WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, June 19, 2008
This is the time of the year when we concentrate less on what may be moving through our backyards, to those birds that have decided to either nest there, or simply stop for a visit. One Fish Lake resident whose backyard joins not only a wetland, but also a wooded area, had plenty of interesting sightings this past week. In addition to MUTE SWANS and CANADA GEESE with young being the norm from the window, other frequent visitors to the backyard have included OSPREY, GREEN HERON, AMERICAN BITTERN, BROWN THRASHER and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. Another extraordinary backyard in the Tweed area has many of the above mentioned species, along with WHIP-POOR-WILL and SCARLET TANAGERS. And at a bird feeder in the Oak Hills area near Stirling, a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER has been a regular at a bird feeder there, appropriately enough, on Bird Road. Detailed directions will be given privately if any one is interested in seeing the bird. At least three of the four LEAST BITTERNS that were present in the Cold Creek wetland along the Millennium Trail off Danforth Road west of Wellington, are still present, according to a Pennsylvania birder who visited the site late one night a week ago. Also present were VIRGINIA RAIL, MARSH WRENS and BLACK TERNS. A PILEATED WOODPECKER was seen in one Picton backyard, and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS during the week turned up at Morrison's Point, along County Road 13, and at Sandbanks. One RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER south of Picton along County Road 10, depicted in the online version of the Quinte Area Bird Report, was photographed doing a Linda Blair imitation from the popular 1970s movie The Exorcist! A female WILD TURKEY saunters regularly into one garden at Bradley Crossroad. The home owner attributes the appearance to interest in the bird feed; however, the turkey could be casing the joint for what may be appearing later in the garden. In other bird sightings around the county, a very vocal SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was seen doing exercises of its own over the Fitness and Aquatic Centre in Picton this week. Wesley Acres Road is often a good spot to find HORNED LARKS, usually along the open fields just on either side of the Millennium Trail crossing, and three were seen there on the 14th. Outside the county, along Palace Road near Napanee, UPLAND SANDPIPERS were noted during the week, a species that we seem to have all but lost in Prince Edward County due to natural succession resulting in unsuitable habitat. At Vanderwater Conservation Area at Thomasburg on the 16th, SCARLET TANAGERS, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, RED-EYED VIREO and WOOD THRUSH were all singing away at the same time in apparent merriment. A pair of sharp eyes on a guided interpretive hike later that evening spotted a MUSK TURTLE in the shallows along the Moira River. While long dead, but no less interesting, a well formed inverted carapace from a SNAPPING TURTLE was found near a picnic table, and we can only trust that it hadn't been used there during a picnic as a chip dish ! A couple golf course stories came in during the week. One involved an AMERICAN BITTERN near Madoc seen in the open near a wetland edge as golfers approached in search of a lost golf ball. In true fashion, the bird pointed its beak toward the zenith and began swaying back in forth rhythmically with the light breeze. The golfers failed to find their ball, but they had a great view of the bittern. At another golf course at CFB Trenton, while two golfers there waited to tee off at the 10th hole, a BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD approached and started flirting with them, with tail raised, until she turned her attention to a couple of males of her own kind that approached later. Until then, the female cowbird had been stalking the golfers, approaching to within an arm's length. A male INDIGO BUNTING can be heard most days in the West Lake Sector of Sandbanks Provincial Park where it can usually be seen at the very top of poplars in the area. Another is coming to a feeder just east of Lake on the Mountain. A pair of NORTHERN GOSHAWKS is nesting again this year at Vanderwater Conservation Area. The male is extremely aggressive and regularly dive-bombs any hiker that is in the area of the nest. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Jackie & Bob McFee, Russ Williams, Jeffrey Territo, Judith Gray, Margaret Kirk, Kathleen Rankine, Ron Hirschorn, Pamela Stagg, Heather Heron, Janet Foster, Mike Carmody, Lyle Anderson, and Mia Lane for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, June 26th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. Feature photo on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website is of the RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER by Lyle Anderson, doing the Exorcist manoeuvre. Photos in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report include the Stirling area RED-HEADED WOODPECKER by Bob McFee, and a nest of a KILLDEER at Lake on the Mountain by Margaret Kirk. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.naturestuff.net _______________________________________________ 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
