WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE
WEEK ENDING
Thursday, September 03, 2009
The "pink" sounds of BOBOLINKS, choruses of crickets and grasshoppers in
roadside ditches, and crisp morning temperatures are a reminder that summer
is on the wane and autumn is in the offing. BALTIMORE ORIOLES have departed
from the majority of bird feeders across the region, although RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRDS are still holding their own, with as many as four visiting a
nectar feeder along Bradley Crossroad at Lake on the Mountain. Juvenile
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS have been seen at a peanut feeder in Bloomfield, and
NORTHERN FLICKERS have even been noted at many feeding stations this past
week, along with a few ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS yet. All over though birds
are flocking and up to 1500 EUROPEAN STARLINGS have been blanketing a lawn
along South Big Island Road just west of Caughey Road. Six COMMON LOONS were
on Lake on the Mountain this week, and 20 TURKEY VULTURES were noted
drifting south near Consecon on Tuesday.
Six GREEN HERONS which probably constitutes a flock, were seen at the
Brighton Constructed Wetlands August 30th, and other birds showing up at
this popular location that day were 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, LEAST
SANDPIPER, OSPREY, MARSH WREN, COMMON MOORHEN and GREEN-WINGED TEAL, among
the 16 species of birds recorded by one Napanee birder. An AMERICAN BITTERN
was present along the Moira River south of the CN tracks in Belleville on
the 2nd. During a 18-km canoe paddle on the Napanee River from Napanee to
Strathcona on Sunday, and back again, a plethora of some 30 species got
tallied during the four-hour paddle including numerous EASTERN WOOD-PEWEES,
EASTERN PHOEBES, CEDAR WAXWINGS, OSPREY, GREEN HERON, GREAT BLUE HERON,
PILEATED WOODPECKER, MALLARDS, SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, HOUSE WRENS, and both
WARBLING and RED-EYED VIREOS, just to name a few that kept turning up during
the paddle. Suddenly it was spring once again.
At Prince Edward Point, an observer there on the 31st checked off CAPE MAY,
TENNESSEE, BAY-BREASTED, and BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, and AMERICAN
REDSTARTS.
It was my hope I could delay making this announcement until the end of this
year, but circumstances have made it necessary to permanently retire the
Quinte Area Bird Report, a service that has been provided to readers in some
form or other since 1995. Increasing commitments with my business involving
speaking engagements, interpretive hikes and canoe/kayak tours and bus tours
are making it increasingly difficult to commit to this weekly task every
Thursday. Thank you to everyone for some 14 years of providing this service
to readers. The Quinte Area Bird Report will remain in some kind of format
on my website at www.nturestuff.net , likely incorporating a few of the more
interesting sightings as they come to my attention. Readers are encouraged
to continue reporting any significant sightings to me in an effort to keep
the Prince Edward County database up to date. Those who follow the the
contributions from the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory can follow those
reports at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory website at
www.peptbo.ca/
Thank you again for all your past support.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to Bruce Ripley, Donald McClure, Henri Garand, Garry Kirsch,
Myrna Wood, Owen Weir, Pamela Stagg and Margaret Kirk for their
contributions to this week's report.
Good birding!
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[email protected]
www.naturestuff.net
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