Birders visiting Presqu'ile Provincial Park this week from outside the
immediate area have not been disappointed. At least 75 species of birds
have been observed in the Park this week, and an additional two late
last week. To a great extent this reflects the diversity of habitats in
the Park.
The two TRUMPETER SWANS reported last week were seen again twice in the
last four days in the vicinity of Sebastopol Island. A scope is needed
to pick them out from among the MUTE SWANS. An AMERICAN WIGEON on Gull
Island was the first in about three weeks. REDHEADS in that area have
increased in number to about 14. A COMMON MERGANSER was at Salt Point
on July 12. One observer found four species of heron-related birds in
one day, all of which are regularly present but not always seen on the
same day: AMERICAN BITTERN, GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET, BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERON.
OSPREYS often fish over Presqu'ile Bay, and this week has been no
exception. A RED-TAILED HAWK, likely a visitor from outside the Park,
was harassed by a number of smaller birds to the point of wishing he had
never made the trip. The fall shorebird migration has been slowly
picking up steam for the past several days, with gradually increasing
numbers of LEAST and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS and LESSER YELLOWLEGS (as
many as three at a time) on three of the past four days. One of the
next shorebird species to arrive might well be a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER. Two
immature GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS were present on July 11.
For the second consecutive Friday, a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was calling at
the lighthouse on July 10. PILEATED WOODPECKERS and BROWN CREEPERS are
year-round residents at Presqu'ile, but finding them in summer is a
matter of luck, yet one birder saw one of each this week. RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCHES are also present all year, but one near the lighthouse on
July 16 had obviously moved away from its breeding territory, whether
that was in the Park or elsewhere. On July 13 a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
spent a few hours feeding two recently fledged juveniles as they sat
shoulder to shoulder in a birch tree near the lighthouse. From one to
three of that species has visited that birch tree every day since then.
Warblers that have been seen this week, including BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER,
PINE WARBLER, and three AMERICAN REDSTARTS, can not be considered fall
migrants, as they all summer at Presqu'ile. FIELD SPARROWS, seen on
July 14, are also in that category. ORCHARD ORIOLES continue to be seen
in various plumages almost every day. After last week's report noted
the absence of PINE SISKINS, two showed up at a feeder on the very next
day, and one was still there on July 11.
To reach Presqu'ile Provincial Park, follow the signs from Brighton.
Locations within the Park are shown on a map at the back of a tabloid
that is available at the Park gate. Access to the offshore islands is
restricted at this time of year to prevent disturbance to the colonial
nesting birds there.
Questions and comments about bird sightings at Presqu'ile may be
directed to: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.
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Fred Helleiner
186 Bayshore Road,
Brighton, Ontario, Canada, K0K 1H0
VOICE: (613) 475 5309
If visiting, access via Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
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