GREATER WHITE FRONTED GOOSE NEOTROPIC CORMORANT CHIMNEY SWIFT YELLOW PALM WARBLER
Tundra Swan American Wigeon Blue-winged Teal Northern Pintail Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Sandhill Crane Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Wilson's Snipe American Woodcock Bonaparte's Gull Iceland Gull Common Tern Forster's Tern Snowy Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Eastern Towhee American Tree Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Rusty Blackbird What a wild and wacky weather week it's been. North winds early in the week switching to strong south winds yesterday. It has been an interesting week for migrants and some great birds have turned up in the HSA!. Starting with the rarities, one of the best finds of the week was a group of over 50 GREATER WHITE FRONTED GEESE in a field on Highway 6 near Hagersville. This shatters the record for this species in the Hamilton Study Area. Unfortunately, the glory was short lived as the flock took off within an hour of being reported. The NEOTROPIC CORMORANT in the spotlight last week, continued into this week and was last reported Thursday. It was likely there on Friday but extreme winds made for treacherous viewing conditions out in the open yesterday. An extreme record date was set last Saturday with a CHIMNEY SWIFT, likely unhappy the next day that it made the journey so quickly. The bird was seen in with a group of Tree Swallows off Bronte Bluffs. Lastly, a YELLOW PALM WARBLER was seen yesterday at the same location that the Harris Sparrow was found earlier this year along the Sheldon Creek Trail in Oakville. New migrants this week include Great Egret at Bronte Marsh, Spotted Sandpiper at Windermere Basin, Greater Yellowlegs at 10th Road East in a pond in the corner on the east side near the tracks between Ridge and Green Mountain, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cootes Paradise, Wilson's Snipe in greater numbers on 5th Road East between Powerline and Green Mountain, Bonaparte's Gulls at Valley Inn yesterday, Common Tern (early date) at Bronte Harbour, Forsters Tern (2 seen yesterday) at Bronte Harbour, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and good numbers of Northern Flickers (various reports throughout the HSA), Eastern Phoebe (3 at Princess Point) Purple Martin and Northern Rough winged Swallow at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch, Northern Rough winged Swallow at Valley Inn, Cliff Swallow at Bronte Harbour, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Brown Thrasher at Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch, Hermit Thrush at various locations, Eastern Towhee at Edgelake Park and Confederation Park, Chipping, Field, Vesper, Savannah, Song Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow at various locations including multiples hunkered down in the wind at Confederation Park and lastly Fox Sparrow at Lowville Park and also at Confederation Park. The Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch has had some tough going this week. Likely counters would have to be tethered to the tower yesterday. Raptors continue to move through though despite all sorts of winds. This week saw the continuation of Turkey Vulture migration. I wouldn't be surprised if a Black Vulture snuck its way up yesterday so keep eyes to the sky. Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Sharp-shinned and Coopers Hawk made up the bulk of the pack this week. Common Loon, Sandhill Cranes in addition to the migrants listed above were some bonus features here this week. In the odds and sods this week, a group of 10 Tundra Swans were seen early in the week at LaSalle Marina, these have almost completed their migration through the area. American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Pintail were seen in the flooded field on Middletown Road near Fourth Concession West. A Pied-billed Grebe was seen at Bayfront Park earlier in the week. A count of 21 Horned Grebes was a good sighting near Bayfront yesterday. Red-necked Grebes continue to grow in numbers along the lakeshore. An American Woodcock was flushed yesterday in Confederation Park, fighting the wind to find a place to become hidden again. A Snowy Owl was tucked in on the path at Windermere Basin yesterday. Lastly, American Tree Sparrow and Dark-eyed Juncos were part of the groups of birds moving at Confederation park yesterday, making an exit after a long winter. Today and tomorrow will be spectacular for migrants, get out there and enjoy the spring. Report your sightings here, thank you to all who are keeping me in the loop. 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. 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