On Friday, August 9th, 2013, this is the HNC birding report: Green-winged Teal Redhead Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Ruddy Duck Common Loon Great Egret Osprey Virginia Rail Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Solitary Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Ruddy Turnstone Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Bonaparte's Gull Yellow-billed Cuckoo Great Horned Owl Chimney Swift Least Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Yellow Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Scarlet Tanager Baltimore Oriole This week's activity has picked up a slight notch as winds are starting to blow from the northwest occasionally and for the most part breeding is over. The highlights this week continue to come from Windermere Basin located off Eastport Drive just east of the RV Outdoor World. A scope is necessary to view birds here and even at this, the smaller peeps are a stretch. Reported from here this week though were Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Least, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher. The mix changes daily and hourly depending on when you come. The lighting is best in the early morning, late afternoon looks into the sun. Another place for shorebirds is North Island off Eastport Drive, the northernmost island in the chain that strings along from Canada Centre for Inland Waters. Here this week were Semipalmated Plover, Pectoral, Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper. To round out shorebirds, a couple of Solitary Sandpipers were seen at Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle. Migration of songbirds has started as well. Last weekend at Woodland Cemetery, Yellow Warbler, Scarlet Tanager and Baltimore Oriole were notable migrants. As the winds were northwest streams of mostly Bank and Barn Swallows streamed by in numbers. I expect with winds tomorrow being from the northwest there will be another push of swallows and swifts. Shoreacres/Paletta Park in Burlington had a couple migrants this week. Birds seen here in the week included a stately Great Horned Owls, Chimney Swift, Least Flycatcher (likely migrant), Eastern Phoebe, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. At Princess Point in Hamilton an estimate of approximately 20 Yellow Warblers were seen as well as a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a significant early record for this species. A Great Egret was seen off the point in the Dundas Marsh. In the odds and sods this week, Green-winged Teal and Redhead were seen at Tollgate Ponds. The Common Goldeneye continues to be seen off Eastport Drive near the CCIW islands. Of note, 6 Common Loons were seen from the end of Green Road in Stoney Creek. A Great Egret with silver metal bands on it was seen at a stormwater pond near Joshua Creek in Oakville last weekend. A few Bonaparte's Gulls were seen from Green Road in Stoney Creek and off Fifty Point Conservation Area. Three were noted on the Harbour amongst Common Terns. Common Tern numbers are increasing rapidly in Hamilton Harbour, perhaps a point of gathering for migration. Virginia Rail and Yellow-billed Cuckoo were birds of note at Kerncliffe Park in Burlington. A single Sandhill Crane was seen in a field west of Highway 6 and north of Unity Road. Four Osprey were seen along the Grand River near Paris. Others were noted near Green lane wetland in Paris ready to fledge. A number of Chimney Swifts were flying along the river here. The landscape will change here in the next week as northwest winds come in for the weekend and the warblers will start to move. Please send your sightings along so that I can keep the people happy. Cheers, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC