In the shorebird cell at hillman marsh found by Ron Tozer at 5 pm Posting from hillman
Michael Tate Michael Tate [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Apr 27 18:43:44 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from helios.kos.net (unknown [64.201.45.11]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 6B1E063D29 for <[email protected]>; Thu, 27 Apr 2006 18:43:28 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 12042 invoked from network); 27 Apr 2006 22:43:25 -0000 X-Mail-Scanner: Scanned by qSheff 1.0-r5 (http://www.enderunix.org/qsheff/) Received: from unknown (HELO D3ZD7M31) (64.201.46.165) by helios.kos.net with SMTP; 27 Apr 2006 22:43:22 -0000 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Terry Sprague" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ontbirds" <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 18:41:40 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2869 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2869 Subject: [Ontbirds] Quinte Area Bird Report for week ending Thursday, April 27, 2006 X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 22:43:44 -0000 WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, April 27, 2006 When the spring migration of birds gets underway, Prince Edward Point is where's it's at, so it seems appropriate to start our weekly bird report this evening from this now famous migration focal point in eastern Ontario. Once again, our thanks to David Okines of the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory for his efforts in compiling his weekly summary for the purpose of this report. Its been fairly quiet at the Point this week what with the cool weather and the strong winds. Up to four WOOD DUCKS are seen daily with at least one pair using the duck box in the woods. A BLUE-WINGED TEAL was seen on the 26th and a NORTHERN SHOVELER flew north on the 23rd. Up to 800 LONG-TAILED DUCKS can be seen offshore when the water is calm. A male HOODED MERGANSER graced the harbour on the 24th and there is still a few RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS moving every day. A pair of NORTHERN HARRIERS can be found in the field behind the Observatory most days and a BROAD-WINGED HAWK was seen flying low over the area on the 25th. Three LESSER YELLOWLEGS were on the flooded area near the corner at Point Traverse on the 24th. Offshore, the BONAPARTE'S GULL flock is increasing and 2500 were counted on the 26th but the flock was too far away to see if whether or not any LITTLE GULLS were present. The second CASPIAN TERN of the spring was seen today just offshore. No sapsuckers have been seen since last Friday but the DOWNY WOODPECKERS are drumming every day near the end of the harbour. Forty-five NORTHERN FLICKERS were seen on the 21st and a flicker Intergrade was trapped that day, the second one of the spring. The first BLUE-HEADED VIREO appeared on the 25th and one was trapped on the 27th. PURPLE MARTINS were seen on the 23rd and 26th and TREE SWALLOWS have increased to about 45, now that some females have arrived. On the lighthouse, nesting activity is getting underway with about 50 CLIFF SWALLOWS present. A group of 16 BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES flew west along the harbour on the 26th but no other groups have been seen yet. A female RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH was banded on the 26th and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS are becoming scarce as the RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS start to increase. A pair of BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS have taken up residence near the dock in the harbour. Ten YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were seen and heard on the 25th and is the real start to the spring migration for them. Last year the first NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was found on the 27th and today one appeared on time in the nets. Two AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS can be found in the bushes at the end of the harbour most days but they should move on very soon. Last year they had gone by the 19th. FIELD SPARROWS are increasing and 2 or 3 are singing in the field now. WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are starting to arrive and up to 15 have been seen in a day and DARK-EYED JUNCOS are still appearing in good numbers with 85 seen on the 24th. RUSTY BLACKBIRDS are frequenting the swampy areas and up to 75 have been seen or heard here. PURPLE FINCHES are also moving and 15 have been observed visiting the feeders around the Observatory along with the occasional HOUSE FINCH. Elsewhere in Prince Edward County, a EUROPEAN CHAFFINCH of undetermined origin or status, appeared briefly on the weekend at a feeder in the community of Albury, directly across the Bay of Quinte from Trenton. The bird appeared with a half dozen PURPLE FINCHES at a feeder, but has not been seen since. A surprise arrival of not one, but two female ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS occurred on April 25th and 26th, one at a feeder, on Bowery Street in Picton, and another on Ridge Road, south of Picton. Other new migrants to arrive were PINE WARBLERS and BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER at Sandbanks Provincial Park on April 24th and 25th. RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were reported from several locations during the week including Prince Edward Point, Point Petre, and Big Island. A nice group of 18 NORTHERN SHOVELERS turned up at a location near Brighton on the 26th. The sighting of TURKEY VULTURES is no longer news, but an interesting observation on Ridge Road involved 9 vultures perched atop an unused farm silo. Near Tremur Lake just west of Trenton, another 20 or so were seen floating lazily above a grove of some 60 spruce trees, all of them descending into the canopy, apparently for the night. Bird feeder activity continues to hum along with a mixture of winter residents and spring migrants taking up the cause. The famous feeder along Glenora Road, east of Picton, has returned for an encore, with more than a dozen PURPLE FINCHES, 4 PINE SISKINS, 2 EVENING GROSBEAKS, 6 DOWNY WOODPECKERS, 2 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, NORTHERN FLICKERS, CHIPPING SPARROWS and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS now making up the clientel. The feeder attracts large numbers of birds due to excellent habitat in the area. PURPLE FINCHES have also appeared at several other feeders, an encouraging sign considering the decline in population that this species seems to have experienced in the last 40 years. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to David Okines, Rae O'Brien, Henry & Joan Pasila, Yvette Bree, John Charlton, Bruce Brown, John & Margaret Moore, Nancy Fox, Silvia Botnick, David Bree, Mia Lane, John Charlton, Janet Foster, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Dave & Angela Mantle, and Donn & John Legate for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, May 4th. Bird sightings may be forwarded any time to [EMAIL PROTECTED] before the Thursday 6:00 p.m. deadline. This report also appears for a week on the NatureStuff website, under BIRDING, where this week's photo of a pair of WOOD DUCKS at a nest site is by Peter Sporring of Belleville. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.naturestuff.net
