WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA
for the week ending Thursday, June 14, 2007
Mid-June marks the time of the year when bird activity starts to decline and
we start paying more attention to bird behaviours that we may have otherwise
missed earlier in the year. Kingston area resident Ken Kingdon sent along
this story of a GREAT BLUE HERON that he observed while he was trout fishing
in deep water (50 m depth), near a shore-dock. "The heron saw something
interesting for dinner, flew out over deep water and plunge-dived to get a
probable minnow. It struggled to get airborne again, and then flew onto
another dock, and after a quick shaking-out of its feathers, we saw it
repeat this plunge-diving 4 more times that hour."
After watching a HERRING GULL land in her backyard one day last week, Fish
Lake wildlife artist Mia Lane scanned her yard list and discovered that the
species was not listed. Not surprising, given the wooded habitat behind her
house. She noted that it was eating something, and through the binoculars,
identified the food item as a sunfish. The gull worked at trying to rip it
apart, since it was far too heavy for the bird to carry. Mia theorizes that
the fish was accidentally dropped there by a passing OSPREY, and the gull
spotted it on its daily rounds. Another interesting story from Newboro Lake,
north of Kingston. While I was leading a kayak tour there, an adult HERRING
GULL made several low level passes at me while I photographed its two young
swimming in the water. However, instead of divebombing me from behind, the
bird would instead swoop at me diectly head on, presenting a wonderful
opportunity for a photo, had I the nerve to hold a camera, in a kayak, while
being buzzed in this manner.
Thomasburg residents Russ and Trudy Kitchen were sitting out on their deck
last week after dinner when a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER landed in the firepit
area and proceeded to give itself a dust bath in the ashes and sawdust.
Excavating a fair sized hole in the material with its actions, it sat there
for 15 minutes, staring upward with its beak wide open, seemingly quite
content by the exercise.
In other interesting bird news this past week, there was a GLOSSY IBIS at
the Wetland Construction Wetland Sewage Treatment Pond at Brighton today
(14th). A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER has been hanging around a Trenton area
backyard for the last two weeks, and a male ORCHARD ORIOLE continues to drop
in occasionally at 23 Sprague Road on Big Island, near Demorestville. Both
RED and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are coming to a feeder in the Thomasburg
area where other sightings there this past week have included SCARLET
TANAGER, 7 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, PURPLE FINCHES and a pair of
BROAD-WINGED HAWKS. During a combined canoe paddle on the Moira River and
hike along the trails at the H.R. Frink Centre at Plainfield on Sunday, WOOD
THRUSH, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, RED-EYED and WARBLING VIREOS, GREAT CRESTED
FLYCATCHERS, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, and a COOPER'S HAWK were heard and seen. An
OSPREY continues to be seen in the Quinte Skyway Bridge/Green Point Road
area and a third year BALD EAGLE was seen on the 10th at Smith's Bay. A lone
REDHEAD has been at West Lake for most of the week. A pair of COMMON LOONS
is present in the east Big Island Marsh despite much of the area being
ravaged by a deliberately set fire in late May. Another pair with young are
present at Forester's Island, Deseronto.
The birding community on Sunday was saddened by the sudden and tragic death
of Brian Tobin, a weekend resident at Back River in Prince Edward County who
was well known throughout the community for his involvement in local
environmental organizations, and his generosity in leading interpretive
tours through his woodlot. Brian was struck by a car while cycling near his
home in Colborne.
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 can be found on the NatureStuff website, under BIRDING from
the Main Menu.
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
