Greetings all,
Today (4 Dec 07), Margaret Bain, Richard Pope and I spent the day
birding around Northumberland Co. to see what we could find. We
birded from 0630-1730 in a rough triangle between Presqu'ile,
Warkworth and Cobourg, ending up with 59 species which was OK, but
there were 15-20 easy species missed because of bad luck and/or poor
conditions (very cold, windy, high waves). None the less we found a
few goodies and had a great time in the field - highlights follow:
1f Am Wigeon - off Presqu'ile Pt. lighthouse
1m Ring-necked Duck - off Government Dock (Bayshore Rd.), Presqu'ile
1f Harlequin Duck - off Presqu'ile Pt. lighthouse
1 Red-necked Grebe - off Government Dock, Bayshore Rd., Presqu'ile
1 imm Bald Eagle - flying over Gull and High Bluff Is., Presqu'ile
1 Am. Coot - Cobourg Harbour
4 Purple Sandpiper - SE corner of Gull Island; happily walking and
even floating from exposed rock to rock amid ice, wind and high seas
- simply amazing!
3 Iceland Gull - Cobourg Harbour (2 1st year, 1 2nd year)
1 ad Glaucous Gull - Cobourg Harbour
1 Carolina Wren - end of Bayshore Rd., Presqu'ile
1 Hermit Thrush - base of Owen Pt. (25m NE of Owen Pt. pond),
Presqu'ile, in only obvious fruiting buckthorn
2 or 4 Am. Pipit - 2 were seen at east end of Gull Is., then either
that 2 or another 2 were feeding on exposed algae flats where Owen
Pt. meets the High Bluff Campground
35 Bohemian Waxwing - in crabapple in front of Salt. Ck. Golf Course
Clubhouse, Warkworth (both the waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks have been
in this tree for several weeks)
1 Lapland Longspur - feeding with H. Larks along Carman Rd., 2 km
east of the Carman Church (@ 15 km N of Brighton, east of Hwy. 30)
If birders are interested in seeing Purple Sandpipers (and you see
them so much closer here than at Niagara), I would suggest going soon
as it is freezing up big-time along the shore and they may head on
soon. Also, remember that only hunters can go to Owen Pt. or the
islands on Mon., Wed., Fri., and Sat. so plan your visits for Thur.,
Sun., or a Tuesday.
Cheers,
Doug McRae
Doug McRae Nature Services
P.O. Box 3010
Brighton, Ontario
Canada K0K 1H0
613-475-5014
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected]
For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php
ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
