WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, January 11, 2007
Much cooler weather toward the end of this week caused the tempo of birding activity to pick up considerably, but not before leaving behind another trail of unusual sightings. A late report of someone swimming at Sandbanks on Boxing Day came to my attention, and a wind surfer was spotted at Wellington on Wednesday. One motorist driving from Milford to Brewer's Road was forced to dodge large numbers of frogs that were on the rain soaked road getting warm. An optimistic Gray Tree Frog was calling loudly under a sundeck northwest of Bloomfield at 5:00 a.m. on the 6th, and purple pansies were in bloom at another location at the intersection of Highway 62 and Jericho Road. Two flying squirrels were seen mating at Fish Lake and a hopeful Mute Swan left an egg behind at Sandbanks Provincial Park. We hope with this report that this completes the strange and the bizarre and that Prince Edward County can get back to more winter like sightings more in tune with mid-January!
To sort of prime us along, a lone SNOW GOOSE turned up at Wellington Harbour. The sound of ice "ringing, singing, sort of chirping" as one Consecon resident observed is a good sound in January and has resulted in more promising reports of waterfowl. Wellington Harbour waterfowl populations fluctuate from day to day, but upwards of 500 CANADA GEESE can be seen there some days, and during this week there were also 250 MALLARDS, 9 MUTE SWANS, 20 AMERICAN COOTS, 15 BUFFLEHEAD, and smaller numbers of scaup, COMMON MERGANSERS, COMMON GOLDENEYE and LONG-TAILED DUCKS, along with 44 RING-BILLED GULLS and a lingering DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. Four LITTLE GULLS were there on the 7th. Up to 250 CANADA GEESE were present on Muscote Bay before colder weather hit, and another 200 can be found at Prinyer's Cove, and a hundred at Pleasant Bay. Two COMMON LOONS were present in Weller's Bay at Barcovan on the 7th, and a RED-THROATED LOON was spotted the same day off Cedardale Road south of the Murray Canal. Two female HARLEQUIN DUCKS turned up at the Wicklow Boat Launch, west of Brighton.
The Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey on January 7th resulted in some good finds, including 10,902 LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Prince Edward Point, and another 2,434 chalked up by observers doing the west shore of the county. Seen along this route too were 2 LESSER SCAUP at Wellington Harbour, 11 CANVASBACK at Weller's Bay, 480 REDHEADS at Weller's Bay and West Lake, and 6 RING-NECKED DUCKS in the Bay of Quinte at Carrying Place. An estimated 1200 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were found along the Waupoos peninsula, and another 650 were counted at Prince Edward Point where 5 SURF SCOTERS and 3 BLACK SCOTERS were also seen. Included in the count along the Prince Edward Point peninsula were 2 COMMON LOONS, 15 HORNED GREBES, 1 RED-NECKED GREBE, 2 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 4 LESSER SCAUP and a HOODED MERGANSER. Waterfowl along Belleville's East and West Riverside Park areas along the Moira River included CANADA GEESE, MALLARDS as well as some 30 RING-BILLED GULLS.
Other interesting sightings during the week included a GREAT BLUE HERON in a small pond south of County Road 1, a COMMON RAVEN on Melville Road just north of County Road 1, and a flock of 60 AMERICAN ROBINS and CEDAR WAXWINGS at the corner of Sunrise Drive and Massassauga Road yesterday. A NORTHERN SHRIKE, 60 AMERICAN ROBNS, 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and a YUELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER were all present in the Prince Edward Point area on January 7th.
A feeder in Madoc has a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER sampling the daily menu, and a Fish Lake backyard hosted no fewer than 5 RUFFED GROUSE one day last week. One feeder in Trenton has 40 HOUSE FINCHES, certainly an encouraging number given the lows this species has experienced in recent years. The real treat at his feeder though is the 24-hour service it offers. Once the birds have nestled down for the night, the operator of this feeding station tops up his feeders in preparation for the night life - more than a dozen FLYING SQUIRRELS that have denned up in a converted flicker nest box in his backyard. The flying squirrels come out one by one and in a flash are on the top of the house and glide the 10 feet to the nearest tree. From there, they climb single file to the top of the tree and glide 30 feet or so to the oaks, one of which contains a feeder.
Hawks during the past week included the resident AMERICAN KESTREL along County Road 2 north of Wellington, and an adult BALD EAGLE seen on the high ridge above Picton. Another AMERICAN KESTREL is present at the west end of Big Island where a NORTHERN HARRIER is also a regular. Mountain View reported an AMERICAN KESTREL and a RED-TAILED HAWK, and another NORTHERN HARRIER was present near Sandbanks. One observer, birding Amherst Island, found at least 20 LONG-EARED OWLS in the jack pine plantation behind the Owl Woods on the 9th. There was a RED-TAILED HAWK seen along the Millennium Trail yesterday at Gardenville.
This is a condensed version of the Quinte Area Bird Report, containing only the significant sightings for Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. The full version, along with photos, can be found on the NatureStuff website, under BIRDING from the Main Menu.
Terry Sprague Prince Edward County [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.naturestuff.net
