CINNAMON TEAL FISH CROW Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Eastern Whip-poor-will Common Gallinule Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Whimbrel Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Dunlin Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Little Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull American Bittern Least Bittern Great Egret Broad-winged Hawk Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Willow FLycatcher Least Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Marsh Wren Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush Clay-colored Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Black-and-white Warbler Tennessee Warbler Connecticut Warbler Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Scarlet Tanager
Migration was slightly slower this week as is typical of the latter part of May. Shorebirds were in the news big-time over the weekend. We will start with the top of the list where lightning struck again for the birder who found us the Black-legged Kittiwake and Yellow Rail this spring. A pair of CINNAMON TEAL were seen just east of the Suncor Pier on Monday, just a little after 7 p.m. which was difficult for people to see before the sun set. They did not resurface the next morning but again, what a spectacular find. FISH CROWS just continue to be in the news all spring here in the HSA with two individuals being seen at Bronte Harbour and 5 seen yesterday over Fifty Point. One was seen earlier in the week at this location. As stated, shorebirds were in the news particularly over the weekend. Birds moved in droves down the shoreline yesterday with numbers in the thousands. Flocks consisted mostly of Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers but mixed into a flock that landed at Burloak Park was a Willet, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover. Whimbrel were moving as well throughout the week with small flocks reported from Bronte, Saddington Park and individuals seen at the Suncor Pier and Burloak Park. One individual was seen flying past Confederation Park. With water levels at a record high, there are no places for birds to land along the shore however, mid week a Red Knot was seen along the shore at Confederation Park with Dunlin and Ruddy Turnstones. Four Red Knots were seen flying past Saddington Park in Mississauga yesterday. Ruddy Turnstones have been reported at various places along the shore of the lake all week with Oakville Harbour holding the most of 22 on the breakwall on the west side of the harbour. Finally, the water is coming down at Windermere Basin enough to provide shorebird habitat. Yesterday, Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstone were seen here. The field on 8th Road East is still flooded with Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers present there on Thursday. The woodlots were still full of migrants this past week. Places reported from include Forty Mile Creek in Grimsby, Woodland Cemetery, Shoreacres/Paletta and Sherwood Forest Park in Burlington, Shell Park, South Shell Park and Bronte Bluffs in Oakville, Princess Point in Hamilton, Rock Chapel in Flamborough and the banding station at Ruthven. Migrants noted this week include Olive-sided Flycatcher (Rock Chapel, Sherwood Forest Park), Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied, Alder, Willow and Least FLycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo (Sassafras Point near Princess Point, Ruthven), Blue-headed, Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireo, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's and Wood Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow (South Shell Park), Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-White, Tennessee (in big numbers), Connecticut (Princess Point), Mourning Warbler (Bronte Bluffs, Shoreacres), Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Cape May Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Bay-breasted (in numbers), Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, Palm, Yellow=rumped, Black-throated Green, Canada and Wilson's Warbler and a number of Scarlet Tanagers. As you can see there was still a mix of early and late migrants. In the odds and sods this week, Yellow and Black-billed Cuckoos were heard on territory in Flamborough yesterday. A group of 22 Common Nighthawks were seen over Valens last Tuesday and another two over Bronte Creek. An Eastern Whip-poor-will was heard at Bronte Creek Provincial Park late week. Yesterday at the Safari Road Wetland, American Bittern and Common Gallinule were heard. Earlier in the week at Valens a chorus of American and Least Bittern, Common Gallinule were heard at Valens Conservation Area. Another Great Egret was seen in the odd place on Concession 7 up in north Flamborough in a bog. Down at Oakville Harbour, a number of Bonaparte's Gulls seem to be summering here. Amongst them are an adult and 2 first summer Little Gulls. A Lesser Black-backed Gull has been seen on and off on the Bronte Pier. A late flight of Broad-winged Hawks were seen from the tower at Valens yesterday and below the tower two Marsh Wrens were skulking about. It's not over yet so get out to the local patch to look for oddities. If you see a BROWN PELICAN along the lakeshore, please post immediately ask it to settle into the HSA for others to see. We were jipped last week when a BROWN PELICAN totally skipped the Hamilton Study area flying across the lake over to Jordan Harbour from just past Sunnyside beach, rather rude of it not to come in and say hello. Perhaps it will come to its senses and return. That's the news for this week, sorry for the late report. 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. 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