WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE
WEEK ENDING Thursday, December 06, 2007
If an adult BALD EAGLE flies over top of you while you are installing a
nesting platform, is that a good omen? Installers of one such eagle platform
yesterday south of Picton thought so as they put the finishing touches on a
nest platform and had a "bird's-eye" view of the eagle from their vantage
point at the top of a white pine some 25 metres high off the ground. It was
only one of several BALD EAGLE sightings during the past week. Others were
sighted all along Adolphus Reach from Glenora east to Prinyer's Cove and in
the South Bay and Prince Edward Point areas as the population builds with
the advent of winter.
Quite unexpected is an OSPREY that is still hanging around along Adolphus
Reach, last seen on December 4th. There was a MERLIN west of Trenton also on
the 5th. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen hovering over Gomorrah Road on the
3rd, another was seen west of Trenton yesterday, and two others were spotted
at Prince Edward Point the following day where 11 RED-TAILED HAWKS were also
seen the same day. Also observed there was a NORTHERN HARRIER, and another
can be seen occasionally at the west end of Big Island. AMERICAN KESTRELS
were reported from different locations across the region. However,most
observers' attention these days are on their feeders and what hawks are
being attracted to an ongoing smorgasbord of menu choices. Of these,
SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS have been the most commonly reported, with COOPER'S
HAWKS coming in second place. NORTHERN SHRIKES are also making their
presence known at bird feeders, as well as out in the field.
With the arrival of more wintry weather, patronage at most bird feeders has
increased dramatically. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are frequenting many feeders
in the area, and the population of COMMON REDPOLLS continues to tease us as
to when the region might be bombarded with these feeder favourites. While
some feeders have 10 or more as regular visitors, the majority of feeders
have but a handful. However, the sighting of 40 at Prince Edward Point early
this week suggests that it might only be a case that the local population
hasn't yet found the bountiful supply of food that awaits them daily at
feeding stations. PINE GROSBEAKS are appearing at some feeders in the
region, but most sightings involve small flocks encountered beyond the
backyard feeder. Eleven flew over Beaver Meadow on the 4th, representing the
average size of most flocks seen thus far. A few PINE SISKINS are still
around, in ones and twos at some feeders, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES continue
to put in an appearance at many feeders, and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW showed
up in the Cressy area this week, and another is at a feeder in Bloomfield.
Two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS are occasional drop ins at 23 Sprague Road, and another
was seen in the Oak Hills area south of Stirling. A lone male RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRD is at a Bloomfield feeder. One bird feeder operator south of
Picton had a PILEATED WOODPECKER sample the menu there. Near one home on
Weese Road in Ameliasburgh, but perhaps soon to come to the feeder there,
were a dozen EASTERN BLUEBIRDS on December 2nd. Another flock of 11 showed
up at Prince Edward Point on the 4th. Elsewhere, it has been more of
everything else, including AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES (60 at 2800 County Road 1
and 50 at a Carrying Place area feeder), and marked increases this week of
other species, especially MOURNING DOVES. The leucistic MOURNING DOVE is
still showing up at a Harmony Road feeder in Thurlow Township north of
Belleville with 55 other doves. A PINE WARBLER has been an occasional
visitor at a feeder west of Trenton.
Away from the feeder, SNOW BUNTINGS have yet to put in an appearance in any
substantial numbers, with 20 or 30 being the norm so far. A flock of 30 was
seen on the 4th near McMahon's Bluff at Black River. A LONG-EARED OWL was
seen on one property in the Elmbrook area, and a flock of 35 CEDAR WAXWINGS
turned up at Waupoos. WILD TURKEYS were seen at two locations during the
week - 24 along Ridge Road southwest of Picton, and another 32 at Sandbanks
Provincial Park.
With the cold weather locking up many of the lakes and bays, numbers of
waterfowl correspondingly have decreased or, at least, have moved out to
deeper waters where they are not as easily seen. It is a ghost town now in
Muscote Bay at Big Island where thousands of ducks had gathered only a few
weeks ago. Still many MALLARDS, CANADA GEESE and a lone COMMON LOON at
Adolphustown, and more than 1,000 CANADA GEESE are in the Prinyer's Cove
area. Patches of water that remain open on Consecon Lake mid-week contained
over 50 COMMON GOLDENEYE and a number of MALLARDS in the Link Road area.
MUTE SWANS still occur wherever open water may be found, and 50 or so TUNDRA
SWANS could be seen on the north shore of South Bay early in the week. At
Point Traverse and Prince Edward Point where open conditions provide better
viewing opportunities, there are currently 4,000 GREATER SCAUP, 400
MALLARDS, 100 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, 5 GADWALL, and there was a mixed
contingency on Tuesday of COMMON and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, LONG-TAILED
DUCKS, BUFFLEHEAD and COMMON GOLDENEYE along with all three species of
scoters. In the Weller's Bay Channel at Barcovan on Monday there were 2
AMERICAN COOT and 12 TUNDRA SWANS.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to John Charlton, Jenny Goodall, Alison Cooke, Kathleen Rankine,
Paul Wallace, Fred Chandler, Mike Burge & Kathy Felkar, Rosemary Smith, Anne
Potter, Russ Williams, Laura Pierce, Ted Cullin, Frank Artes & Carolyn
Barnes, Dirk deBoer, Bill Leet, Jess Chambers, Lyle Anderson, Bill Hogg,
Nancy Fox, David Bree, Agneta Sand, Owen Weir, Nick Quickert, John &
Margaret Moore, Fiona King, Joanne Dewey, Donald McClure, and Henri Garand
for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated
on Thursday, December 13th, but sightings can be e-mailed anytime before the
6:00 p.m. Thursday deadline. Featured photos this week in the online edition
of the Quinte Area Bird Report include a PILEATED WOODPECKER by Kathleen
Rankine of Trenton and a NORTHERN SHRIKE by Lloyd Hanna of Oshawa. Photo
taken from the new BALD EAGLE nest platform in Prince Edward County on the
Main Birding Page of the website is by Tom Mikel. You've gotta see that one.
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
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