ROSS GOOSE PINE WARBLER
Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan King Eider Harlequin Duck Canvasback Ruddy Duck Common Loon Horned Grebe Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Peregrine Falcon Bonaparte's Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Pileated Woodpecker Tufted Titmouse Hermit Thrush Northern Mockingbird Yellow-rumped Warbler White-crowned Sparrow What a super quiet week and a bit it's been here in the Hamilton Study Area. The weather has been a big factor in birders getting out to hunt for birds and these conditions have likely driven birds from the area. Today is the first day of the Hamilton Christmas Count count week so now through the 29th, please send your sightings here. Hopefully conditions will improve for the count on December 26th. The Peel Christmas Bird Count was conducted on December 14th during a massive snow storm making viewing and finding birds difficult. A ROSS'S GOOSE was refound west of its original location at 16 Mile Creek in Oakville. Sedgewick Park birds have dwindled with only the PINE WARBLER and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers present for the count. These birds were refound the next day. Down at LaSalle Marina, Trumpeter Swans returned in a record number with 160 birds being counted on December 17th. A Tundra Swan was seen in the mix as well. Significant rafts of Canvasback and Ruddy Ducks were seen. A Horned Grebe was present right off the docks and two Common Loons were also seen. The Snowy Owl invasion continues with numbers reduced, some of these birds maybe heading farther south. Sightings this week come from Bronte Harbour, Third Line and the QEW, the Brant Street Postal Office and Windermere Basin. In the odds and sods, Harlequin Ducks were a flyby past Green Road during the snow storm a week ago Saturday. A King Eider was still present as of December 17th at the end of Millen Road. A Peregrine Falcon was seen chasing an immature Black-crowned Night Heron at Bronte Harbour the Sunday before last. A Turkey Vulture was seen at the 403 and Jerseyville Road on December 16th. An adult Bald Eagle was seen at First Line south of Britannia and another at Tollgate ponds. A Northern Harrier cruised over the fields on York Road just east of Valley Road. Three more were seen migrating along the lake last Sunday and Monday, likely pushed out of fields with heavy Snow. Along the west end of the lake a Glaucous Gull and several Great Black-backed Gulls were seen. Of note were a significant number of Great Black-backed Gulls (70) flying near Canada Centre for Inland Waters last week. This is a high number considering the population has been low here the past few winters. During the height of the storm a week ago Saturday, a few Bonaparte's Gulls were seen at the end of Green Road. A Hermit Thrush was spotted and refound Saturday along the Bruce Trail in Waterdown near the Clappison's Corners Wetlands. A Pileated Woodpecker was also seen in this area. A Mockingbird was taking advantage of berry crops at LaSalle. A number of White-crowned Sparrows have been reported this week. One was a one day wonder at a feeder near Strathcona. Down in the south of the HSA Tufted Titmice and four White-crowned Sparrows are coming into a feeder in Caledonia. That's the report for this week. Please report your sightings over this next week for our Christmas Bird Count. With this wild weather, something rare may have been pushed in. Keep your feeders stocked. Wishing you all the best this holiday season, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com _______________________________________________ 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
