BARROWS GOLDENEYE SLATY-BACKED GULL EASTERN PHOEBE RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET WILSON'S WARBLER
Wood Duck Northern Pintail King Eider Horned Grebe Red necked Grebe Sandhill Crane Purple Sandpiper Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Peregrine Falcon Northern Shrike Brown Creeper Winter Wren Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush Purple Finch Swamp Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Well winter listing started out on a brutal note last Sunday with freezing rain, snow and high winds making conditions impossible for most to get out. Potential winter birds like the Western Kingbird Green Heron and Red-eyed Vireo at Gairloch Gardens unfortunately were not seen. It is suspected that the Green Heron met its demise the day before. One always hopes that these lingering birds find their way south but unfortunately this is not the case. Enough of the Debbie Downer talk, we still have some excellent birds still about in the HSA. A male and female BARROWS GOLDENEYE have been seen through the week at the end of Gray's Road sometimes venturing into the end of Confederation Park. Throughout the week the SLATY-BACKED GULL has made an appearance almost daily on the ice at Mowhawk Lake in Brantford with the bird still being seen as of yesterday. Mid-day seems to be the best time to see the beast as the birds likely feed at the dump in the morning and then come to rest on the lake around the lunch hour. Reports seem to indicate that the bird generally is seen until about 3 unless spooked by a Bald Eagle. Other gulls found out there this week include Iceland, Lesser Black-backed and Glaucous Gull. For the winter listers, slim pickings, an EASTERN PHOEBE was reported at Gates of Heaven Cemetery in the meadow there on December 4th. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a consolation prize at Gairloch Gardens while looking for the lingering Red-eyed Vireo. Yesterday a WILSON'S WARBLER was confirmed at Sedgewick Park in Oakville. A yellow warbler was seen on the second but remained under the vegetation, this was likely the beast coming out to be in the full sun yesterday in the parking lot at the Jehovah's Witness which borders the park. In the odds and sods this week, two Wood Ducks were seen in the Desjardins Canal in Dundas on the second, Great Blue and Black-crowned Night-Herons can still be found at the Canal. A Northern Pintail was present yesterday around the islands at LaSalle Park. Horned and Red Necked Grebe were seen from LaSalle last Sunday. Sandhill Cranes were on the move this week with a couple of large flocks going over Hilton Falls Conservation Area. A flock of 14 birds were seen over York Road at the entrance to the RBG. An elusive Purple Sandpiper was seen briefly on the Hamilton side of the lift bridge before taking off to the east, subsequent attempts to relocate were futile. While looking at the Slaty-backed Gull at Mowhawk Lake in Brantford, a Turkey Vulture flew over likely for a visit to the dump. A juvenile Peregrine Falcon was also a bird of interest here. Peregrine Falcons were reported from downtown Hamilton and from the cement plant near Winston Churchill in Mississauga. Along the Spencer Creek trail off Cootes Drive in Dundas, a Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Swamp Sparrows and a female Red-winged Blackbird were seen yesterday. A Northern Shrike and Eastern Bluebirds were other notables at the Gates of Heaven cemetery this week. Other birds seen at Sedgewick Park in Oakville include Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush and White-throated Sparrow. A Purple Finch was notable at a feeder on Sawmill Road in Ancaster, a bird that was missed on our fall count this year and virtually no records anywhere of late. A single Fox Sparrow was seen at LaSalle Park last Saturday. Lastly, a Yellow-rumped Warbler was the only straggler found near the sewage tanks across from the Urquhart Butterfly Gardens last week, these seem to have cleared out for the season. That's the scoop for this week. Christmas Bird Counts are starting next weekend so get out and scout your local patch, send along your sightings! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC _______________________________________________ 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
