WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA
for week ending Thursday, April 07, 2005
Traditionally, this is the month when the spring migration gets into full
swing. Already in great abundance are GREAT BLUE HERONS, EASTERN
MEADOWLARKS, TURKEY VULTURES, KILLDEERS, NORTHERN HARRIERS, SONG SPARROWS
and TREE SWALLOWS. Doubtless, this will likely be the last week in which
these species will be mentioned, as eyes are now being cast into the trees
and into the skies for more exciting arrivals. EASTERN PHOEBES made their
debut on April 1st, with an individual being seen near Elmbrook, with
another turning up quickly the following day at Prince Edward Point.
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS are being seen in good numbers now as are AMERICAN
WOODCOCKS and WILSON'S SNIPES. Between Frankford and Trenton on the 7th,
over a thousand TREE SWALLOWS were seen swarming over the Trent Canal for
insects. At Foxes Pond (opposite Tremur Lake), just west of Trenton, the
area's first PIED-BILLED GREBE was seen on April 7th. Other new arrivals in
the Quinte area were 2 CASPIAN TERNS along Highway 33 near Parkvue Farms,
and a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER east of Waupoos.
Wetlands in Prince Edward County are still pretty cold and quiet, but an
AMERICAN BITTERN broke the silence in the Big Island Marsh at 6:00 a.m.
April 7th. Arriving on Sprague Road the same morning were 2 HERMIT THRUSHES
and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD. OSPREYS have turned up at several locations in the
county, and the resident pair is back again at the County Road 28 and
Massassauga Road nest site, near Rossmore, arriving April 2nd, with an
additional sighting the same day of an individual catching a fish at the
Milford Mill Pond. A check of 8 OSPREY nests by one observer between Bayside
and Frankford on the 7th showed six birds at nest sites. As OSPREY is also
on a nest platform on Highway 33 west of Bath. An early CHIPPING SPARROW (or
conversely one that may have overwintered nearby) turned up at a feeder at
3792 County Road 8 in Prince Edward County on April 1st.
A very optimistic PURPLE MARTIN swooped in to a martin house on Lower
Massassauga Road on April 5th, a location that routinely gets the first
arrivals of this species every spring. BROWN CREEPERS showed up at several
locations during the week, and at Little Lake near Brighton there was a FOX
SPARROW at a feeder there. At Northport on Saturday, there was a CAROLINA
WREN singing.
An increase in reports of AMERICAN KESTRELS probably translates into
migrants, as this species was all but absent from the Prince Edward County
scene during the winter. Also presumed to be migrants are increasing numbers
of DARK-EYED JUNCOS.
Two NORTHERN FLICKERS, probably arrivals, showed up near the Ducks Dive
Charters and Cottages at Prince Edward Point on April 2nd. Also seen in the
Prince Edward Point area the same day were 2 PURPLE FINCHES, 2 COMMON LOONS
and a WOOD DUCK. There was also a pair of the latter species at a creek on
Babylon Road. A MERLIN was seen late Thursday afternoon along County Road
8, about 7 km southeast of Picton.
The arrival over the weekend of close to 60 mm of rain improved conditions
in many of the flooded fields where local birders congregate daily to check
out the waterfowl. The Kaiser Crossroad cornfields, however, were a bit
disappointing on the 5th as the CANADA GOOSE population had dropped to about
1,500, and there seemed to be fewer numbers of AMERICAN BLACKS (25),
NORTHERN PINTAILS (100) and MALLARDS. New arrivals to the watering hole were
BUFFLEHEADS, RING-NECKED DUCKS and about 25 AMERICAN WIGEON. Other observers
the same day also found 10 GREEN-WINGED TEAL and 10 GADWALL. The field on
Wesley Acres Road near Bloomfield, known locally as the Bucknell's Slough,
had quite a few ducks and geese on April 2nd, along with NORTHERN PINTAILS
and GREEN-WINGED TEAL. On April 1st, a EURASIAN WIGEON turned up with the
waterfowl on Muscote Bay at the west end of Big Island where there were also
12 GREEN-WINGED TEAL. Throughout the week, the open waters of Muscote Bay
which tend to remain ice bound later than the Bay of Quinte, has enjoyed
mixed numbers of COMMON GOLDENEYE, both LESSER and GREATER SCAUP, COMMON
MERGANSERS, AMERICAN WIGEON , AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, BUFFLEHEADS and
RING-NECKED DUCKS. Smith's Bay from Rutherford-Stevens Lookout yielded
moderate sized rafts of scaup and a few BUFFLEHEADS on the 5th. Two COMMON
LOONS were present on Adolphus Reach at Adolphustown on April 5th.
Some bird feeders in the area are still doing quite well. RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCHES are still coming to three feeders on Glenora Road, west of The
Rock, and at 2075 County Road 7, near Rose's Crossroad. The Glenora Road
feeder also still has an incredible 80 COMMON REDPOLLS and 10 PINE SISKINS
who seem to have settled in for the spring season, along with AMERICAN
GOLDFINCHES and 2 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS. Of course, there has been no
dearth of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS at most feeders.
Other interesting sightings to come in during the week were a COMMON RAVEN
near The Rock, east of Waupoos on March 31st, about 30 TURKEY VULTURES
circling low over Talbot Street in Picton for no apparent reason on April
4th, and NORTHERN SHRIKES at a number of locations in the county. A GREAT
GRAY OWL is still being seen on Phillipston Road, north of Belleville.
While most of us in Prince Edward County are content with seeing or hearing
WILD TURKEYS in local corn fields and wooded areas, at one location near
Tweed, a total of 15 - a dozen hens and three males - traditionally hold
their spring meetings on a front lawn. According to the residents, the birds
put on quite a stage performance, highlighted by scrapping, jumping in the
air, facing each other and vocalizing, while others crowd around
enthusiastically like school kids at a playground fight, the performance
culminating in vigorous mating - all of this taking place with no apology
from the WILD TURKEYS near the front door of the home.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to Fred Chandler, Joanne Dewey, Lloyd Paul, Rae O'Brien, Eric
Mudd, Nick Quickert, John & Janet Foster, Vivien Taylor, Joanne Dewey, Bill
Hogg, Brian Durell, Peter Marshall, David Bree, Silvia Botnick, Pam Martin,
Myrna Wood, John & Donn Legate, John Blaney, Trudy Kitchen, John & Margaret
Moore, John Charlton, Laura Pierce, Henri Garand, Frank Artes and Carolyn
Barnes, Molly Mulloy and Joe Victor for their contributions to this week's
report. This report will be updated on Thursday, April 14th. Bird sightings
may be forwarded to [EMAIL PROTECTED] at any time before the Thursday 6:00
p.m. deadline.
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
