Presumably because birders have been preoccupied with celebrations of
one sort or another during the past week, there has been a paucity of
bird reports from Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Most of the interesting
sightings have been in Presqu'ile Bay, where residents keep an eye on
what there is to see when otherwise not occupied. The ice margin has
retreated to the calf pasture, allowing waterfowl to avoid the hunters
at Salt Point.
Late last week about 600 MUTE SWANS and at least a dozen TRUMPETER SWANS
were in Presqu'ile Bay. Yesterday the numbers of the former had
dwindled somewhat and a dozen or so TUNDRA SWANS accompanied them. The
first CANVASBACKS usually show up at about this time. This week there
have been only a couple of dozen REDHEADS, as well as a lone male
RING-NECKED DUCK for a few days. WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS are there in
single digits. A surprising concentration of about 120 COMMON
MERGANSERS on Tuesday was the only sighting of that species in over a
week. Seven WILD TURKEYS were along Bayshore Road near Lilac Lane
yesterday. Three AMERICAN COOTS were off the government dock on Friday
but have not re-appeared. Two ICELAND GULLS and one GLAUCOUS GULL have
been on the edge of the ice in Presqu'ile Bay.
The big news among Bayshore Road residents has been the BALD EAGLES
sitting on the ice of Presqu'ile Bay and in adjacent trees. On most
days several have been seen at once, and two observers mentioned
counting ten or eleven at a time. Two observers found a NORTHERN
GOSHAWK along Paxton Drive, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was on Gull Island.
The only owl of the past week was a BARRED OWL. A flock of CEDAR
WAXWINGS was seen on Friday. After spending over a week at 186 Bayshore
Road, the SAVANNAH SPARROW mentioned in last week's report disappeared
after Thursday of last week.
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 (a couple of
metres of water
with a depth of a centimetre or two separated it from Owen Point on
Tuesday) may
encounter a slippery coating of ice on the rocks. Ice cleats are
recommended.
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: fhellei...@trentu.ca <mailto:fhellei...@trentu.ca>.
--
Fred Helleiner
186 Bayshore Road
Brighton, Ontario
K0K 1H0
613-475-5309
If visiting, access via Presqu'ile Provincial Park
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