As summer comes to an end, the fall season soon begins! Local species are getting ready for their long journey back south, and the species breeding far north of us, rest and refuel in some of the great spots the HSA has to offer.
Some of the main birding events I look forward to in the fall are hawk migration, fall warblers, juvenile shorebirds, and lakewatching.
Lakewatching is probably one of my favorite forms of stationary birding. Lake Ontario takes up just less than a quarter of the HSA area and specifically the west end acts as a funnel for wandering birds on northeast or east winds because of its shape. Although the lakewatching season reaches its peak in September & October, a few avid birders including myself have tried our luck early on. I have mainly been out on the days that called for moderate northeast or east winds, as those are the days you're more likely to see rare/uncommon birds because they get blown in closer to Hamilton. So far, this season, I spent more than 44 hours lakewatching from Van Wagner's Beach, and over the course of that time, I've seen some pretty neat things!
Sanderling
Distant Black-legged Kittiwake
Parasitic Jaeger (juvenile)
Semipalmated Plover
Red Knot
Parasitic Jaeger (subadult)
My attempt at digiscoping a group of Red-necked Phalaropes
Lakewatching is challenging and certainly requires patience and skill. Majority of the birds you'll see (that be loons, jaegers, shorebirds, gulls, etc.) are flying, often more than a kilometer away, and views may be very brief. Not to mention the terrible weather that usually comes with strong east or northeast winds.
So far, we've lucked out with just one rainy afternoon during a lakewatch. With all that, you can imagine most birds don't stick around and often aren't chaseable so you just have to be present on as many days as possible and hope for the best.
Starting a lakewatch with heavy fog
On August 18, a Roseate Spoonbill was found in Brantford by local birders Sarah, Eric, and Bill Lamond. It was seen flying over the Grand River and heading west. This sighting was not in the HSA but it was pretty darn close, close enough for us to join the search to hopefully relocate it in the HSA. We spent the remainder of the day in Brantford looking in random ponds that could host this stunning bird with pink plumage in and out of the HSA. We visted spots we probably never would have visited if it wasn't for this occasion. Wandering through cornfields, driving down narrow dirt roads, and scouring the Grand River to get to places where this bird could be hiding. Mid day, we received an update that there was a good possibility that the Spoonbill had been seen the day before along the Grand River at Glenhyrst Gardens. My thought was that it could return to its roosting spot, so we did an evening stakeout. A few hours had gone by and with light fading, we were left with no other option but to call off the search for the Roseate Spoonbill.
A couple of Wilson's Phalaropes turned up at the James Snow Parkway flooded fields in Halton so George and I went to go see those.
Wilson's Phalarope
Some of the first fall warblers have started to arrive in large numbers like Cape-may Warblers. I birded Joshua's Valley Park quite a bit during this period and found some nice birds including this Olive-sided Flycatcher!
Olive-sided Flycatcher
George and I spent countless hours searching the sod farms in Hamilton near Caledonia searching for American Golden Plover, Hudsonian Godwit, and mainly Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Surely there were many more Killdeer present on the sod farms this year than the previous year but yet we nor anyone could find these other species.
After nearly lakewatching for nearly the whole day on the 25th, Rich Poort and I drove over to Windermere Basin to see if we could find some shorebirds. Rich said he liked to bird here after work because a lot of shorebirds tend to fly in at sunset to feed and rest. We did exactly that, it was about 5pm when we got to the basin and to our surprise we found a Hudsonian Godwit! It was such a treat to see this massive shorebird up close that is a pretty rare visitor to the HSA.
Hudsonian Godwit
And as luck would have it, a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was found at Windermere Basin just four days after the Hudsonian Godwit showed up. My dad and I chased this bird after school and I'm very glad I was able to see it that evening because birders went back the next morning and were unable to locate it. We had distant looks as it pranced through the long grass but it was still nice to enjoy the presence of this bird along with a couple other happy birder friends.
End of August HSA year list: 253
Rare bird sightings:
Anhinga - Flying at a high altitude west over Dundas (David Moffatt; August 27)
Golden-winged Warbler - Adult male at Bronte Marsh (Gavin Edmondstone; August 27)
Red-necked Phalarope - Two flying around CCIW in Burlington (George Prieksaitis; August 26)
One at Windermere Basin in Hamilton (Keith Dieroff; August 27)
Off Lakeland Center, several groups totaling roughly 30 individuals (August 28)
Wilson's Phalarope - Two at the James Snow Parkway flooded fields in Halton (Micheal Kirchin; August 19)
Cerulean Warbler - Female at Confederation Park in Hamilton (Rich Poort; August 23)
Hudsonian Godwit - Adult at Windermere Basin in Hamilton (Rich Poort & Markus Legzdins; August 25)
Red Knot - Two along the beach at Confederation Park (Rich Poort; August 26)
Buff-breasted Sandpiper - One at Windermere Basin (Rich Poort; August 29)
Roseate Spoonbill - Spotted on an island on the Grand River off Glenhyrst Gardens in Brantford by a local who was walking by (Christina Cooper; August 17). At the time she was not sure what she saw but when an alert was sent out to be on the lookout for a Roseate Spoonbill that was seen nearby but out if the HSA by Sarah, Eric, and Bill Lamond, she chimed in and said that she was pretty sure she had seen it the evening before along the Grand. She provided a very convincing description for a bird that is quite unmistakable so if this record is accepted it would represent the first for the Hamilton Study Area!
