WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA for Sunday, January 25, 2004
Frigid weather once again gripped Prince Edward County and area as temperatures dipped this morning to -34 C in some areas. Bird activity continues to be brisk at most feeding stations. The best feeder bird is still the BOREAL CHICKADEE at a feeding station near Rednersville. Most operators reported extremely heavy traffic today with very high numbers of BLUE JAYS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and MOURNING DOVES topping the list, and higher numbers of other regulars. In Bloomfield, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS are visiting a feeder there, along with one PURPLE FINCH yesterday. Approximately 40 COMMON REDPOLLS have been visiting a feeder in the Marmora area daily, and a BROWN CREEPER and a PILEATED WOODPECKER were seen on Barry Road in the Trenton area. EVENING GROSBEAKS (9) were reported from a feeder on the 8th Line of Tyendinaga. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are coming to feeders east of Lake-on-the-Mountain, and another is visiting a feeder on Barker Street in Picton. And three flying squirrels are night time visitors at a feeder in Trenton. With the increased feeder activity comes increased surveillance from members of the hawk family. A NORTHERN HARRIER, in its exuberance, collided with a window in the Adolphustown area, and an AMERICAN KESTREL in Bloomfield killed itself while in pursuit of an ornament in a porch window, much the same as a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK did on Kleinsteuber Road, mentioned in last week's report. An over zealous COOPER'S HAWK near Bongard Road nabbed three NORTHERN CARDINALS and an AMERICAN GOLDFINCH during one day's hunt, and a RED-TAILED HAWK at the same location made an unsuccessful attempt grabbing a MOURNING DOVE. The relentless cold has resulted in nearly all of Prince Edward Bay being completely frozen. The only significant open water appears to be closer to Prince Edward Point where 4,778 LONG-TAILED DUCKS were counted during the week. One other patch of open water was at Cressy where 21 COMMON GOLDENEYES were tallied. During the last few weeks, both WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and GREATER SCAUP, were all but absent, but reappeared during the week at Prince Edward Point. A BARROW'S GOLDENEYE that had been seen at Prince Edward Point earlier, could not be found when a party of observers scoured the area on January 20th. However, a TUFTED TITMOUSE cooperated long enough to be seen by several people as it remained on the shoulder of the road at the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, just past the Ducks Dive Shop. Other interesting birds seen in the Long Point area on January 20th included 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, a NORTHERN SHRIKE, 3 PURPLE FINCHES, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and hundreds of LONG-TAILED DUCKS along County Road 13 (Long Point Road) to Prince Edward Point. Two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, 40 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, 4 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, a NORTHERN FLICKER, 100 AMERICAN ROBINS, 80 CEDAR WAXWINGS, 70 SNOW BUNTINGS, 20 HORNED LARKS, 40 COMMON REDPOLLS, 4 WILD TURKEYS, and 3 SONG SPARROWS were all tallied in North Marysburgh along County Roads 7 & 8 in the Waupoos, Prinyer's Cove and Lake-on-the-Mountain areas. The same day, a BALD EAGLE and an ICELAND GULL turned up at Glenora Ferry. On Thursday, there was an adult BALD EAGLE on Long Point Road and another on Cressy Lakeside Road, probably different individuals, and a flock of about 50 CEDAR WAXWINGS on the Rock Crossroad. Another BALD EAGLE (imm) was seen Friday near the open water at the Lennox Generating Plant near Bath. Yesterday, there was a flock of 40 or more HORNED LARKS feasting around a manure pile on May Road and over 100 SNOW BUNTINGS in the Townline Farms fields north of Wellington. Today, there was a PILEATED WOODPECKER and an AMERICAN KESTREL where the Millennium Trail crosses Station Road, Hillier. A cold and forlorn GREAT BLUE HERON that was seen by several people earlier in the week in an open pond near Anderson Farms off County Road 5 in the community known locally as Yerexville, has disappeared now that the pond is solid ice. Two COMMON FLICKERS showed up near the corner of County Roads 1 and 2 on Monday. A single TURKEY VULTURE continues to brave the elements at Milford, and three near Point Petre were seen struggling with a RED-TAILED HAWK for the rights to a roadside carcass, in which the hawk ultimately won. RED-TAILED HAWKS are still presenting themselves in high numbers so it is useless to document every sighting in this report; however one of interest was an individual perched on a post directly in front of the Prince Edward Cruising Club on Picton Bay. Another hawk of interest was an adult PEREGRINE FALCON found dead today east of Milford, near Jackson's Falls. A WINTER WREN was seen in a nearby swamp at 2800 County Road 1 on Friday. In the Marmora area, a BARRED OWL was seen on Monday and Tuesday, and 20 SNOW BUNTINGS were observed north of Campbellford. Another BALD EAGLE was seen yesterday soaring over the Crowe River below Marmora. Last winter, a number of dead LONG-TAILED DUCKS washed up on Lake Ontario shores around Prince Edward County and area. Results from 8 of those birds collected revealed they died of a parasite that generally causes anemia by feeding quickly through the gut of the birds. The parasite is obtained by feeding on snails and/or mussels. Contributor to the birding report, Michael Schummer of the University of Western Ontario, is attempting to determine is if these are migrants that succumb to the parasite once on Lake Ontario or if they are birds that winter here. People who find dead LONG-TAILED DUCKS this winter/spring in the Prince Edward County area should contact Michael by e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) or by phone (519-471-1924) to arrange for pick-up of the birds. Since few if any other freshwater wintering areas exist for this species, this should be a good way to differentiate which population is dieing from this disease/parasite. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Caroline Lecker, Michael Schummer, Jake DeVries, Bruce Ripley (OntBirds), Albert Boisvert, Vicki Clowater, Bill Vloeberghs, Beth McPherson, Nancy Fox, Shirley Preston, Henry Pasila, Wayne Dove, Bill Hogg, Donald McClure, Joe Victor, John Charlton and John Blaney for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated by 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 1st. Bird sightings must be in by 6:00 p.m. to be included in the next report. Good winter birding. Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.naturestuff.net "Terry Sprague" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
