Sandpipers. Out in Flamborough, Green Heron was seen in the Middletown Road/5th concession area. An overhead call of Sandhill Crane added to a yard list. In the odds & sods department this week (have patience, its long), a WHITE-EYED VIREO made an appearance at Rattray Marsh last Friday, a flyby of an American Bittern at Canada Centre for Inland Waters added to an office list, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird made a zip through Woodland Cemetery yesterday, Hooded Warbler is now present at Martin's Lane in Ancaster, American Redstart was reported from Rock Chapel, Nashville Warbler was seen in the orchard at Harvester and Cumberland, a Magnolia Warbler was seen behind Tansley Woods Community Centre in Burlington, Pied-billed Grebe was present in the Desjardins Canal and a few Common Loons are still making their way north seen flying over the Burlington Lakeshore by mother dropping off kids who should be paying more attention to the traffic. Its raining for the next few days but get out there and find out what has come in with it. Report your sightings to the hotline!!! Have a great week, (hopefully I will be posting a rarity before next Thursday!) Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe 905-381-0329 HNC Hotline
