PACIFIC LOON NORTHERN GANNET BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE WHITE-EYED VIREO RED-EYED VIREO BLUE-HEADED VIREO RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET NASHVILLE WARBLER YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (AUDUBON'S) PALM WARBLER BALTIMORE ORIOLE
Ross's Goose Canada Goose Cackling Goose Cackling x Greater White-fronted Goose Wood Duck King Eider Red-throated Loon Common Loon Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Snowy Owl Winter Wren Hermit Thrush American Pipit Pine Siskin There is alot to talk about in the Hamilton Study Area now that winter listing season is here. Let's get to our rarities first though. Last weekend and again yesterday and today a PACIFIC LOON was seen well from Beachway Park in Burlington. This particular individual seen yesterday was a juvenile but there is a possibility that another bird may be present at this end of the lake. The NORTHERN GANNET was last seen on Monday in Hamilton Harbour invited to a feeding frenzy there. Today a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was seen on the water with some gulls in front of Hutches Restaurant at VanWagners Beach around 2:30 today. The WHITE-EYED VIREO seen for some days this week, made its exit with the RED-EYED VIREO, both were last seen on Wednesday at Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington. Although not yet a separate species, a nice surprise for this birder was the discovery of an AUDUBON'S YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, seen around the sewage tanks with a group of Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warblers at our favourite winter warbler spot Sedgewick Park in Oakville. Comments welcome privately on this bird, most I have received deem it a pure Audubons but on the fence about being a hatch year male or female. Now that its December winter listing has started for some and there are some choice birds for the taking for winter listers here. Besides the birds mentioned above, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, NASHVILLE AND PALM WARBLER are all present at Sedgewick Park in Oakville. A BLUE-HEADED VIREO was reported last Tuesday and could resurface once temperatures drop mid-week. Another great winter bird is a BALTIMORE ORIOLE seen along the waterfront trail accessed at Bayfront Park. The bird has been hanging around the 1600 m mark. Other notable winter birds include a male Wood Duck at LaSalle Park in Burlington, a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron seen yesterday along the creek at Shoreacres/Paletta Park, a Winter Wren was singing at Shoreacres today, Hermit Thrush, one in Sedgewick Park and three in Hyde Tract in Flamborough and a group of three American Pipits seen in McMaster Forest today. In the odds and sods, geese are in the news. A selection of goose species has been seen at the Hagersville Quarry Ponds with Ross's, Snow, Cackling and a Hybrid (Cackling x White-front) present there mid week. Two Blue-morph Snow Geese were seen at the pond just east of William Dam Seeds on old Highway 8 west of Greensville. Other Snow Geese were seen near Hwy #8 and Glover rd in Stoney Creek and on Shellard rd just south of old Beverly rd. A female King Eider was seen at the end of Green Road yesterday. In addition to the PACIFIC LOON, Red-throated and Common Loons still seem to be around. Snowy Owls are still very much in the news with birds seen on the QEW at Casablanca, two seen at QEW and 50 Road, one seen at Burlington St, one on the berm at Tollgate Pond today, two at Canada Centre for Inland Waters on Thursday and one at the end of the Burlington Pier. Although most have moved through, a single Pine Siskin has been hanging with the American Goldfinches at Shoreacres/Paletta in Burlington. We are doing a Hamilton Winter Bird List for this season here in the Hammer. Kindly email in your sightings here so we can put them on the list to see how our winter fares. Happy Winter Listing, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
