WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA
for the week ending Thursday, June 09, 2005
And the heat is on! Prince Edward County would likely have enjoyed some
of Barrie's heavy rain today, as there has been no substantial rainfall here
since April 3rd. Perhaps the one bird we thought we had seen the last of,
and you wouldn't associate with the current high temperatures and drought,
is the GREAT GRAY OWL. Yet, one continues to hang around Moira Ridge Farms,
located at 162 Leslie Road, just south of Roslin, off Highway 37. Owners of
the farm, Heather and Cliff Maclean, say the bird appears off and on, and
was last seen June 5th, but is probably still around the area. Indications
are that this bird has adopted the roadside farm as its territory, as the
bird was seen dive-bombing a car that entered the driveway early in the
week.
Despite the heat at one of Ontario's most popular destinations,
Sandbanks Provincial Park, bird activity here is still pretty good. There
were GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHERS, WILLOW and ALDER FLYCATCHERS,
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT,
WARBLING VIREO and RED-EYED VIREO singing in the wooded areas of the park's
West Point during a full day guided hike there on Sunday. On Wednesday,
there was a MOURNING WARBLER singing from the pine plantations, and a late
BLUE-HEADED VIREO. A LEAST BITTERN was heard calling in the Outlet River
Marsh last week, and on Wednesday, one LEAST BITTERN landed in front of two
students doing a turtle survey in the same location. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
turned up late last week near the four-way stop in the Park's West Lake
Sector, but has not been seen again.
As the nesting season continues, a pair of COMMON GRACKLES has
successfully nested in an open compartment of a derelict aluminum purple
martin house at 23 Sprague Road on Big Island. Young were about in the
surrounding lilac bushes this morning. GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHERS are nesting
in a backyard on Glenora Road, and another pair is checking out a screech
owl nesting box on Big Island. At least 7 pairs of MUTE SWANS were counted
from the Millennium Trail causeway across Consecon Lake on Monday, along
with several pairs of PIED-BILLED GREBES with young in tow. A RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKER was heard calling from a wooded area near the Trail on the north
side of Lakeside Drive on June 4th, and a VESPER SPARROW was singing
vigorously across from the same woods, along the edge of a wheat field. On
Monday, a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was doing a perfect imitation of a killdeer
near the Prince Edward Flying Club on Prince Edward Heights. There was also
a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD seen near the Sandbanks amphitheatre on May 31st. And
a report came in today of several TURKEY VULTURES nesting in a barn on
Salmon Point Road, and a kettle of 10 was seen flying over Glenora Road on
Tuesday.
There is still considerable concern for the heronry at Gull Pond, along
the south shore of the county off Army Reserve Road. There are only a few
pair of herons nesting this year, compared to the 100+ pairs that had nested
previously at this location. Seen Wednesday at this location were several
WOOD DUCKS, along with a handful of GREAT BLUE HERONS, a nesting OSPREY,
MUTE SWANS and MALLARDS.
Other birds of note seen during the past several days in the Quinte area
include MARSH WRENS at Murvale Creek south of Harrowsmith, and 4 GREEN
HERONS in flight over a backyard in the Carrying Place area. Most feeders
are still quite busy, and a feeder in Thomasburg has AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES,
RED-BREASTED and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and 2
pairs of BALTIMORE ORIOLES at the hummingbird feeders. Nearby, on
Vanderwater Road, some of the same birds are also regular guests at a feeder
there, along with CHIPPING SPARROWS, PURPLE FINCHES and WILD TURKEY. It is a
myth that feeders should be put away for the summer.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte
area. Our thanks to Joanne Dewey, Nick Quickert, Mike Carmody, Angela
Mantle, Jerry Foster, Cliff Maclean, John Charlton, Helen Graham, Doris
Lane, Silvia Botnick, Trudy Kitchen and Ted Cullin for their contributions
to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, June 16th.
Bird sightings may be forwarded to [EMAIL PROTECTED] any time before the
Thursday 6:00 p.m. deadline. This report also appears on the NatureStuff
website under BIRDING where this week's featured photo is of a TREE
SWALLOW'S nest in the east end of Belleville, taken by 11 year old Cole
Taylor-Young. In spite of the heat, there is still lots of good birding out
there. Enjoy!
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
