WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK
ENDING
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Our apologies for the late report, but an e-mail problem delayed the arrival of
the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory summary this week. The Prince Edward
County Birding Festival may have ended on Sunday but the birds have continued
to move through. An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen on the 20th and two GREEN HERONS
were seen again at Point Traverse on the 21st. Fifteen BRANT flew past on the
16th and the CANADA GEESE in the harbour now have at least four broods of
goslings in tow. WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS continue to move past in good numbers and
100 are being seen on several days, LONG-TAILED DUCKS are becoming hard to find
but 1000 were reported from Cressy on the 16th. The female COMMON GOLDENEYE was
last seen in the harbour on the 16th and 80 to 100 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS are
flying past daily.
A SPOTTED SANDPIPER was on the beach on the 17th and AMERICAN WOODCOCKS
continue to call at night. Up to 300 RING-BILLED GULLS are frequenting the
harbour feeding on washed up gobies. The first BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO of the
spring was found in a net on the 20th and could be heard calling the next day.
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS are becoming more frequent visitors to the feeders
at last and 5-6 a day are being recorded. The first YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
was seen on the evening of the 19th and 2-8 LEAST FLYCATCHERS are being seen
daily. Vireos are becoming commoner with 30 RED-EYED VIREOS being seen on the
20th along with the first 3 PHILADELPHIA VIREOS. A COMMON RAVEN flew over on
the 16th, and up to 150 BLUE JAYS are screaming around the buildings.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are still being seen and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS are
hanging on with up to 8 being seen in a day.
THRUSHES are still in low numbers at Prince Edward Point and the first
GREY-CHEEKED THRUSH was recorded on the 18th. GRAY CATBIRDS are increasing and
25 were recorded on the 17th. Twenty-three species of warblers were recorded
during the week. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS are commoner than usual this year and
6 were seen during the week. NORTHERN PARULAS are also being seen in good
numbers with up to 6 being seen every day. YELLOW WARBLERS are increasing and
100 have been seen on several days. Forty CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS were here on
the 20th along with 110 MAGNOLIA WARBLERS with the latter having 180 present on
the 18th. Western PALM WARBLERS are still moving through and the first major
movement of BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS occurred on the 18th along with a BLACKPOLL
WARBLER. A MOURNING WARBLER was seen near the lighthouse on the 19th and three
were trapped on the 20th. CANADA WARBLERS are also turning up and three were
seen on the 20th. Twelve LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were seen on the 18th and 10 on the
20th. Thirty WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were recorded on the 18th and most days
have 15 to 25 still around. The female BOBOLINKS arrived on the 21st and one
was trapped. A young ORCHARD ORIOLE was feeding from the hummingbird feeder on
the 20th. Don't forget the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory has its AGM at
Lake-on-the-Mountain on the 31st. Please see the PEPTBO web site for details
(www.peptbo.ca).
The big news this week was the appearance of a WHITE-WINGED DOVE at Prince
Edward Point today. However, while constituting a new addition to the official
Prince Edward County bird list, it was not the first sighting of this bird this
year. It had earlier been seen in the Picton area last week at a feeder, but
remained only for a day before disappearing. The bird was photographed and a
Rare Bird Report has been compiled.
Shorebirds in Prince Edward County are hit and miss at the best of times, but
last week two locations produced a number of species. At least 8 species were
found along Wesley Acres Road and the Kaiser Crossroad flooded fields, and
among the more interesting finds were SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, WHITE-RUMPED
SANDPIPER, DUNLIN and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. A LONG-EARED OWL turned up along
Kings Road last week, and an out of the way wetland off the Millennium Trail at
Danforth Road produced no fewer than 4 LEAST BITTERNS. Close to 20
WHIP-POOR-WILLS were tallied on Babylon Road and Army Reserve Road after
midnight one day last week, and a SORA was heard singing in the Bloomfield
Marsh. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD alternates between Prince Edward Point and
Whattam's Road most days. A late RUSTY BLACKBIRD was in the Point Traverse
Woods on May 17th.
At Sandbanks Provincial Park, a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER and a HOODED WARBLER
turned up there on the 19th, and yesterday a pair of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS was
found nesting in the Dunes Beach Day Use Area of the park, just in off the
parking lot.
Many feeders across the region now have both INDIGO BUNTINGS and ROSE-BREASTED
GROSBEAKS as regular guests, and a feeder along Glenora Road has 2 ORCHARD
ORIOLES among the clientel and others were noted along Ridge Road, and one was
calling enthusiastically Wednesday night at Stillwater Forest along Black
River.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our
thanks to David Okines of the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Silvia
Botnick, John and Janet Foster, Brian Durell, Pamela Stagg, Roger Snape,
Kathleen Rankine, Nancy Smitts, Don Legate, Joanne Dewey, and John Blaney for
their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on
Thursday, May 29th, but sightings can be e-mailed to me any time before the
Wednesday night deadline. Photo on the Main Birding Page of the Nature Stuff
website of a lingering LONG-TAILED DUCK at Point Traverse is by Dave Bell of
Belleville. Photos in the online version of the Quinte Area Bird Report of a
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER and an AMERICAN REDSTART are by Steven Draper of Bethel
Road.
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
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