Hello Everyone: First Cowbirds today in the Iroquoia CA. (I can't say that i missed them very much [?]) Warblers will likely soon follow...
On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 11:12 PM, Cheryl Edgecombe <cheryl...@cogeco.ca>wrote: > > > Snow Goose > Cackling Goose > Tundra Swan > Wood Duck > American Wigeon > Blue-winged Teal > Northern Shoveler > Northern Pintail > Green-winged Teal > King Eider > Red-breasted Merganser > Pied-billed Grebe > Horned Grebe > Red-necked Grebe > Turkey Vulture > Osprey > Bald Eagle > Northern Harrier > Sharp-shinned Hawk > Red-shouldered Hawk > Red-tailed Hawk > Rough-legged Hawk > Golden Eagle > Merlin > Peregrine Falcon > Sandhill Crane > Killdeer > Wilson's Snipe > American Woodcock > Little Gull > Iceland Gull > Lesser Black-backed Gull > Glaucous Gull > Snowy Owl > Eastern Phoebe > Northern Shrike > Common Raven > Tree Swallow > Red-breasted Nuthatch > Eastern Bluebird > Lapland Longspur > Chipping Sparrow > Rusty Blackbird > > > Another week of struggling to find spring here in the Hamilton Study Area > has brought in some hardy migrants but at the end of the day WHERE IS > SPRING???? Over the past week a number of migrants have forged their way > through rising and falling temperatures, icy conditions and then a melt. > Birds are backed up in a big way and when the warm temperatures persist the > flood gates will open. > > This week's highlight is not in bold but in the end, it was a spectacular > find. A full adult male King Eider was seen on the west side of LaSalle > Marina on Tuesday. Stunning photos reveal colours that could not ever be > replicated. It was a breath of fresh air to light up the spring but sadly > a > one and a bit day wonder. The bird was seen briefly on Wednesday east of > the marina but flew off and was not found again. > > Migrants coming into the area this week include a number of species of > waterfowl. A Snow Goose has been a casual guest at Windermere Basin earlier > in the week with another one seen at Trafalgar and Derry Road. Cackling > Geese seem to be migrating through the area in numbers this spring with > birds seen at 8th Line and Britannia in Mississauga, Bronte Harbour, > LaSalle > Marina, Satellite Golf Course up on Centennial and Mud Street and at 5th > Road East in Saltfleet. Flocks of Tundra Swans were seen over various > places in the Hamilton Study Area throughout the week. In the wet fields > in > Saltfleet on 3rd Road East, 5th Road East and 10th Road East, Wood Duck, > American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal (5th road east and LaSalle Marina), > Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal have been seen in > numbers with Canada Geese. Red-necked Grebes were seen off Burloak Park, > LaSalle and other areas on the west end of the lake. Killdeer continue to > grow in numbers. Wilson's Snipe have come into the traditional flooded > field on 5th Road East between Green Mountain and Mud Street. American > Woodcock have now been reported in numbers from a few areas, the Pinetum > Trail at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Windermere Basin and more than a > dozen > at the campground at the east side of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Today > two Little Gulls were seen off Bronte Harbour. Swallows were studied from > here as well with Tree Swallows gathering in numbers here. Tree Swallows > were also seen at Windermere Basin. Eastern Phoebes numbers are > increasing with birds seen at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area at the > Hawkwatch, 6th Line and Upper Middle in Oakville and at Rattray Marsh in > Mississauga. A Chipping Sparrow was a welcome yard guest and first arrival > at a feeder in east Oakville. A number of reports of Rusty Blackbirds have > come from the Saltfleet area this week mixed in with the ever arriving > Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles. Lapland Longspurs were seen and heard > rattling over Elm Tree/Kemp Road in Saltfleet last Monday. > > It's been a mixed bag up at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch this week. > Some > days have seen good numbers, some days like today a little more dismal. > Over the week, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered > and Red-tailed Hawk, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon have been reported. > Turkey > Vultures seem to still be the majority of the migrants coming through the > area. Of interest were a few Rough-legged Hawks seen in Saltfleet last > Sunday sitting as they do on tiny branches at the top of shrubs or trees. > Over the course of an hour at least 4 were seen up there. The Dark Western > Red-tailed Hawk was a highlight up there last Sunday soaring between 8th > and > 10th Road East south of Green Mountain Road. Two Golden Eagles were seen > migrating over Hilton Falls Conservation Area in North Halton. > > In the odds and sods this week, other King Eiders were seen off the > Burlington Ship Canal and at Bronte Harbour where they have been wintering. > A Pied-billed Grebe and Horned Grebe were seen at the Desjardins Canal over > the past two days. Other Horned Grebes were present at LaSalle Marina. > The > Osprey found last week at the City View Motel on York Road near the Hwy 6 > interchange on the 403 has been seen regularly. Another was seen off Fifty > Road out over the lake. Sandhill Cranes have been reported back at Grass > Lake, hard to know how far these birds roamed in the winter so could be in > the migrant section of the report. Iceland Gulls have been notable this > week with one seen today over the northeast shore of the harbour and two > more at Bronte Harbour. While looking at the adult King Eider a keen > observer was able to find, Lesser Black-backed, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls > sitting on the still frozen west harbour. While listening for Woodcock at > Bronte Creek Park, a Snowy Owl flew overhead, a reminder that this is still > a transition time. A Snowy Owl was still present mid-week at Bronte > Harbour. Common Ravens and Peregrine Falcons are each potentially nesting > in > the quarry up on 10th Road East north of Green Mountain Road with the > Peregrines looking like they are comfortable taking over the old Raven nest > from last year. Northern Shrikes were seen on 3rd Road East and at > Olympic > Arena. A reminder! All shrikes should be looked at this time of year as > Loggerhead Shrikes are early migrants. Eastern Bluebirds were seen near > the Dundas Peak and out at Glen Morris. > > A highlight for me this week was coming across a Red-breasted Merganser > sitting in the middle of someone's lawn about a block from the lake. Tired > from migration or knocked down by something, the bird was not injured but > sure looked funny as a lawn ornament. > > Who knows what could have come in from this southern system. When the > weather clears, take a run out to look for migrants. Please send your > sightings here! > > Good birding, > Cheryl Edgecombe > HNC. > > > --- > This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus > protection is active. > http://www.avast.com > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Hamilton > Birders email group. > To post to this group, send email to hamiltonbi...@googlegroups.com > To reply to the group, click Reply-all. To reply to the individual who > wrote the email, click Reply. > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to > hamiltonbirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/hamiltonbirds?hl=en?hl=en > -- Many thanks, Wayne R.W. Bullock, MD,CCFP(EM) Emergency Physician, Hamilton Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, McMaster University This information is directed in confidence solely to the person named above and may not otherwise be distributed, copied or disclosed. This information should be considered strictly confidential. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately via return email. Thank you for your assistance. _______________________________________________ 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
