WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA for Sunday, February 08, 2004
A fairly slow week in the Prince Edward County and Quinte area, but accented by a few interesting sightings, mainly at bird feeders. SNOW BUNTINGS were off to a slow start earlier this winter, but flocks, often numbering 100+ in many cases, are now turning up throughout the area. The increase in snow depth has also resulted in a few stragglers finding their way to bird feeders. Two appeared yesterday at a feeding station at 23 Sprague Road, and 6 are coming to a feeder in the Pleasant Bay area. Also on Big Island, a FOX SPARROW is a regular visitor at a feeder at 1831 North Big Island Road. The bird apparently has been coming for at least two weeks and the feeders which it visits can be seen from the side of the road. As the snow continues to fall periodically, bird activity at most feeders continues to increase with higher than usual counts of many species. Our feeder currently has a high of just under 30 BLUE JAYS, 40 TREE SPARROWS, 60 HOUSE FINCHES, 30 MOURNING DOVES and 60 HOUSE SPARROWS on peak days. Twenty COMMON REDPOLLS continue to come to a feeder east of Lake-on-the-Mountain, but there are few reports of them at feeders elsewhere in the county, except for singles here and there. There are 30 at a feeder in the Stirling area where there has also been a flock of a dozen or more WILD TURKEYS. A group of about 9 WILD TURKEYS can be seen most days on Gomorrah Road, near Demorestville, where yesterday they were wandering about the road near the creek crossing, and others perched on the bridge railing and in the roadside trees. Another 9 were seen at Cressy Lakeside on Thursday, and another group, or possibly the same group, was observed west of Kaiser Crossroad along County Road 7 during the week. A female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD is coming to a feeder at Waupoos and a flock of about 50 PINE SISKINS settled in a tree at Prinyer's Cove just this weekend. Numbers of wintering AMERICAN ROBINS don't appear to be as high as in previous winters, although isolated pockets of them still occur here and there. There were 100 milling about on Doxsee Road today and six were seen east of Lake-on-the-Mountain. Also in that area, near Bongard Crossroad this past week, were PILEATED WOODPECKER, 1 COOPER'S HAWK, 1 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and an adult BALD EAGLE, the latter a regular in the Adolphus Reach area. Another adult BALD EAGLE was seen along Cressy Lakeside, and could possibly be the same bird. Birders from the Peterborough area attempting to track down a few of the rarities in Prince Edward County and area today reported no success in their attempt to locate the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at a Trenton feeder, alhtough the BROWN CREEPER was happily feeding on a suet log at the same address. The Rednersville Road BOREAL CHICKADEE was very cooperative, showing up three times in the time they were there looking for it, but only after the observers had retreated to the car and observed from there. The party of observers had no success either finding the Duetta Road HERMIT THRUSH although a single TURKEY VULTURE, one of several wintering this year in the county, was seen at the east end of Royal Road. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Stephanie Collins, Susan Shipman Carmen MacDermaid, Ken & Shirley Joyce, Laura Pierce, Nancy Fox, Doris Lane, Joe Victor, Tony Bigg, and Sergio deSousa for their contributions to this week's report. This report also appears weekly on The Birding Page at www.naturestuff.net . 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.
