WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FOR PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA
for Thursday, December 02, 2004
Our apologies for the delay in this week's bird report. Very few reports
came in this week, which is a bit unusual, but we will present what we have.
With the arrival of the first measurable amount of snow overnight, local
bird feeders should start to hum, and local birders too, as they anticipate
further additions to their "winter bird list." Many birders maintain such a
list, the season commencing on December 1st and ending on February 28th (or
29th) which tends to coincide more closely with normal bird activity. But
what exactly is normal these days with warming trends now keeping fall
migrants well into December, and even early spring migrants sometimes
arriving as early as late February. So how accurate is the winter bird list
actually? However, it's a fun thing to do, and who says that birding must
always be scientific?
GREAT BLUE HERONS always take pride in getting on the winter list each
season, and there were 5 on December 1st at Adolphustown Park where there
was also a BROWN CREEPER. A lone DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT was found loafing
on a gravel bar the same day at Glenora Marina.
While the weather continues to be relatively mild for this time of year, now
is the time to scout the East Lake area for LITTLE GULLS, where flocks
numbering 30 or more have occurred in past years. Areas to look for these
gulls are from the Group Campground along County Road 18 at East Lake, or
from the County Road 18 boat launch, exactly 1.2 km east from the park
entrance intersection, or exactly .9 km west from the Outlet River Bridge,
depending on the direction you are travelling. There were 6 LITTLE GULLS at
the boat launch there at 1:30 p.m. yesterday. Another possible location is
the mouth of the Outlet River, accessible from within the park itself. They
move around alot, and many times are quite distant.
The feeding frenzy of mergansers and gulls in Athol Bay has dispersed, but
New Jersey birder Bob Maurer found a GLAUCOUS GULL still hanging around the
shoreline there at County Road 12 on November 30th. In the group campground
at Sandbanks the same day, there were 3 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and a single
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, and elsewhere along East Lake, there was a single
TURKEY VULTURE, and a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. A feeder in the same area, on
Gray's Lane, has a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER.
Two MUTE SWANS can still be found in Adolphustown Park, along Highway 33
east of the Glenora Ferry landing. Other noteworthy sightings over the last
seven days include a PURPLE FINCH at a feeder at 2075 County Road 7 east of
Lake-on-the-Mountain, a NORTHERN SHRIKE on Ridge Road on November 26th, 5
WILD TURKEYS on Mountain Road at Lake-on-the-Mountain, and a freshly hit and
run NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL on Sprague Road at 7:00 a.m. Friday morning.
It seems we will never know for sure the identity of the mystery kingbird
which inexplicably turned up in November along County Road 7 east of
Lake-on-the-Mountain. Further searches have failed to turn up the bird
again. Over two dozen requests came in from subscribers to this report for
photos to examine in the hopes of pinning an identity on the vagrant. While
the possibilities of either a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, a WESTERN KINGBIRD, or a
WESTERN/CASSIN'S hybrid came to light, only the kingbird himself/herself
knows for sure what it is. And that's the way it will likely remain. Our
thanks to everyone who spent time enhancing the available photos and coming
up with their own suggestions as to the possible identity of this bird. Two
photos of the bird have been posted on my website at www.naturestuff.net .
You will find them in the Quinte Area Bird Report under the BIRDING section
from the main menu. The photos include a new one which just came in and both
will be on the site until December 9th.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to Bill Hogg, Albert Boisvert, Doris Lane, Jim Ives, Joe Victor
and Bon Maurer for their contributions to this week's report. This report
will be updated on Thursday, December 9th. Bird sightings may be forwarded
to [EMAIL PROTECTED] at any time before the deadline of 6:00 p.m., December
9th. This report also appears on the NatureStuff website under BIRDING.
Enjoy the "winter birding."
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
