The Hotline is normally revised on Thursday nights and is updated
if an unusual bird turns up in the Hamilton area. (The phone
number is 905-648-9537.)
The Bird Study Group will meet next Monday, March 15, at the
Canada Centre For Inland Waters on Eastport Drive just beside the
Skyway Bridge. This month's meeting will feature a talk and
slides on the Birds of Ecuador by George Pond, and an
identification session on Bird Silhouettes by Matt Mills. The
meeting starts at 7:30PM. Visitors are always welcome.
Well, with a solid cold snap and another bucketful of snow, it is
probably not surprising that there have been only a few bird
reports this week.
The best birds were a female KING EIDER among 200 WHITE-WINGED
SCOTERS at the Burlington Beach Canal last Friday, a dozen GRAY
PARTRIDGE seen Sunday in the snow on Highway 53 west of Brantford
Airport opposite 'Old Country Furniture', 4 WILD TURKEYS found
Monday afternoon on 1st Road West in Stoney Creek near the
Mountain Brow on the north side of the Taro Dump, and 2 HOODED
MERGANSERS found Tuesday in the Desjardins Canal.
Several hundred TUNDRA SWANS flew over Selkirk PP last Friday,
and more have been seen this week. Reports from Lakes Erie,
Ontario and St. Clair indicate large flocks of early spring ducks
including CANVASBACK, both Scaup and REDHEAD are moving into
southern Ontario. A ROSS' GOOSE was seen Tuesday east of Toronto.
Large numbers of HORNED LARKS, with a few LAPLAND LONGSPUR mixed
in, have been reported west of Hamilton. HORNED LARKS were
noticable south and north of the city, and 2 SNOW BUNTINGS were
spotted along Airport Rd. West in Mount Hope. A flock of 200
AMERICAN ROBINS was seen near Grimsby, and flocks of RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS were seen near Jarvis.
The first week of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch's 25th season
at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area on Ridge Road West along the
Escarpment above Grimsby has been slow, with only 19 RED-TAILED
HAWKS and a single SHARP-SHINNED HAWK counted. A COOPER'S HAWK
was at Dewitt Rd and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK took a MOURNING DOVE in
an Ancaster yard. Observers at the Chedoke Continuing Care Centre
watched for almost an hour while a RED-TAILED HAWK sat on the
ground feeding on a squirrel, apparently oblivious to nearby
pedestrians.
Yard reports include singing NORTHERN CARDINALS, SONG SPARROWS
and AMERICAN ROBINS in several places in our area. Two female
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were munching on suet at feeders behind
the Olympic Drive Arena on Sunday.
Winter finches are still numerous along Highway 60 in Algonquin
Park. PINE GROSBEAK, PURPLE FINCH, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, COMMON
REDPOLL, PINE SISKIN AND EVENING GROSBEAK are most common, with
some RED CROSSBILLS, GRAY JAYS, HOARY REDPOLLS, BOREAL CHICKADEES
and SPRUCE GROUSE also seen.
Early Migrants to look for in the next week include American
Woodcock which are due any day now, Killdeer at the first hint of
warm weather, and Red-Shouldered Hawks if a warm front rolls
through.
Good Birding.
Mike Street
Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
mikestreet@hwcn.org