Hamilton Ontario Field Ornithologists Trip

September 27-29, 2019

September 26

We drove from Ottawa to Toronto on Thursday, September 26 and arrived at Colin & Hilda’s condo after lunch. Hilda took us to Colonel Samuel Smith Park for the afternoon, where we hiked to Whimbrel Point and all around the trails. Hilda showed us where the Snowy Owls were regular during winter. Red-necked Grebes provided most of the excitement on this fall day, although we did see one Yellow-rumped Warbler. We were pleased to have a tour of this famous Toronto birding location.



We returned to their condo for supper, and were treated to an awesome sunset view from their 19th floor. We turned in early as we were all off to Hamilton at 6 am for the annual OFO Convention birding field trips.

September 27

For our first day’s field trips, we drove separately, as we were canoeing at Cootes Paradise and Colin & Hilda were on a different all-day trip to the west end of Lake Ontario.
We arrived at the Royal Botanical Gardens in good time and birded the grounds while waiting for the other participants. We saw a Cedar Waxwing juvenile and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. We also heard a very loud Carolina Wren, but could not spot it.

Finally, the six paddlers were all set and we headed down to the shore for the canoes along with our guide, Jackson Hudecki. It was calm as we paddled away from the dock.



We spotted a huge number of Double-crested Cormorants, and several Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. There were several Black-crowned Night-Herons, mostly juvenile. We also got a couple of Belted Kingfishers and a Red-tailed Hawk.



We enjoyed our paddle around Cootes Paradise. Then Jackson led us up a narrow canal on a tip from another guide. Here we spotted a Hamilton rarity - a Cattle Egret - it was easy to photograph.



We saw Bank Swallow nest holes, and one shorebird, a Spotted Sandpiper. We also saw a few Ospreys, at least one Bald Eagle and a Cooper’s Hawk.



We returned to the Interpretive Centre and had our lunch at a picnic table outside. From there we drove to our afternoon field trip at the Valley Inn, Burlington, led by Barbara Charlton. It was very busy, and we had to park along the road. Ken from Ottawa was right behind us. We also spotted many familiar faces such as Mark, Lynda and Jean Iron.



Birding was a bit slow with the highlight being a Green Heron. So, we joined some others and hiked to the boardwalk in nearby Hendrie Valley. We saw American Wigeons, a Common Grackle, several Great Egrets and Ospreys, a Red-tailed Hawk, a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, including some juveniles, a couple of Trumpeter Swans, and lots of Wood Ducks.

After our successful day, we let our GPS direct us back to Toronto. Colin and Hilda had already returned as their trip had proved very slow. Hilda prepared supper for the weary birders.

September 28

Our Saturday field trip was to be an all-day trip Cootes-to-Escarpment Ecopark. But there was morning rain in the forecast, and we also had the banquet and speakers that evening. So, we made the unanimous decision to sleep in and go to the afternoon trip on the south shore of Cootes Paradise. Our decision was a good one, as the morning trips got caught in a downpour. Hilda volunteered to drive, which was very nice of her, as nobody was relishing the return drive to Toronto after 10 pm.



Our meet up place was Princess Point Park, but first we stopped on Macklin St. N to see if Colin & Hilda could spot the Cattle Egret. No luck.



We were a fairly large group including Ron Tozer and our friend Magda, from the Huron Fringe. Our trip was led by a capable young lady, Leanne Grieves. We hiked along the point trail past some carp fishers, seeing a few common birds.



As the trail got a little rougher, our leader offered to go back and take the group to try for the Cattle Egret. Everyone was glad to accept this offer, except the two of us who had already had good views. We decided to finish the point trail instead. We started seeing more birds, and indeed, we passed behind some houses with feeders. Best bird was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The rest of the group was successful in seeing the Cattle Egret!



When the trip was over, we headed for the banquet hall at the Sheridan Hotel. Hilda skillfully negotiated the one-way streets and parking garage, with Magda following right on our tail. Whew! The banquet was a lot of fun, as we met many people that we knew and had a chance to talk to most of the exhibitors. Margaret Bain received the Distinguished Ornithologist Award, and the keynote speaker was Jeff Skevington from Ottawa who spoke on birding by molecules (DNA studies). MC Ron Tozer did a good job to wind things up by 10 pm, but it was well after 11 pm when we got back to the Wooles’s condo. Straight to bed to get rested for another full day of birding on Sunday.




September 29

Our Sunday all-day trip was called Birding Hamilton 101 with Rob Porter. We met at Van Wagner’s beach, but it was so windy there was little hope of seeing Jaegers or other good birds. (We later found out that all three Jaegers were sighted!). Instead, Rob took us to Edgelake Park, Biggar Lagoons at Grimsby Wetlands and Vinemount Meadows Sanctuary in the morning. We hoped to find a Sedge Wren seen the day before, but we could not. The Merlin was a nice consolation.




We had our lunch at Urquhart Butterfly Garden and proceeded up Cootes Drive, parking on the shoulder of the busy road. We first explored the Spencer Creek Trail on the north side of the road, then some McMaster University trails on the south side. We saw a few warblers and chased down 3 Carolina Wrens that were singing loudly, but were unable to get decent photos.



After our productive trip, we headed to LaSalle Marina in Burlington to check on an Eastern Screech Owl (not there) and to see the Trumpeter Swans. A Northern Parula was a nice surprise, as was the naked Red Squirrel!

We then backtracked to Aldershot and enjoyed dinner at Ye Olde Squire Pub. Before returning to Toronto, we checked out Woodland Cemetery for more chance at screech owls, but they were not in evidence.

September 30

As a finale to our trip, Colin cooked up his signature peameal bacon and mushrooms, while Bill cooked his eggs. What a wonderful time we had, and we thank our good friends Colin and Hilda for their generous hospitality.



Then we braved the Gardiner Express to head to the east end for a quick visit with Barbara's cousin, Mary Janet.