This has been a typical winter week for birding at Presqu'ile Provincial
Park, with hardly any day-to-day or week-to-week changes. Every species
seen in the past week, even the rare or semi-rare ones, has been seen
this month at least twice before. The sad news of the week concerns Don
Shanahan, who died on Tuesday after struggling with cancer for over a
year. Don was a pillar of the Presqu'ile birding community, a leader of
birding trips at home and abroad for the Ontario Field Ornithologists
and Quest Nature Tours, a regular contributor to, and occasional author
of, these weekly birding reports, a great birding companion, and a fine
individual. He will be greatly missed.
With both Popham Bay and Presqu'ile Bay largely free of ice, there are
thousands of ducks at Presqu'ile. The most noteworthy is the male
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE that is around the lighthouse all the time. Its
annoying habits of diving repeatedly for food and bouncing between one
wave trough and the next make it a challenge to find, but persistence
usually pays off. An immature BALD EAGLE has been around Presqu'ile Bay
off and on all week. A female NORTHERN HARRIER was coursing over Gull
Island this morning. On January 15, a PEREGRINE FALCON was around the
outer part of Presqu'ile Bay, sitting on the ice and in the trees of
Salt Point and at one point contesting possession of a LONG-TAILED DUCK
with a BALD EAGLE. The only uncommon gull this week was an ICELAND GULL
on the ice of Presqu'ile Bay. At least two attempts to find SNOWY OWLS
at Owen Point were unsuccessful, but that part of the Park has had even
less coverage from birders lately than the rest of Presqu'ile
There have been sightings of PILEATED AND RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS,
CAROLINA WREN, and multiple AMERICAN ROBINS in the past week. The
SAVANNAH SPARROW that has been seen infrequently for the past month was
at 102 Bayshore Road on January 16, the latest date on record for that
species at Presqu'ile. Apart from HOUSE FINCHES and AMERICAN
GOLDFINCHES, no other finches have been seen this week, but WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS could appear this month.
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. Visitors to Gull Island not using a
boat should be prepared to wade through knee-deep water in which there
is often a swift current and a substrate that is somewhat uneven and
slippery. Moreover, there can be a great deal of ice on the surrounding
shore. Birders are encouraged to record their observations on the bird
sightings board provided near the campground office by The Friends of
Presqu'ile Park and to fill out a rare bird report for species not
listed there.
Questions and comments about bird sightings at Presqu'ile may be
directed to: [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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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/
