[Ontbirds] Tufted Duck update, seen all day today at Ben Machree Park, Mississauga; https://youtu.be/yWsw0QFVXHo
https://youtu.be/yWsw0QFVXHoHi folks: Here is a video link for the Tufted Duck in South Mississauga. https://youtu.be/yWsw0QFVXHo Today it was seen by many birders/photographers all day mostly at Ben Machree Park. Off Rhododendron Park.In late afternoon it moved toward Saddington Park. It should be in the vicinity tomorrow as well.To reach Ben Machree park take QEW to Hurontario St; go south to Lakeshore Rd; turn west /right and drive a short distance to Maple or Pine, turn left to go to the lake, Ben Machree is at the bottom of Maple. Saddington Park is immediately east on a walkable path, and Rhododendron Park is immediately west of Ben Machree.You need patience and a good scope. Cheers and Good LuckLuc Fazio ___ 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
[Ontbirds] Apparent male Bufflehead x Common Goldeneye hybrid Fort Erie
Hi I’m posting this for Kevin McLaughlin who sighted an apparent male Bufflehead x Common Goldeneye hybrid from the parking lot on the Niagara River opposite the Old Fort. This is only his second sighting of this type of hybrid. Here are some notes from Kevin: " It was a moderate distance out, consorting with Bufflehead. pretty distinctive with a lot of white on the side of the head and a peaked aspect to the head as well. It was staying on either side of the parking lot, diving constantly.” Directions: Directions: Follow the QEW towards Buffalo,USA. Take the Central Ave Exit (last exit before the USA. Turn right on Central Ave, then right onto Lakeshore Rd. Park in the lot across from the Old Fort Erie historic site. Cheers Marcie Jacklin ___ 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
[Ontbirds] Hamilton Naturalists Club Birding Report - Sunday, December 17th, 2017
TUFTED DUCK NORTHERN GANNET GYRFALCON BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE NASHVILLE WARBLER YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (AUDUBON'S) BALTIMORE ORIOLE Snow Goose Cackling Goose Canada Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck American Wigeon Northern Shoveler Redhead Greater Scaup King Eider Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Horned Grebe Turkey Vulture Golden Eagle Merlin Sandhill Crane Killdeer Snowy Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike Common Raven Tufted Titmouse Horned Lark Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Brown Thrasher Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) White-throated Sparrow Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting Fox Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Evening Grosbeak It may be cold outside but the action is hot here in the Hamilton Study Area for winter birding. Let's start at the top. Yesterday on the Peel Christmas Bird Count a keen eye picked out a TUFTED DUCK in a sea of Greater Scaup just off the Lorne Park Estates in Mississauga. The group eventually moved down to Ben Machree Park and then were flushed by two Great Black-backed Gulls. The TUFTED DUCK eventually settled just outside the HSA at the end of Elmwood Drive but this morning returned to Ben Machree Park where it has spent the day. The NORTHERN GANNET made another appearance last weekend as it cruised the shoreline of Lake Ontario, being seen anywhere from Grimsby to Burlington. It also visited Hamilton Harbour briefly. It has not been reported since last weekend but could still be around. On Thursday, a dark GYRFALCON was seen terrorizing Rock Pigeons in the Southdown Road/QEW area. It was seen a few times in the afternoon but has not been seen since. Last Wednesday, a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE made a flypast at Canada Centre for Inland Waters where it continued in a southerly direction. This bird could still be on the lake. Two were photographed in the water at Hutches Restaurant around the first of the month. Sedgewick Park in Oakville continues to be a hotspot although the number of birds seem to be dropping and there is a chance that some have perished in this cold. Seen this week were the two NASHVILLE WARBLERS, AUDUBON'S YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET along with Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler, and White-throated Sparrows Lastly, on December 2nd a BALTIMORE ORIOLE was still present along the trail at Bayfront Park. Any further updates on this bird would be appreciated. The Hamilton Study area is always a great place for a variety of waterfowl this time of year. A Snow Goose made a brief visit to LaSalle Park and then scooted over to Bayfront Park for a visit. Up to 12 Cackling Geese were seen at Bronte Harbour on Thursday. A group of Tundra Swans moving through were seen over downtown Hamilton last Monday. Two male Wood Ducks are among the masses of ducks at LaSalle Marina. Waterfowl seen while looking for the TUFTED DUCK at Ben Machree Park included American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Redhead. A second year male King Eider was seen off Fifty Point on December 9th. All three scoter species can be seen peppered along the west end of the lake. A Horned Grebe was also seen briefly off Fifty Point. In the odds and sods this week a Turkey Vulture was seen over Mowhawk Road at the 403. There is usually a winter roost somewhere out in the this area. If you find it, let us know where it's at. A couple of interesting sightings of adult Golden Eagle came from Weir's Lane in the Dundas Valley and from Concession 4 west and Highway 6. A Merlin has set up winter territory again in the Strathcona neighbourhood of Hamilton at Peter and Napier. Two Sandhill Crane were seen up near Scotch Block which is at the northeast extremity of the Hamilton Study Area. A Killdeer was a good one day wonder down at Bronte Beach on Wednesday. Snowy Owl reports continue with birds being seen on the ramp to the Red Hill Expressway, on Eastport Drive and on the rocks at Van Wagner's Beach. Two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are present at a feeder in Ancaster. Northern Flicker and Pileated Woodpecker were two unexpected species on the Dofasco trail west of 8th Road East in Saltfleet. Northern Shrikes are slowly moving into the area with birds seen out near Ben Machree Park and in Waterdown this week. Common Raven was also heard near Ben Machree Park. Tufted Titmice were seen near the Hermitage in the Dundas Valley. A good spot for a winter visit is Fallsview Road in Flamborough. Here today were Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and four Lapland Longspurs. A Brown Thrasher has been reported a few times from Preservation Park in Guelph. A Fox Sparrow was an unexpected guest at a feeder in South Burlington today, keep those feeders stocked. A single Red-winged Blackbird was feeding at the Guelph Arboretum and a dozen or so were seen mid-week at a feeder near Burloak and Upper Middle in Burlington. A Common Grackl
[Ontbirds] 109th London Christmas Bird Count
Hello all, A very preliminary CBC result from about half of our 40 parties. We have about the 14th biggest participation of all Counts, with about 125 or more each year, including many feeders. With so many parties and participants, it takes a while to get them all so I will update if any other unusual birds show up. Our temperature ranged from -5 to -2 and there were snow flurries for much of the morning and overcast for much of the afternoon. The snow was deep enough to cause slow going on the walking routes. More birds than usual reported so far from feeders. Most still water was frozen and most of the side creeks and even parts of the Thames were frozen over. The open water was at Greenway, where one of our Treatment Centres is located, and in Springbank Park, and a few other areas, where the water has good flow. So a good number of common waterfowl were located, including vast numbers of Mallard and Canada Geese, thousands of each. A few Cackling Geese were reported from the Forks area. A number of high flocks of Canada Geese were noted heading southwest and a flock of 35 Snow Geese were also seen. For now, the most unusual ones include a Vesper Sparrow, seen north of London near the corner of Bear Creek Road and Vanneck Road, Middlesex County. And a Wilson's Snipe was found along the Komoka Creek west of London. A juvenile Northern Goshawk was a flyover near the Dingman Creek. Also noted were two Pintails at Springbank Park near the old Pumphouse and one in Greenway Park. Several White-crowned Sparrow were also noted here and there. A Merlin was noted south of London and another in Greenway Park. Four or five Great Blue Herons continue to linger along the Thames River. Our Bald Eagle count will be very high this year, and compiling who saw which ones will be tough, but it should approach 20 or more. We have four active nests in the Count Circle. Several large groups of 4 or 5 birds were noted from widely dispersed areas. No winter finches so far, nor any lingering blackbird species. Any more highlights will be posted from the many other parties and then will know the trends. About 60 species so far. Happy Christmas Bird Counts Pete ___ 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
[Ontbirds] Tufted Duck - Yes!
Redound off west end of Ben Machee Park at 8:20 by Owen Strickland and myself. Claude King ___ 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
[Ontbirds] South Peel CBC Preliminary Results
South Peel held its 67th Christmas Bird Count (56th using standardized Audubon protocols aka 15 mile circle) yesterday Dec 17. Approximately 18 parties with 40 participants were in the field with an additional 14 area feeders being monitored. Aside from the previously reported male Tufted Duck from the Mississauga waterfront and female type Audubon form of Yellow-rumped Warbler from Sedgewick Park in Oakville, some 70 species of bird were observed. HIghlights included multiple Snowy Owls, Tufted Titmouse, Golden Eagle and Common Grackle were observed. Snowy Owls were found mostly on the waterfront but one was found in a field near Britannia and the 8th line in Oakville. Common Grackle was along the Iroquois Shoreline (ridge that runs parallel to and north of the QEW near 4th line in Oakville. The Tufted Titmouse was visiting a feeder in Bronte location directions needs confirmation. The Tufted Duck was last seen east of the gazebo at the bottom of Hurontario St (hwy 10) hanging in with rafts of Greater Scaup. Good news is that Scaup numbers are below count averages but we are still talking numbers. Duck was initially found east of Rattray Marsh and appeared to be still moving east when last seen. Scaup this time of year are typically found in numbers starting at Humber Bay moving west. That said I am supposed to be birding Toronto Island. Previously reported Nashville Warbler was not relocated at Sedgewick Park however there were multiple Yellow-rumped Warblers found in addition to the Audubon's Warbler. -- --- Mark Cranford Toronto, ON mark.cranf...@rogers.com ___ 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
