AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN POMARINE JAEGER PARASITIC JAEGER WHITE-WINGED DOVE American Wigeon Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Redhead Greater Scaup Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Northern Goshawk Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Hudsonian Godwit Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Common Tern Forster's Tern Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Eastern Phoebe Blue-headed Vireo Horned Lark Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush American Pipit Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Chestnut-sided Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Nelson's Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Scarlet Tanager
It's been another great week here in the Hamilton Study Area. Rarities and migrants continue to filter through and changing weather systems give birders all the more reason to get out there! We will start with the rarities. Continuing on the list of rarities this week are birds from Van Wagner's Beach. Today, on northeast winds at the end of the day, an event that will be etched in my mind for a long time was the sighting of six adult POMARINE JAEGERS travelling together, east to west high along the west end of the lake in front of the Lakeland Centre. The flurry started with 10 Common Terns being sighted flying east to west just before the jaegers arrived then well over a hundred gulls rose from the water, giving cause to look around for the source. We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to view this magnificent species on a yearly basis. Tomorrow's east winds look promising for another round. Another juvenile PARASITIC JAEGER was seen at a fairly close distance harassing a gull. Other birds seen at the lake this week include a huge influx of waterfowl consisting of American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Redhead, Greater Scaup, Surf and White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Bonaparte's Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull. A Dunlin made an appearance on the beach late today. The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN continues in Cootes Paradise, the same one present since late July. A very exciting find this week was a flyover of a WHITE-WINGED DOVE at Upper Wentworth and the Lincoln Alexander Parkway yesterday. The bird was well described and followed but not refound. Shorebirds are still in the news although in dwindling numbers until the late ones arrive. The Dundas Marsh water levels are dropping and today Lesser Yellowlegs and Dunlin were photographed. Last Saturday a Hudsonian Godwit was well described on e-bird seen from the marsh boardwalk at the RBG. At Red Hill Stormwater Pond, Least and Pectoral Sandpipers were seen in the week. Windermere Basin was host to Black-bellied and American Golden Plover and Greater Yellowlegs. Water levels are down at Rattray Marsh in Mississauga. This week two Solitary Sandpipers were seen. A Wilson's Snipe was flushed at the Millgrove loam pits. Passerine migration is taking on a more fall flavour with many of the later species being present in numbers. At the Clappison's Corners Wetland in Waterdown, Blue-headed Vireo, Palm Warbler, Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow topped the list. At Jo Sams park in Waterdown, Gray-cheeked Thrush, American Redstart, Eastern Towhee and Scarlet Tanager were interesting migrants seen here. The west end of Lake Ontario seemed to be a magnet for migrants this week with Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue-headed Vireo, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's and Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned, Nashville Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Yellow-rumped and Black-throated Green Warbler, Chipping, Field, Lincoln's, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrow and first of season Dark-eyed Junco being seen in Confederation Park. Today at the Van Wagners Ponds, Blue-headed Vireo, Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Blackpoll and Black-throated Green Warbler and Lincoln's Sparrow were migrants seen. In the odds and sods, forty five Common Mergansers and one hundred and twenty three Red-necked Grebes were seen off Rattray Marsh mid week. Pied-billed Grebes were seen at Windermere Basin and Red Hill Stormwater Pond. Great Egrets continue to be a presence in Cootes Paradise, Confederation Ponds and the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. A Northern Goshawk and five Chimney Swifts flew over the Dundas Marsh last weekend. Now is the time to look for Nelson's Sparrow in the traditional areas. A Forster's Tern was seen with a group of Bonaparte's Gulls on the bay side of the Hamilton Harbour. Last Sunday, two Common Nighthawks flew over Hidden Valley in Burlington, an excellent date for this species. American Pipits were present at the sod farm at Mines Road and Haldibrook. Horned Larks are also here in numbers. Conditions look good for seeing specialties at the west end of Lake Ontario. There is also an OFO field trip to highlight the great birding found here this time of year. Meet 8:00 a.m. in Hutch's Restaurant parking lot at Van Wagners Beach on Lake Ontario in Hamilton. From Niagara on QEW, exit at Centennial Parkway, go left onto North Service Road and follow to Van Wagners Beach Road to the restaurant. From Toronto on QEW, exit at Woodward Avenue, turn right at lights, then right at next lights, go under bridge, turn right onto Van Wagners Beach Road to the restaurant. Keep me posted of your sightings, anything can show up! Cheers, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
