On Friday, September 4th, 2009 this is the HNC Birding Report: SABINE'S GULL BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE PARASITIC JAEGER LONG-TAILED JAEGER
Surf Scoter Common Loon American White Pelican Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Osprey Peregrine Falcon Sandhill Crane Semipalmated Plover Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Red-necked Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull Black Tern Common Tern Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Warbling Vireo Nashville Warbler Yellow Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Wilson's Warbler Its quality and not quantity this week in the Hamilton Study Area. East winds have favoured us and Hamilton's specialty birds have not disappointed. Last Friday a spectacular show of LONG-TAILED and PARASITIC JAEGERS and SABINE'S GULLS dazzled those who came out. A number of juvenile and adult Long-tailed Jaegers were seen throughout the day peppered by a smattering of immature SABINE'S GULLS. Two PARASITIC JAEGERS made an appearance with more to come. Other noteworthy birds were Black Tern and Surf Scoter. On Wednesday, the show continued and the ratings got better with the appearance of two adult and a few immature SABINE'S GULLS, three immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, Bonaparte's Gulls and Common Terns. This is only the second record of adult Sabine's Gull in the Hamilton Area. The BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES continued to be seen into Thursday and jaegers were seen on the water out on the lake. A really neat experience for some keen observers was a trip in a zodiac boat out onto the lake. Spectacular views of gulls and jaegers at a close distance in addition to many Red-necked Phalaropes offshore has made these pelagic fruitful. An adult PARASITIC JAEGER was photographed yesterday chasing gulls out on the water. An adult SABINE'S GULL was also seen at a close distance. Many Common Loons were seen out here as well. A search for Buff-breasted Sandpipers on the sod farms in south Hamilton have not turned up the beasts. Other shorebirds seen in the sod fields this week include Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated, Least and Pectoral Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs. On the North Island off Eastport, Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper and Sanderling were seen on Wednesday. Out in the Dundas Marsh, water levels continue to be too high for shorebirds. Great Egrets, Great Blue, Green and Black-crowned Night Heron were all seen. A Peregrine Falcon buzzed over the marsh. Ospreys continue to be seen flying over the marsh. At LaSalle Park in Burlington, a Green Heron continues to stalk fish on the shoreline. Migrant passerines seen here this week include Warbling Vireo, Magnolia, Yellow and Black-and-White Warbler. Out near Brantford, Sandhill Cranes continue to be seen near Glen Morris. Migrants out here include Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Nashville, Black-throated Blue and Wilson's Warbler. This time of year is always good for catching migrant Common Nighthawks. These have been reported over Dundas, Brantford and Hamilton. This exodus is sure to continue the coming week. In the odds and sods this week an American White Pelican made a flyover of Port Credit last weekend. A Great Egret was seen at the stormwater ponds at Brittania and the 407. That's the news for this week. Keep an eye on the winds this weekend, they are predicting east. Please forward your sightings! Good Birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC Hotline 905-381-0329 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
