Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) weekly bird sightings report, Saturday, November 30, 2019 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE GREEN HERON PURPLE SANDPIPER SPOTTED SANDPIPER WESTERN KINGBIRD RED-EYED VIREO BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER Wood Duck King Eider Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Lesser Black-backed Gull Red-throated Loon Common Loon Red-shouldered Hawk Short-eared Owl Northern Shrike Gray Catbird Chipping Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Yellow-rumped Warbler This past week saw mild temperatures on Nov 26 followed by strong southerly winds the next day and colder conditions since then. For those into winter listing, which starts on December 1, they remain hopeful that a number of unusually late birds will hang in until then. However, the forecast for possible freezing rain or ice pellets and snow in the Hamilton area tomorrow may put a damper on things. The WESTERN KINGBIRD at Canal Park/Urquhart Butterfly/Desjardins Canal in Dundas was last reported on Nov 26 at Martino Park on the north side of King St next to the Dundas Sewage Treatment Plant. Unfortunately, searches for it since then have not been successful. The late lingering GREEN HERON at the Desjardins Canal is still present as of today, but it has moved farther east on the canal to the east side of Olympic Dr. Other birds in the canal here include 3 Wood Ducks amongst about 50 Hooded Mergansers. Two Yellow-rumped Warblers were near the Dundas Sewage Treatment Plant today. At Sedgewick Park in Oakville, the immature female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was seen up to Nov 26, but the other rare stragglers here have not been reported this week. A BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER was found at the McMaster University Campus on Nov 27, an excellent find. A very late RED-EYED VIREO remained at Gairloch Gardens on Lakeshore Rd in Oakville up to Nov 28, as well as a Chipping Sparrow there. Along the lakeshore, among the large numbers of diving ducks off Stoney Creek a male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE continues to be seen up to today usually off Grays Rd or Confederation Park. An immature male King Eider continues at the lake end of the Burlington Ship Canal up to today. A PURPLE SANDPIPER was briefly seen flying of the edge of the south pier of the Burlington Ship Canal on Nov 28 but searches for it along the shoreline nearby did not turn it up. Small numbers of Red-throated Loon, Common Loon and Horned Grebe can still be found along the lakeshore, while a Red-throated Loon was on the harbour off LaSalle Marina Nov 28. Two Pied-billed Grebes continue on the harbour at Bayfront Park on Nov 25 with one there on Nov 29. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was on the harbour off Pier 4 Park Nov 25. A very late SPOTTED SANDPIPER was found on Nov 29 at the Preston Sewage Treatment Plant outflow into the Grand River in Cambridge, just within the Hamilton Study Area. A Short-eared Owl was seen flying at dusk on Nov 28 at the fields north of Lakeshore Rd at Winston Churchill Blvd at the Oakville/Mississauga border. A Gray Catbird was seen at the very east end of Confederation Park along Grays Rd on Nov 25. Another Gray Catbird was found at the Grimsby Wetlands on Nov 26. A Northern Shrike has returned to the Vinemount Meadows Sanctuary area in Saltfleet along the Dofasco Trail at 10th Rd E as of Nov 26. Three White-crowned Sparrows were also found here. A Red-shouldered Hawk was over Hwy 8 and Kelson Ave in Grimsby on Nov 24. That's the news for this week, Rob Dobos, Hamilton Naturalists' Club.