This is the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory report for the week of September 14 to September 20, courtesy of David Okines, Bander in Charge.
Three COMMON LOONS flew over on the 10th, while offshore the number of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS being seen daily, varies between 3 and 10 thousand. A GREEN HERON was seen flying over on the 12th. A few CANADA GEESE were moving on the 9th and 10th and MALLARDS around the harbour increased to 23 on the 11th and two male WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS flew over on the 10th. A GREAT BLUE HERON can be seen most days in the harbour and a GREEN HERON was present on the 15th. Up to 24 CANADA GEESE have been seen in a day but no movements took place this week. The first LESSER SCAUP of the fall was seen off of Point Traverse on the 20th and 3 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS flew past on the 16th, five COMMON MERGANSERS stopped briefly on the rocks near the lighthouse on the 17th and a single RED-BREASTED MERGANSER flew past on the 18th. OSPREYS and BALD EAGLES continue to frequent the harbour area all week and up to 3 NORTHERN HARRIERS a day have been seen going over. Two COOPER’S HAWKS were seen on the 16th with one of them being banded while a PEREGRINE FALCON was seen on the 17th. Shorebirds were scarce this week with just singles of SPOTTED and SOLITARY SANDPIPER being seen. A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO escaped from the nets on the 17th. Owling has commenced and 6 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS were banded on the night of the 19th/20th but few are ever caught in September. Our website at www.peptbo.ca will be updated daily with the total number of Saw-whets banded the night before.One or two RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS are still being seen daily. The first YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER of the fall was banded on the 16th with another bird being seen the next day. NORTHERN FLICKERS are starting to move and up to 6 a day are now being observed. Late flycatchers seen this week included YELLOW-BELLIED on the 15th, LEAST on the 16th and GREAT-CRESTED on the 14th and 15th. BLUE-HEADED VIREOS are becoming commoner and late WARBLING VIREOS were seen on the 15th and 19th. BLUE JAYS are increasing and peaked at 2500 on the 17th. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are still moving and 25 on the 17th was the peak count while WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are now starting to be seen regularly. The first WINTER WREN of the fall was banded on the 14th with another being trapped on the 20th. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS arrived on the 17th when 8 were present. A late BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER was seen at Point Traverse on the 15th GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES peaked at 10 on the 19th and SWAINSON’S THRUSHES peaked at 18 on the 16th. Twenty species of warblers were seen during the week. The second TENNESSEE WARBLER of the month was seen on the 19th and the first ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER of the fall was also seen on the 19th. Two NORTHERN PARULAS were seen during the week and MAGNOLIA WARBLERS are starting to drop off. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS are starting to increase and 35 were noted on the 19th. A BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER was seen on the 15th as were 6 western PALM WARBLERS. A late NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was banded on the 14th, and a HOODED WARBLER that was banded on the 20th is only the second one ever banded in the fall here. Three SCARLET TANAGERS were present on the 19th. WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are now commoner and peaked at 15 on the 16th and 19th, the first DARK-EYED JUNCO of the fall was seen on the 15th and one was banded on the 17th. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were seen on the 15th and 17th. PURPLE FINCHES continue to move and peaked at 30 on the 15th, AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES continue to move in good numbers and up to 250 a day are being seen or banded. Best birds of the week were two GOLDEN EAGLES that flew over on the 19th, they were only a couple of days off of being the earliest ones ever in the fall. Our annual fall fundraising dinner is only 5 weeks away, Ron Tozer is our guest speaker, please see our website for details (www.peptbo.ca ). Elsewhere around Prince Edward County, DARK-EYED JUNCOS are just starting to appear. In addition to the individual seen at Prince Edward Point on the 15th, another turned up on Fry Road north of Picton on the 18th. BALD EAGLES were seen this week at Lake on the Mountain and South Bay. A juvenile YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER is coming to a feeder at South Bay, and many bird feeder operators are now reporting PURPLE FINCHES as this species continues to move through the area. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was present along the Doe Lake Trail at Frontenac Provincial Park on the 16th. For birding news around the Prince Edward County area, be sure to click on BIRDING/QUINTE AREA BIRD REPORT from the Main Menu of my website. Prince Edward County is situated south of Belleville and Trenton. There are five access points – C.R. 64 from Brighton, Highway 33 at Carrying Place, Highway 62 at Belleville, Highway 49 at Deseronto, and Highway 33 at Glenora. To reach Prince Edward Point, take County Road 10 from Picton to Cherry Valley and Milford, then C.R. 13 at South Bay to Prince Edward Point. 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 [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
