Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) weekly bird sightings report, Saturday, March 28, 2020 Highlights: LITTLE GULL, FISH CROW, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, WILSON'S WARBLER Other species mentioned: Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Horned Grebe, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Wilson's Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, Bonaparte's Gull, Iceland Gull, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Golden Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Snowy Owl, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, Field Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler. It goes without saying that we are in unprecedented times. Birding has been affected as has all aspects of our lives. Many of the parks and natural areas that we frequent have been closed to the public. Meanwhile spring migration is well underway with new arrivals appearing daily. Birders will no doubt still get out. Please do so while respecting restrictions by local, provincial and national agencies and social distancing protocols, in particular if chasing rarities. The highlight this week in the Hamilton Study Area (HSA) was a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE first found on Mar 22 and seen daily since Mar 25 at a hydro corridor in Clarkson on the east side of Southdown Rd north of Hindhead Rd, often feeding on berries in bushes on the north side of the corridor near Southdown Rd. A public trail runs through the hydro corridor. Migrant waterfowl highlights included collections of ducks at inland waterbodies that are now ice-free. At Valens C.A. reservoir on Mar 22, 415 Ring-necked Ducks were counted along with smaller numbers of Redhead, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, 49 Hooded Mergansers and 168 Common Mergansers. On Mar 26 at the Grimsby Wetlands, the north DND pond held small numbers of Northern Shoveler, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck and 5 American Coots. Yesterday at the Hagersville quarry ponds, the first 2 Blue-winged Teal were found along with a few American Wigeon, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Hooded and Common Merganser and Ruddy Duck. On Mar 26, at least 26 Wood Ducks were in the Hendrie Valley's South Pasture Swamp pond. A flock of 27 Gadwall were noted flying over a Stoney Creek yard on Mar 21. Ten Horned Grebes were on Hamilton Harbour off Bayshore Park on Mar 26. Three Sandhill Cranes were seen at Grass Lake north of Glen Morris on Mar 21. A Wilson's Snipe was seen and heard at 5th Rd E north of Green Mt. Rd on Mar 26; numbers of this species here will build up here over the next few weeks. An early Lesser Yellowlegs was in a flooded field on River Rd off Fawcett Rd in south Brantford on Mar 22. Also early, an adult LITTLE GULL was with two Bonaparte's Gulls on the lake off Grays Rd on Mar 23. Another Bonaparte's Gull was at Bronte Harbour on Mar 26. An adult Iceland Gull was at Oakville Harbour on Mar 26. The first Ospreys of the year were seen yesterday at the Grand River at Glenhyrst Gardens in Brantford, at Bayfront Park in Hamilton and along the Escarpment above Grimsby. While the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer Memorial C.A. has been shut down for the rest of the season, raptors can still be seen migrating along the escarpment and other places. Turkey Vultures were noted migrating in large numbers along the QEW in Stoney Creek on Mar 26 and over Dundas on Mar 27. Yesterday, an informal count above Grimsby tallied 1022 Turkey Vultures, 42 Red-shouldered Hawks, and a Golden Eagle amongst others. Snowy Owls likely on their way north were noted earlier in the week at the QEW near Third Line in Oakville on Mar 22, at Bronte Harbour on Mar 23, and at the end of the Bronte Suncor Pier from Mar 23-27. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was at the Spencer Creek Trail in Dundas on Mar 25. The other passerine highlight this week was a record early NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW found at a pond at the Erindale Campus of the University of Toronto on Mississauga Rd on Mar 21-22. More expected were five Tree Swallows at the Grimsby Wetlands on Mar 26. Returning Eastern Phoebes were noted at the stormwater ponds on Great Lakes Blvd near the Sheldon Creek Path on Mar 26, at the Grand River Trail at Glenhyrst Gardens in Brantford on Mar 27, and above the Escarpment in Grimsby on Mar 27. FISH CROWS continued to be found in numbers along the Burlington and Oakville lakeshore areas. Migrant Golden-crowned Kinglets were noted on Mar 26 in Burlington and Mar 27 in Dundas and Oakville. Part of an earlier than typical return of Ruby-crowned Kinglets into southern Ontario since mid-Mar were birds at the Spencer Creek Trail in Dundas on Mar 25, the Great Lakes Blvd stormwater pond on Mar 26, and a continuing bird at Sedgewick Forest Park in Oakville Mar 21-27. A Hermit Thrush was at Wilkes Dam in Brantford on Mar 27. Another overwintering Gray Catbird was found along the Spencer Creek Trail on Mar 25, while the continuing bird in the Hendrie Valley was noted Mar 25-26. Winter finches on their return north were noted on Mar 27 with single Pine Siskins appearing at feeders in Ancaster and Bronte, and several Purple Finches at a NE Flamborough feeder. Returning sparrows included a Chipping Sparrow at a Stoney Creek yard Mar 27, singing Field Sparrows at City View Park in Burlington on Mar 24 and at Paddy Green Rd in Ancaster on Mar 27, and two Fox Sparrows in a west Hamilton Mountain yard Mar 26-27. A Rusty Blackbird was at the Vineland Swamp along 5th Rd E on Mar 24. Two overwintering Yellow-rumped Warblers were along the Spencer Creek Trail Mar 25-27. And finally, the long-staying WILSON'S WARBLER remained at Sedgewick Forest Park all this week. That's the news for the past week. Please report your sightings to the local (and provincial if warranted) email listserves. Rob Dobos, Hamilton Naturalists' Club. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus