GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE Red-throated Loon Common Loon Great Egret Broad-winged Hawk Golden Eagle Sora Virginia Rail Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Upland Sandpiper Dunlin Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern Chimney Swift Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Blue-headed Vireo House Wren Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Lapland Longspur Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Black-and-white Warbler Yellow Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Eastern Towhee Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Baltimore Oriole Purple Finch Pine Siskin
Numbers of migrants continue to grow despite too many northeast winds here in the HSA. Save it for the fall! Hopefully we are turning the corner on these cool nights. The big find of the week was a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW in Lowville marking the first record for the Hamilton Study Area. The bird occurred at a feeder near Lowville Park for a few minutes where some photos were snapped and then it moved around to Lowville Park then up the escarpment to private yards where it was heard singing just before dark. The next day the bird was heard singing again but the bird was never seen. There have been no reports since Wednesday. A late report of a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE came from Rattray Marsh last week with a bird photographed but not identified until this week. If you are out and about and photograph something you think is unique, send the photo along here. Now is the time to be wary of rare birds which have strayed from their migratory path or overshot their breeding grounds. Migrants moving in this week include an increase in the number of Common Loons on the lake. A couple Red-throated Loons were in the mix and a Pacific Loon is not all that far away from the HSA! A Great Egret was seen in the middle of the road on 11th and Green Mountain Road and then flew up and perched on a rooftop Florida style. Another was found in the quarry pond on Green Mountain between 10th and 11th Road East in Saltfleet. There was a significant increase in Broad-winged Hawks and the first Golden Eagles (a month late!) over the Waterdown Wetland at Clappisons Corners and at the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby. Sora were calling in the wetland on Safari Road last weekend and a Virginia Rail was heard at the Robertson Tract in North Halton. Spotted Sandpipers have returned in growing numbers at Windermere Basin. Three Solitary Sandpipers and a number of Wilson's Snipe were seen on 5th Road East along with a growing number of Lesser Yellowlegs. Greater Yellowlegs were in the wet area at the back of the field viewed from Ridge Road between 8th and 10th Road East. Up to 5 Upland Sandpipers were seen at South Grimsby Road 15 and Mud Street, these may have dispersed a bit by now. Dunlin and the early arriving but long-staying Short-billed Dowitcher can be seen at Windermere Basin. Bonaparte's Gulls were seen way offshore at Forty Mile Creek last weekend, too far to see if a Little Gull might be among them and too cold to care! Common Terns have arrived to battle out the Caspian Terns for nesting spots at Windermere Basin. A few more Chimney Swifts arrived although I am sure that they are not getting too much food to eat at present. Last Wednesday saw a small drop of migrants as Blue-headed Vireo, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Palm Warbler and many Yellow-rumped Warblers were arrivals at Edgelake Park. A very impressive flock (over 200) of breeding plumaged Lapland Longspurs were present yesterday on 5th Road East in the hundreds with a smaller flock seen in the same location today and on South Grimsby Road as well. . All Longspur flocks should be checked just in case a different species sneaks in there. An Ovenbird was a keen migrant three days ago at Shell Park. Yellow Warblers were seen in a few places throughout the week, their numbers expected to grow in the next days. A Black-throated Green Warbler was present at Lowville Park on Wednesday. White-crowned Sparrows have begin to creep into people's feeders this week and our first Baltimore Oriole was seen on Sunday and another on Wednesday at Edgelake Park. Lingering migrants include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (everywhere!), Hermit Thrush, Pine Warbler Eastern Towhee, Swamp and White-throated Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird. In the odds and sods this week, Iceland Gulls were seen this morning at Bronte Harbour and a Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen out at scope distance at the base of Shell Park today. Purple Finches and Pine Siskins continue to show up at feeders in the area. Its Hammer Time birders, time for us to shine in the HSA. Get out and explore your local patches and report your sightings here. If a Purple Gallinule can get to Ottawa, anything can happen. Have a great week! Good birding Cheryl Edgecombe --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
