With the rapidly dwindling number of ducks at Presqu'ile Provincial
Park, visiting birders are concentrating increasingly on newly arriving
land birds, of which there are now many.
One of the specialties for which Presqu'ile has become known is the
concentration of Red-throated Loons in Popham Bay in spring. Because
they usually remain far offshore, the number that can be seen on any
given day depends on the viewing conditions, calm water being the best.
On most days, half a dozen or so can be spotted through a scope, but on
April 2 nineteen were counted by one observer and fourteen by another.
The early morning flight of Common Loons will soon be a daily
occurrence, but two early birds flew over on April 4. In the marsh,
Pied-billed Grebes are vocally engaged in courtship.
The first Great Egret showed up on March 31, and one or more have been
seen almost every day since then, sometimes sitting in the trees in the
extreme south-west corner of the marsh and prominently displaying their
metre-long plumes. Black-crowned Night-Herons are due to arrive any day
now. They will likely be spotted first sitting in the trees on
Sebastopol Island.
One or more Tundra Swans have been seen with the Mute Swans off Bayshore
Road, most recently on April 2. Many people have been looking for the
Eurasian Wigeon that was present over a week ago, but the only
subsequent sighting was on April 2. Eight White-winged Scoters flew
past the campground on April 6. An American Woodcock was at the
lighthouse on March 31.
Several interesting gulls were found since last weekend, including three
Bonaparte's Gulls at Owen Point on April 4 and 6, a Lesser Black-backed
Gull there on April 1, an Iceland Gull at the lighthouse on the same
day, and a surprising total of 24 Great Black-backed Gulls on April 3,
the largest number since last summer, after which many died of disease.
Caspian Terns are now a daily sighting at Owen Point and elsewhere.
Among the land birds that arrived in good numbers on the weekend were
Eastern Phoebes, Tree Swallows, Brown Creepers, Winter Wrens, hordes of
Golden-crowned Kinglets, an Eastern Towhee, a Field Sparrow, and a Fox
Sparrow. Except for the towhee, all of those have since been around,
along with an early Hermit Thrush on the Newcastle trail on April 3 and
an early Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Owen Point trail on April 6.
Perhaps surprisingly, there have been no reports yet of Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers, Swamp Sparrows, or Rusty Blackbirds, all of which are
normally back by this date. A Pine Siskin and a House Sparrow paid
brief visits to the feeders at 186 Bayshore Road on April 6.
To reach Presqu'ile Provincial Park, follow the signs from Brighton.
Locations within the Park are shown on a map at the back of a tabloid
that is available at the Park gate. Access to the offshore islands,
including the peninsula that is commonly known as Gull Island, is
restricted at this time of year to prevent disturbance to the colonial
nesting birds there.
Questions and comments about bird sightings at Presqu'ile may be
directed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Fred Helleiner
186 Bayshore Road,
R.R. #4,
Brighton, Ontario, Canada, K0K 1H0
VOICE: (613) 475 5309
If visiting, access via Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
