WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE
WEEK ENDING Thursday, September 20, 2007
We start off the Quinte Area Bird Report this week with our summary of the
birding action at the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. The
birding is finally starting to pick up down at the Point. TURKEY VULTURES
continue to move in small numbers and 20 a day are common. On the 20th
though a few groups went over with one group having 58 birds in it. Three
GREATER SCAUP flew past on the afternoon of the 19th and 10 RED-BREASTED
MERGANSERS were swimming long the beach on the 15th. Twenty GREEN-WINGED
TEALS were present on a pond near Babylon Road on the 16th. A few raptors
flew over on the 15th when the following were seen - 35 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS,
2 COOPER'S HAWKS, 3 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, 30 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and 8
RED-TAILED HAWKS. Other days during the week had a few birds moving and
included a young BALD EAGLE on the 20th.
Shorebird numbers continue to be low and there was a SPOTTED SANDPIPER in
the harbour on the 14th with two present the next day. Ten SANDERLINGS were
on the beach near the lighthouse on the 18th. A SEMIPALMATED and a LEAST
SANDPIPER were present on the 15th with 3-4 LEAST SANDPIPERS present on the
beach since. A COMMON TERN was seen offshore on the 15th and a ROCK PIGEON
flew over on that day as well. An attempt at the local EASTERN SCREECH OWLS
on the night of the 16th/17th was successful and one was trapped. As we were
extracting it from a net a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL flew into a nearby tree
prompting us to switch tapes. Five were trapped by midnight and three more
were trapped the following night, making these the earliest trapped
SAW-WHETS in a fall.
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were seen on the 16th and 18th, and the first
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER of the fall was banded on the 20th. A few
FLYCATCHERS continue to be seen with LEAST FLYCATCHERS on the 15th and 20th,
YELLOW-BELLIED on the 17th and 18th and an EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE on the 16th.
BLUE-HEADED VIREOS are becoming commoner and up to 4 in a day have been
noted; a WARBLING VIREO was seen on the 16th. BLUE JAYS are moving in
numbers now and 1200 - 1600 in a day are usual as they fly over at tree top
height or higher. WHITE-BREASTED and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES continue to be
seen with up to 5 of the former around the banding lab daily. A BROWN
CREEPER was seen on the 16th and 5 were trapped on the 20th.
The first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS were seen on the 16th and 17th.
GRAY-CHEECKED thrushes are being seen daily as are SWAINSON'S THRUSHES, and
a VEERY and a HERMIT THRUSH were banded on the 20th. Sixteen species of
warblers were seen this week although none were in large numbers although 30
BLACKPOLL WARBLERS were seen on the 15th and 12 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS
were found on the 16th. A late BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER was trapped on the 20th.
A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was trapped on the 17th and another was banded on the
20th. Two DARK-EYED JUNCOS arrived on the 16th and two more were seen on the
20th. A HOUSE FINCH on the 18th made a change from the handful of PURPLE
FINCHES that are always around. AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES are rapidly increasing
and up to 250 a day are being seen. So far we have banded over 800 of these
birds at the Point this year, making it the best ever fall for them.
The WHITE PELICAN that turned up in the Bay of Quinte in early August, has
descended from first place in this report as it has not been seen since
September 13th, although it may very well still be around, seldom remaining
in one spot for more than a day or two. A COMMON RAVEN that first turned up
at 23 Sprague Road last Thursday, appears off an on almost every day, and
has also managed to wander as far west as the Caughey Road area of Big
Island. Another was heard this week at Cape Vesey, a location where this
species seems to be turning up quite regularly. GREAT EGRET sightings
continue to come in with one sighting involving an individual yesterday at
the H.R. Frink Centre marsh at Plainfield, and another on Sunday at the
mouth of the Napanee River, in Napanee. In Prince Edward County, as many as
16, the largest concentration to date, was seen at the Sawguin Marsh today
in the County Road 28 and Highway 62 area. RED-NECKED GREBES and COMMON
LOONS were present last week at Little Bluff Conservation Area, and a
SAVANNAH SPARROW was noted there yesterday. EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS have been
heard at several locations, the most recent being at Big Island on Monday.
Large numbers of NORTHERN FLICKERS have been noted throughout the region as
the migration of this species continues.
Owners of a new home on Fry Road have no need to be concerned about planting
wildlife shrubs to attract birds, as their home was thoughtfully built with
treed habitat all around them. This past week, they have had SCARLET
TANAGERS, EASTERN TOWHEES and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS among the regulars in
the backyard.
PURPLE FINCHES (3), have finally turned up at a feeder at 23 Sprague Road,
and others were reported during the week from the Consecon Lake area,
Thomasburg, Madoc, Belleville and Trenton regions as well. There are about a
dozen of them visiting a feeder along Highway 33 (Glenora Road) where other
regular clients include 4 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, a half dozen each of
HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKERS, and a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER that turned up
yesterday. A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was also present. AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES
are in great abundance at a feeder at Pleasant Bay, and large numbers were
noted at Prince Edward Point yesterday, and 30 are coming to feeders in
Trenton. It is unlikely though if the feeders at one address at the west end
of Big Island contributed to a noisy flock of blackbirds and EUROPEAN
STARLINGS that blanketed a lawn there. The observer there estimated the
flock to be fully 2,000 birds that settled onto the front lawn, hydro wires,
even covering the roof. The racket on the eavestrough resembled heavy rain
or hail. A photo is included in the online version of this report on the
NatureStuff website. As the drought drags on in the Quinte area, bird baths
continue to attract the thirsty and the dirty. In Trenton, a male SCARLET
TANAGER was seen taking a bath in a backyard fountain.
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS are taking full advantage of the mild weather,
with a few still appearing at Prince Edward Point, and at least two juvenile
birds coming to a feeder in the Consecon Lake area. RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRDS are also coming to nectar feeders in the Point Petre area, and
at Sheba's Island, the latter location hosting several DOWNY WOODPECKERS
that seem to have acquired a fondness for an oriole feeder.
Other sightings of note in the area over the past week included OSPREYS at
George's Road east of Northport and a BALD EAGLE at South Bay. WILD TURKEYS
(5) were seen along Old Milford Road on Tuesday, 2 BELTED KINGFISHERS at
South Bay, and an AMERICAN KESTREL that spent much of the day yesterday
perched on a hydro wire along Long Point Road. COMMON LOONS were present in
Prince Edward Bay this week, and a RED-TAILED HAWK was seen in the Waupoos
area, and another on Walmsley Road.
Other sightings of interest during the past week were a COMMON BUCKEYE, not
common to this area, at Prince Edward Point yesterday, and the sightings of
both SHORT-TAILED and LONG-TAILED WEASELS at the Prince Edward Point Bird
Observatory. Sightings of GIANT SWALLOWTAIL larvae are still being noted on
prickly ash at Prince Edward Point. Observers of these larvae are advised to
not touch these critters as they employ chemical warfare; two days later and
I still have the hideous smell on my fingers! And an unusual sighting on
Saturday, at least, to me anyhow, and rather out of the general reporting
area, but nevertheless interesting. While kayaking on the Rideau Canal, we
noticed something swimming in the water on Sand Lake as we approached the
Davis Lock. To our surprise, it was a GREY SQUIRREL, and it was making good
time, churning up quite a current behind it. According to the charts, the
distance from shore to shore at this point was 150 metres. Has anyone else
ever noted this kind of behaviour in squirrels, or is it just a Rideau Canal
thing?
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to Thom McLaughlin, Donna Tebo, Henri Garand, Marilyn
Holland-Foster, Silvia Botnick, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Shirley & Ken
Joyce, Mike Burge & Kathy Felkar, Bruce Ripley, Anne Potter, John & Margaret
Moore, John Charlton, Fred Chandler, Gary Lazier, and Ted Cullin for their
contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on
Thursday, September 27th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the
6:00 p.m. Thursday deadline. Featured photos this week in the online version
of the Quinte Area Bird Report number three in total, and include a TURKEY
VULTURE in flight by Michael Butler, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER by Derek
Dafoe, and a scene from "The Birds" by Henri Garand. Photo of bird banding
underway at Prince Edward Point on the Main Birding page of the NatureStuff
website is by Terry Sprague
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
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