Report from the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory for the week of May
06-12, courtesy of manager David Okines.
CANADA GEESE (95) flew over on the 7th and the 11th saw the first ATLANTIC
BRANT go past with several flocks totaling 650 birds, the following day a
flock of 50 went past. Five WOOD DUCKS flew over on the 8th and 2 GADWALL
were seen near the lighthouse on the 7th. Offshore, there have been up to
100 SURF SCOTERS among the up to 2000 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS seen off of Point
Traverse. At least one BLACK SCOTER was among them on the 7th. LONG-TAILED
DUCK numbers are decreasing but up to 2000 can be recorded on the calmer
days. BUFFLEHEAD have started to move out and after the 65 that were
recorded on the 7th numbers began to drop and only a handful are now
present. Mergansers are increasing though and up to 40 COMMON and 85
RED-BREASTED can often be found. HARLEQUIN DUCKS increased to 9 on the 6th.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen at the eastern end of Babylon road on the 11th
and a MERLIN was seen on the 9th. A SOLITARY SANDPIPER and a SPOTTED
SANDPIPER were both seen in the harbour on the 12th and a LEAST SANDPIPER
was seen on the 11th. Birders are occasionally flushing AMERICAN WOODCOCKS
as the tramp around the area looking for warblers. The first RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRD appeared on the 8th and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen at
Point Traverse on the 7th with another seen near the Observatory on the
12th. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS have been seen daily and the occasional
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER can still be found. PILEATED WOODPECKERS have been
seen three times this week. A few WILLOW FLYCATCHERS have been seen and up
to 8 LEAST FLYCATCHERS have been present all week.
The 7th, 11th and 12th were good days with lots of warblers and a good
variety of other species present as well. BLUE-HEADED VIREOS have been seen
daily with a maximum of 10 being present on the 12th. That day also had 18
WARBLING VIREOS, the 11th saw the first RED-EYED VIREO. A WHITE-EYED VIREO
was singing in the woods on the 11th. BLUE JAYS are becoming more obvious
and 120 were recorded on the 11th. BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES have increased
and a peak count of 20 was had on the 11th. The 14th saw 14 RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCHES in the area and BROWN CREEPERS are being seen only every few days
now. There have been no GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS this week but a few
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS are still around with a peak count of 30 on the 6th
and 7th. At least five pairs of BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS can be found in the
woods around the harbour and some are already nest building. A VEERY was
seen on the 11th and the next day 6 were present. GRAY CATBIRDS have
increased with 14 seen on the 11th and 45 were present the next day. A
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen on the beach on the 11th.
Twenty-five species of warblers were seen this week. The first BLUE-WINGED
WARBLER was banded on the 7th and 5 were present on the 12th, single
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS were seen on three dates. The first TENNESSEE WARBLER
appeared on the 7th, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen at Point Traverse on
the 7th. NASHVILLE WARBLERS are coming through in good numbers with peaks of
60 on the 7th, 65 on the 11th. The first push of YELLOW WARBLERS was on the
11th with 50 recorded; two CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS were seen on the 7th, as
were the first 4 CAPE MAY WARBLERS. Single BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS were seen
on the 6th and 7th and up to 20 western PALM WARBLERS have been present all
week. BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS arrived on the 11th and single CERULEAN WARBLERS
were recorded on three dates. AMERICAN REDSTARTS arrived on the 8th and
OVENBIRDS are now being seen daily. The 12th was the best day so far this
spring and the following not already mentioned warblers were seen that day -
TENNESSEE 20, ORANGE-CROWNED 3, NASHVILLE 150, NORTHERN PARULA 30, YELLOW
150, CHESTNUT-SIDED 20, MAGNOLIA 35, CAPE MAY 8, BLACK-THROATED BLUES 35, an
impressive minimum of 1200 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, 35 BLACK-THROATED GREENS,
20 BLACKBURNIANS, 4 BAY-BREASTED, 8 BLACKPOLLS, 15 BLACK AND WHITES, 25
AMERICAN REDSTARTS, 6 OVENBIRDS, 30 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS and the first 2
CANADA WARBLERS of the season.
SCARLET TANAGERS arrived on the 7th and 25 were seen on the 12th. LINCOLN
SPARROWS appeared on the 8th and single SWAMP SPARROWS have been seen most
days. Up to 65 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS have been seen and 100 EASTERN
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were seen on the 8th. DARK-EYED JUNCOS can still be
seen daily in small numbers. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS have arrived in numbers
with up to 45 most days and 60 were seen on the 12th. The first INDIGO
BUNTING was found on the 6th and 8 were present on the 12th. BOBOLINK
numbers are slowly picking up and 40 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were seen on the 8th.
ORCHARD ORIOLES are occasionally being seen and the first two were adult
males on the 6th, up to 50 BALTIMORE ORIOLES are being seen daily now.
EVENING GROSBEAKS were seen on the 6th and 11th.
Elsewhere in the Quinte area, a gorgeous LE CONTE'S SPARROW was seen and
photographed at Point Traverse on May 7th. At the Kaiser Crossroad flooded
cornfields, a WILLET has been present for several days, and other shorebirds
present include LEAST SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, GREATER and LESSER
YELLOWLEGS. Ducks present include NORTHERN SHOVELERS and WOOD DUCKS. A
PIED-BILLED GREBE has also been present for a couple of days.
For more more sightings, be sure to check out the Quinte Area Bird Report on
the Main Birding page at www.naturestuff.net. And for more news from the
Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, be sure to visit their website at
www.peptbo.ca .
The Prince Edward County Spring Birding Festival starts kicks off tomorrow
(Saturday) and continues through the long weekend. Details at www.peptbo.ca
or www.naturestuff.ca .
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[email protected]
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ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to [email protected]
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
