BARROW'S GOLDENEYE EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE EASTERN PHOEBE RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET GRAY CATBIRD LINCOLN'S SPARROW PINE GROSBEAK EVENING GROSBEAK ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER NASHVILLE WARBLER PALM WARBLER COMMON YELLOWTHROAT HOODED WARBLER
King Eider Barrows x Common Goldeneye Wild Turkey Red-necked Grebe Black-crowned Night Heron Turkey Vulture Red-shouldered Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl Barred Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Common Raven Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Purple Finch Pine Siskin Yellow-rumped Warbler We are still finding some great birds here in the Hamilton Study area despite the changing conditions and cold weather setting in. It will be interesting to see what transpires the next week or so as the deep freeze hits us. As always let's start at the top. A female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was a great find on the Peach Tree Christmas count on January 5th. A trained eye picked up the bird fairly close to shore with some other Common Goldeneye and many in the HSA were able to come out and see a bird not easy to identify. Also along the Stoney Creek shoreline during that count 2 Common x Barrow's Goldeneye Hybrids, an adult King Eider at Fifty Point and a Red-necked Grebe. The EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES located on Ferguson Ave in Hamilton were last reported Tuesday, any further updates would be appreciated. An EASTERN PHOEBE was found on Thursday at the hydro cut at the Credit River just north of the 403. Access is from west side (Leslie Log House) or east (Hewick Meadows). The bird was not located later that day but likely has a wide range here and with the cold keeps low where insects might be. A GRAY CATBIRD was seen at the Merrick Orchard parking lot in the Dundas Valley today. A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was a new find this week first seen Friday and then yesterday. It is along the Hamilton to Brantford rail trail about 150 m east of Papple Rd. adjacent to a large Pond north of the trail, Two female Brown-headed Cowbirds were seen there today but no Lincoln's Sparrow. PINE GROSBEAKS have finally made it to the Hamilton Study area where the most reliable sightings were on the South Ring Road at the University of Guelph. A half dozen birds were seen yesterday in Puslinch at Deer View Ridge and Fox Run Drive. An EVENING GROSBEAK was somewhat reliable for a few days this past week at the Riverwood Conservancy on Burnamthorpe Drive in Mississauga. There have been no reports in the last few days so perhaps it moved on. Five birds were seen briefly at a feeder in Flamborough but did not return. This is just a reminder to keep those feeders filled! Other new finds this week were from Bronte East Campground accessed off of Upper Middle Road in Oakville. This week within the campground a PALM WARBLER was seen near Campsite 411 and a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was heard in the marshy cattails near the south end of the park. Lastly the Fab Five winter warriors are still holding on at Sedgewick Park. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (2), ORANGE-CROWNED (2), NASHVILLE, HOODED and Yellow-rumped Warbler continue to be seen up until today. Upcoming temperatures will be hard on these little creatures, would be nice to get an air drop of meal worms in and around the tanks. Other birds seen there include Winter Wren, Golden-Crowned Kinglet and Hermit Thrush. In the odds and sods this week, a King Eider is fairly reliable at the Suncor Pier in Oakville. Wild Turkeys were seen on Binkley Road today and have been reported frequently on York Road. An adult and an immature Black-crowned Night Heron seem to have taken up residence at the Red Hill Creek outlet. Turkey Vultures have popped up (better in warm weather) around Dundas and out toward Copetown. There is likely a roost somewhere along this stretch. A Red-shouldered Hawk was a nice surprise on Hwy 6 north (Gordon Street) just near Aberfoyle. A Rough-legged Hawk was seen near Garden Ave in Brantford, not too many of these around this winter. Iceland and Glaucous Gulls were seen on Mowhawk Lake in Brantford yesterday. Snowy Owls are still around with one at Bronte Harbour yesterday. Barred Owls seem to have moved into the area with a bird in South Burlington as a one day wonder and others seen in the Dundas Valley. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker made a brief appearance at a yard bordering the Dundas Valley today in Ancaster. Common Ravens were reported by Fenwood Farms west of Ancaster, two doing a courtship display just north of Woodland Cemetery last weekend. An Eastern Towhee was found on the Peachtree count last weekend. It's in the drainage ditch that borders the north side of the North Service Rd east of Green Rd - park at the east end of Frances Ave and walk across the weedy field to the ditch. A White-crowned Sparrow was also found along with the Towhee. A Chipping Sparrow is hanging with a bunch of Juncos at the west end of Woodland Cemetery. More White-crowned Sparrows were seen at the Mountain View Cemetery in Stoney Creek. Today a Red-winged Blackbird was seen in a yard near Bronte Creek and Rebecca. A Common Grackle was another good find on the Peach Tree count at Fifty Road and the North Service Road. A Fox Sparrow and female type Purple Finch are coming into a feeder in the Dundas Valley along with a roving flock of Pine Siskins. That's the news for this week. Colder temperatures will move birds around. Keep your feeders stocked and put out suet. Cold weather is not great for lingering birds. Have a great week. Cheryl Edgecombe HNC _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. 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