Hamilton Naturalists’ Club (HNC) weekly bird sightings report, Saturday, January 11, 2020 KING EIDER BARROW’S GOLDENEYE VIRGINIA RAIL WILSON’S WARBLER Snow Goose American Wigeon Northern Pintail Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe Iceland Gull “Thayer’s” Gull Glaucous Gull Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Northern Harrier Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Snowy Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Shrike Horned Lark Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush Gray Catbird Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Things have been relatively quiet in the Hamilton Study Area over the past two weeks. Weather has been variable since the beginning of January but mostly on the mild side. Birding activity was fairly high on January 4 with many participating in the Peach Tree Christmas Bird Count, and on January 1 as birders started their new year lists for 2020. At this time of year waterfowl are one of the main attractions locally with large numbers of diving ducks wintering on Hamilton Harbour and along the lakeshores off Stoney Creek and Burlington. Amongst these, a female KING EIDER has been regular at the harbour end of the Burlington Ship Canal next to the Canada Centre of Inland Waters since late December up to present. The female BARROW’S GOLDENEYE off Grays Rd was last reported on Jan 3 but not since. Puddle ducks of note include a male and female Northern Pintail lingering at LaSalle Marina, and a female American Wigeon at the Desjardins Canal in Dundas. Singles of Pied-billed, Horned and Red-necked Grebes were on the north shore of the harbour east of LaSalle Park on Jan 7, while 2 more Horned Grebes were in the NE corner of the Harbour that day. Red-necked Grebes were off South Shell Park in Bronte on Jan 3 and near Fifty Point C.A. Jan 4. A blue morph Snow Goose was at the Tim Hortons Onondaga Camp on Glen Morris Rd east of Hwy 24 on Jan 4. With the heavy rains and mild temperatures with southerly winds over the next day or so, these conditions often bring “early spring migrant” waterfowl into the area, so a search afterwards of flooded fields may turn up some newly arrived puddle ducks or geese. An exciting find was of 2 over-wintering VIRGINIA RAILS at the small cattail marsh in the old quarry at Kerncliff Park on Kerns Rd in Burlington on Jan 3 and are likely still present. An adult Iceland Gull was off Stoney Creek lakeshore on Jan 4, while 2 first year birds were at Mohawk Lake in Brantford and 1 at the west Harbour off Pier 4 Park on Jan 9. A first year “Thayer’s” Iceland Gull has been found at the Brantford landfill up to Jan 4 at least. Two Glaucous Gulls were off Pier 4 Park on Jan 9. A Great Blue Heron flew over 10th Rd E just south of Ridge Rd at dusk on Jan 4. A kettle of 19 Turkey Vultures were seen south of Smithville on Grimsby Rd 16, an area where they have been wintering for a number of years now. Also found south of Smithville on Jan 4 were a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk and 3 Northern Harriers. Five Northern Harriers were seen at Mulligan Rd north of Middleport on Jan 1. An adult Bald Eagle was over SW Oakville on Jan 2. With few reports so far in the Hamilton area this winter, a Snowy Owl was seen on Jan 4 at Green Mt. Rd and 10th Rd E. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker appeared again at a feeder in east Dundas on Jan 3. The immature male WILSON’S WARBLER remains up to present at Sedgewick Forest Park in Oakville, along with at least 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet. A few Northern Shrikes have been reported regularly including 1 at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery off Snake Rd in Aldershot, and 1 at 10th Rd E near the Dofasco Trail. Another was at Conc 4 west of Middletown Rd at the Olympia Trailer Park on Jan 1. A flock of about 20 or so Horned Larks were on Falls View Rd west of Sydenham Rd on Jan 1. Eastern Bluebirds were reported at several sites including the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Ridge Rd in Grimsby, McMaster Forest, and the Slote Rd Wetland near Copetown. A Hermit Thrush was at the Wilkes Dam in Brantford on Jan 8. The 2 Gray Catbirds remain up to present at the east side of Confederation Park off Grays Rd. Another Gray Catbird was found at McMaster Forest on Jan 1. An Eastern Towhee was at Windermere Basin on Jan 3, and 2 were found at the Brantford landfill on Jan 5. The Chipping Sparrow found at Woodland Cemetery in late Dec was present to Jan 7 at least. Another Chipping Sparrow was found on Conc Rd 3 west of Smithville Rd on Jan 4. A Field Sparrow was at the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail at Papple Rd in Cainsville on Jan 8, along with a White-crowned Sparrow and a flock of about 20 Brown-headed Cowbirds. Numbers of White-crowned Sparrows were found in Stoney Creek on Jan 4 and the Brantford landfill area on Jan 5. A female Red-winged Blackbird was on Hunter Rd in Grimsby at the rail crossing south of the QEW on Jan 4. A single Yellow-rumped Warbler was at the Desjardins Canal area in Dundas on Jan 1-4. That's the news for the past two weeks. Please continue to post your sightings to the local and provincial email listserves. Rob Dobos, Hamilton Naturalists’ Club.