WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA for Week Ending Thursday, November 25, 2004
Welcome to the new and improved Quinte Area Bird Report. This report is e-mailed out to a local subscriber list of approximately 80 recipients, as well as the Ontbirds listserv (over 1,400 subscribers), and also appears on the NatureStuff website as well as Gord Gallant's Ontario Birding Home Page. The new date for issuing this report is an attempt to conform to dates when other similar reports from other well known birding areas in the province are sent out, in an effort to make more recent sightings available to weekend birders. To catch up, this week's report encompasses sightings over the past 10 days, or more. To start with, weekend birders anticipating a birding expedition to the county would have fared very well simply by sitting in the comfort of their vehicle at Sandbanks Provincial Park, with the spotting scope trained on the waters of Athol Bay, in Lake Ontario. On November 22nd, many hundreds of mainly BONAPARTE'S GULLS, attracted there by as many mergansers fishing the waters, contained no fewer than five LITTLE GULLS, an immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, a first year GLAUCOUS GULL, and Prince Edward County's third ever sighting of a SABINE'S GULL. All, except the SABINE'S GULL were still present yesterday, but as of today, the situation changed, and the majority of gulls had vacated the area. To reach the viewing location, in the event the situation may reverse, take the main entrance into Sandbanks Provincial Park, and turn right onto County Road 12 and follow for a short distance to where the road approaches the lakeshore, roughly in the vicinity of the entrance to the Woodlands Campground. Over in East Lake where LITTLE GULLS have made this area popular to November birders in recent years, another 10 or more of this species were seen harassing a flock of scaup and goldeneye on Sunday. There were still 7 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS hanging around the docking area at Picton Bay on November 22nd, and a single bird was present the same day at Wellington Harbour, where waterfowl there included 300 CANADA GEESE, 16 BUFFLEHEAD, 35 BLACK DUCKS, 100 MALLARDS and a single HOODED MERGANSER. The waterfowl situation always seems to change at Wellington, and today, there were 4 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 60 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, 50 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 17 AMERICAN WIGEON and 2 NORTHERN PINTAILS. Two MUTE SWANS, an apparent newcomer to the Adolphustown area this past year, were present in the bay at the park there on Friday where there were also a hundred or so MALLARDS. Elsewhere, GREATER SCAUP, BUFFLEHEAD and another 2 MUTE SWANS have been present in the Point Petre area, and last Sunday a good sized flock of BUFFLEHEADS was present on Sunday in Lake Ontario, out from the old Lakeshore Lodge site at Sandbanks Provincial Park's West Point area. Prince Edward County's first SNOWY OWL of the season passed over a house near Elmbrook on November 11th, and a BARRED OWL was found on November 18th in a wooded area at Mountain View along Highway 62, (access from Cannery Road). In the woodpecker family, a late RED-HEADED WOODPECKER on an unspecified day last week was visiting a West Lake feeder near Sheba's Island, but has since disappeared, and has been replaced by a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. Another RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER has been patronizing feeders in Picton, and a PILEATED WOODPECKER descended into an area of feeders at 2800 County Road 1 (Scoharie Road), northwest of Bloomfield , on Tuesday. Other feeder guests during the past week have included PINE SISKINS in limited numbers at many feeders in the county, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES at a feeder east of Lake-on-the-Mountain, and also at Albury, across the Bay of Quinte from Trenton where there was also a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. Up to five EVENING GROSBEAKS are coming to a feeder in Thomasburg. Approximately 30 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES are visiting a feeder on the shore of Soup Harbour, and smaller numbers are at most feeders throughout the county. Lingering (or conversely, wintering) GREAT BLUE HERONS were reported from Point Petre (2), in the wetland at Adolphustown Park, Belleville at the Bayshore Trail, West Lake at Wellington, and Consecon Lake. Other late birds included 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS off Big Island's North Shore Road on the 11th, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER at Point Petre on the 25th, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at Sandbanks on the 21st, a TURKEY VULTURE and SONG SPARROW this past week at Point Petre, and lots of still present COMMON GRACKLES, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and AMERICAN ROBINS all over the place. Hawks have included 6 RED-TAILED HAWKS and 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS at Point Petre. Now, to whet the appetite for the weekend, we are following up a report of a "possible" WESTERN KINGBIRD that turned up east of Lake-on-the-Mountain in two separate locations during the last several days. I mention this only to encourage further investigation should anyone be thinking of birding along County Road 7 this weekend, from Lake-on-the-Mountain, toward Prinyer's Cove. Please be advised that the bird HAS NOT been confirmed yet. A slightly blurred photo has been submitted and one observer gave a detailed description of the bird that appeared on November 17, 20 & 21 in his backyard at 2075 County Road 7, which he initially dismissed as an extremely late and confused great crested flycatcher, but upon review, appeared to have all the markings of a western. If anyone is interested in following up this sighting this weekend, and confirming the report, the general locations where the bird was reported is from 2168 County Road 7 (first seen Nov.9th) to Civic address #2075 where it was last seen on the 21st. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Joanne Dewey, Molly Mulloy, Eileen Robbins, Janet Chandler, Joe Victor, Elena Petrcich, Doris Lane, Wynne Thomas, Rae O'Brien, Silvia Botnik, Bill Hogg, Tom Finora, Nancy Fox, Paul Kenny, Margaret Bain, Don Shanahan (OntBirds), and Bob Maurer for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated by Thursday, December 2nd. Bird sightings may be forwarded at any time, with a deadline of 6:00 p.m., Thursday night. Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.naturestuff.net
