WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA
for Thursday, December 09, 2004
A rather ho-hum week with nothing too spectacular showing up in Prince
Edward County and the general Quinte area. If there was anything exciting at
all among the reports that came in, it would have to be the BALD EAGLE that
was seen soaring above Parks Creek in Tyendinaga Township early in the week.
Relatively mild weather might account for 2 GREAT BLUE HERONS that still
linger at Adolphustown Park. There was a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT in Smith's
Bay from Dec. 5-7, and a BELTED KINGFISHER was seen on East Lake on November
30th. A YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER at Point Petre on December 5th, and a
scattering of TUNDRA SWANS at Adolphustown (4) and 12 at East Lake, both on
December 3rd, round out those species that can be considered late
departures.
A Kingston Field Naturalists field trip to Prince Edward Point on December
5th yielded a nice list of species seen, including a RED-THROATED LOON, 6
HORNED GREBES (there was 1 on Athol Bay Dec. 8), 2 WINTER WRENS and 2
NORTHERN SHRIKES. The group also saw 12 LITTLE GULLS and 2 MUTE SWANS on
East Lake, and a BROWN CREEPER at Adolphustown Park. Today at Prince Edward
Point, there were about 40 MALLARDS, 30 CANADA GEESE, a few COMMON
GOLDENEYE, 2 MUTE SWANS and about 30 CANADA GEESE. BUFFLEHEADS were on Soup
Harbour, and MALLARDS had been seen there earlier in the week. If you are
inclined to see CANADA GEESE, there are about 100 in Prinyer's Cove that
will likely continue to hang around until ice conditions forces them out
into Lake Ontario. There were 33 COMMON GOLDENEYES in Athol Bay on the
evening of December 8th.
Hawks seen during the week included a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on Old Milford Road
on December 5th, and a NORTHERN HARRIER the same day on Point Petre Road. A
MERLIN made an unsuccessful pass at a feeding station in Bloomfield during
the week, and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was also seen in Bloomfield area
backyards. At Point Petre, a NORTHERN HARRIER was reported on December 8th,
as well as 2 RED-TAILED HAWKS during the week. Two NORTHERN SHRIKES were
seen in the Bloomfield/Scoharie Road area on Thursday and last Sunday
respectively, as well as one at Prince Edward Point, and an AMERICAN KESTREL
has joined the bird feeder guests at 2800 County Road 1.
Speaking of feeders, patronage at most seems to be bustling. Most are
reporting exceptionally high numbers of BLUE JAYS and BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEES this winter so far, and a sign of things perhaps to come came
with a report of 2 COMMON REDPOLLS at a feeder at 2800 County Road 1. Also
high in numbers at least 20+ feeders in the county are AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES,
many still sporting their summer garb according to at least 12 observers,
where numbers of birds seem to average at least 15 or so birds, with a high
of 30 at four different feeders, and 40 at a feeder south of Tweed.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are coming to feeders in Albury, east of
Lake-on-the-Mountain, and Bloomfield, while PINE SISKINS numbering from one
to 15 appear at several feeders in the county. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS
continue their march into Prince Edward County with individuals coming to
feeders at Highway 62 and Jericho Road, Picton, Christian Road, and County
Road 1. And on Crookston Road, south of Tweed, there are 4 PURPLE FINCHES
coming to a feeder there. And while not at a feeder, it is interesting to
note that 3 SNOW BUNTINGS were seen on County Road 1 near Consecon Lake on
December 8th.
GREAT HORNED OWLS have been seen and heard at Big Island, County Road 1 and
Point Petre. There was also a report of a GREAT GRAY OWL north of Black
Creek having been seen sometime in either late November or very early this
month. Interestingly, after a column I wrote on the subject appeared in the
Belleville Intelligencer, a well described individual was reported to have
appeared in the Bongard Street area of Belleville as early as mid-October!
A final post on the mystery kingbird that turned up in November on County
Road 7 in Prince Edward County. I was able to obtain a few additional photos
of the kingbird and they are now on my website at www.naturestuff.net. I
have also included a few of the comments from birders who responded to my
request for their thoughts on the bird. Anyone interested in commenting on
the kingbird can find the dedicated page under the BIRDING heading from the
main menu. When the page loads, scroll down until you find "The Mystery
Kingbird." Have fun!
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to Nancy Fox, Brian & Gloria Durell, Bruce and Justin Ripley,
Sergio de Sousa, Jane Hill, Bob Maurer, Debbra Fingland, Margaret
Haylock-Capon, Rae O'Brien, Cheryl Anderson, Bill Hogg, Doris Lane, Silvia
Botnick, Evelyn Sloane, Joe Victor, Donald McClure, Wynne Thomas, John &
Janet Foster, and Don Chisholm for their contributions to this week's
report. This report will be updated on Thursday, December 16th. Bird
sightings may be forwarded to [EMAIL PROTECTED] at any time before the
Thursday deadline of 6:00 p.m. This report also appears on the NatureStuff
website under BIRDING.
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
