TUFTED DUCK YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Ross's Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon American Black Duck Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Canvasback Greater Scaup King Eider Harlequin Duck Common x Barrow's Goldeneye Red-throated Loon Common Loon Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Merlin Killdeer American Woodcock Snowy Owl Northern Shrike Common Raven Eastern Bluebird Lapland Longspur Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Pine Siskin
Alas spring is finally in the air or at least hope of spring. Warmer temperatures have brought in migrating waterfowl, Killdeer, American Woodcock and Blackbirds. Let's start at the top though. The TUFTED DUCK that has been around for the last couple of weeks was last seen at Windermere Basin last Saturday with no reports since. It is likely still in the area but with the Hamilton Harbour opening up to ice, it could be tricky to find but large flocks of Greater Scaup are a good place to start. A surprise sighting two days ago was of a male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD on the very edge of the HSA near Smithville. The bird was photographed at 2060 Port Davidson Road, about 3 km south of Smithville. A search yesterday did not relocate the bird. The warm weather has brought in a boat load of waterfowl. As of this evening, 11 Greater White-fronted Geese were seen on 8th Road East at dusk along with 18 Cackling Geese seen on 5th Road East. Other waterfowl seen up here in Saltfleet include, Snow Goose, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Black Duck, Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal and in the odd department a pair of Common Goldeneye. Tundra Swans have also started to move with 17 being seen on Glancaster Road just south of Fiddler's Green. I expect more will move over the weekend as fields south of here are reporting large flocks of Tundra's. A single Killdeer was seen on Wyecroft Road in Oakville. Last night, probably one of the earliest records on file of American Woodcock was reported from the traditional site on York Road (Hopkins Tract). Large groups of blackbirds including Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbirds came in on Tuesday but have since receded a bit. In the odds and sods this week, a Ross's Goose and 2 Snow Geese were seen at Bronte Harbour. Another Snow Goose was seen up near Milton on James Snow parkway between Louis St Laurent and Britannia. A good sized group of Canvasbacks were seen off Bayshore Park in Burlington, there have been very few reports this winter so likely migrants. King Eider has been seen along the west end of the lake and one was nicely photographed at 40 mile Creek in Grimsby. The female Harlequin duck continues to be seen west of the Burlington side of the Ship Canal where it has been for some weeks. The Common x Barrow's Goldeneye continues to hang out near Confederation Park. A truly significant number of Red-throated Loons (11) and Common Loons (2) were seen off LaSalle Marina last Sunday. A Turkey Vulture was seen near Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Out on the Hamilton Harbour, any floating island of ice seems to have a Bald Eagle on it. A Merlin was seen terrorizing starlings at Elfrida. Snowy Owls are still in the area with birds being seen in the Saltfleet area and three down in the vicinity of Bronte Harbour and the Suncor Pier in Oakville. Northern Shrikes were reported from Peter's Corners in Flamborough, on Green Mountain and Sixth Road East and on 10th Road East in Saltfleet. Common Ravens are likely nesters in the quarry on 10th Road East. Eastern Bluebirds are actively checking out boxes near Sawmill Road in Ancaster. A Fox Sparrow is frequenting a feeder in the same location with a group of White-crowned Sparrows. Lapland Longspurs are on the move, several smaller flocks were seen along the lakeshore with the warm weather. Pine Siskins are also on the move with a large flock of over 100 seen near 11 Concession East in Flamborough, several other flocks have been reported throughout the area including Dundas Valley. Look for a change in the landscape as temperatures rise this weekend. Get out and check the flooded fields around the area and your local patch. Eurasian Wigeon and Yellow-headed Blackbird are reachable goals. Report your sightings here. Good birding, 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
