SLATY-BACKED GULL EURASIAN-COLLARED DOVE FISH CROW RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET GRAY CATBIRD ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER NASHVILLE WARBLER OVENBIRD HOODED WARBLER EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Cackling Goose Harlequin Duck Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Black-crowned Night Heron Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Merlin Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl Short-eared Owl Tufted Titmouse Hermit Thrush Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Yellow-rumped Warbler Well 2018 ends off with a bang here in the Hamilton Study Area. The top of the list is again filled with great birds and we look forward to them continuing into the new year. The two SLATY-BACKED GULLS have been more difficult to see these days as the access to the dump for birders has been terminated. Nonetheless, lurking outside the dump or standing watch at Mowhawk Lake has proven fruitful for birders who have ventured to Brantford and at least one SLATY-BACKED GULL was seen in flight yesterday. The EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES were seen on the Hamilton Christmas bird count and were reported at least up until the day before yesterday. They are likely still around and I'm sure will be checked on tomorrow for the 2019 tick of the year. A single FISH CROW was seen and heard on the Hamilton CBC on Woodward Ave near the sewage treatment plant. The Fab Five continue at Sedgewick with RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, ORANGE-CROWNED (3), NASHVILLE, HOODED and Yellow-rumped Warbler all being seen this week. At one point all of the birds were along the fence line providing an excellent study of size differences and it was really neat to see the group all at once. A Hermit Thrush is an extra bonus. Another ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen and photographed behind McMaster in Hamilton this week. Christmas counts are always good for digging out birds. On count day two GRAY CATBIRDS were seen, one at Mount Albion Conservation Area which has been seen previously and another near Lake Street in Stoney Creek. There were two OVENBIRD sightings this week both in yards that are inaccessible at this time. A bird in Port Credit has been seen sporadically since November and was last seen on December 27th. Another bird was seen in a yard in Cambridge. It's important to keep your feeders out and stocked particularly suet feeders as some of these insectivores rely on suet to get them through the rough patches. Lastly an EASTERN MEADOWLARK found last week was reseen on December 28th and again yesterday at the west end of Heritage Green Park up on 1st Road east in Stoney Creek. In the odds and sods this week, Cackling Goose reports come from 8th Road East and 5th Road East in Saltfleet. There seem to be a growing number of Canada Geese to check through. Two Harlequin Ducks were seen on December 22nd along Bayfront Park. A Common Loon and up to 3 Red-necked Grebes were seen on the Hamilton Harbour this week. Two Black-crowned Night Herons were seen at the Red Hill Outlet yesterday. An adult and a juvenile Bald Eagle continue to scout the area around Cootes Paradise. A wintering Red-shouldered Hawk was seen across from the Nestle plant in Aberfoyle, one has wintered up here for a number of years. Merlin reports come from Walker's Line and New Street area, Lake Street in Stoney Creek and Maltby Road up near Guelph. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and immature Glaucous Gull were mixed in with the gulls down at Pier 4 park in Hamilton. Snowy Owl sightings continue to rise with birds being seen at the 40 mile creek Pier, on Hwy 6 south south of Hagersville, on the islands at Eastport Drive, Bronte Harbour and two seen together at Canada Centre for Inland Waters on count day. A Short-eared Owl was seen cruising the roads on the east side of 10th Road east south of the tracks between Ridge and Green Mountain Road on Boxing Day. Tufted Titmouse was reported on the Hamilton Count from Ancaster area, likely near the Dundas Valley. An Eastern Towhee was seen along the old Martin Road trail in the Dundas Valley yesterday. Another good count find was a Chipping Sparrow in a flock of Juncos at Woodland Cemetery. Lastly White-crowned Sparrows were seen at the Brantford Dump (up to 6) and a single bird was seen a couple of times in the parking lot at the Desjardins Canal. That's the news to wrap up the year. All the best in 2019! Happy New Year. 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
