WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE
WEEK ENDING Thursday, October 12, 2006
Weather has played a major role as to what has been turning up this week, or
conversely, what has been absent. At Prince Edward Point, it would appear
that the weather is trying hard to prevent the NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS from
coming through again this year, the lack of light north-westerlies has meant
only 61 NORTHERN SAW-WHETS have been trapped so far this fall, although this
is slightly up on the 53 to date of last year. The norm to date is usually
300 to 500 by now; hopefully they have just been held up and will flood
through in the next week or so as they did last year. Other birding at the
point has been as usual for early October with good numbers of both
RUBY-CROWNED and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS moving through.
A RED-NECKED GREBE flew past today and early in the week 150 and 190 TURKEY
VULTURES passed over on the 6th and 7th. Three BLUE-WINGED TEAL were in
among the MALLARDS in the harbour on the 9th, while offshore the GREATER
SCAUP flock has built up to at least 1500. Nineteen RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS
were seen on the 7th, and 12 were seen on the 9th. Two BALD EAGLES flew over
on the 7th, as did 3 NORTHERN HARRIERS, 30 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 10
RED-TAILED HAWKS, and the first RED-SHOULDERED HAWK of the fall. Up to four
KILLDEER have been seen daily around the point but no other shorebirds were
present. BONAPARTE'S GULLS are still lingering offshore and 26 were seen on
the 10th. An EASTERN SCREECH OWL was trapped on the 10th and NORTHERN
SAW-WHET, GREAT-HORNED and LONG-EARED OWLS were all calling just after dark
on the 9th. Only 24 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS have been trapped all week.
A RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD was seen visiting the feeder as it got dark on
the 5th and was quickly trapped on the following morning. Up to two BELTED
KINGFISHERS have been in the harbour all week. YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS
have decreased after having a good fall and only single birds are being seen
in a day now. The last EASTERN WOOD PEWEE was seen on the 6th, but EASTERN
PHOEBES can still be seen flycatching around the area. Twelve BLUE-HEADED
VIREOS were seen on the 6th and 8th but are starting to be less common now,
while RED-EYED VIREOS are down to only ones and twos seen in a day. BLUE
JAYS have also decreased and only 1-200 can be seen flying over each day
now. Three TREE SWALLOWS flew past on the 9th and were last seen heading
north! Still being seen in good numbers are BROWN CREEPERS and 10-20 a day
are usual.
As mentioned earlier, kinglets are moving in good numbers with 250 GOLDEN
and 200 RUBY-CROWNED seen on the 6th and 200 GOLDEN and 350 RUBY-CROWNED
seen on the 10th, with 1-200 of each seen on most other days. The last
SWAINSON'S THRUSH was seen on the 6th, and 10-20 HERMIT THRUSHES a day are
being seen. Another feature of late fall is the movement of the northern
AMERICAN ROBINS and 35 seen on the 9th were obvious migrants. GRAY CATBIRDS
have all but gone and a late BROWN THRASHER was present on the 9th near the
end of the harbour. Small flocks of migrant EUROPEAN STARLINGS are still
continuing to move through and up to 170 have passed over in a day.
Warbler variety is definitely decreasing and only 10 species have been seen
this week, three NORTHERN PARULAS were seen on the 6th and a late MAGNOLIA
was trapped on the 7th. A scattering of BLACK-THROATED BLUES and GREENS have
been seen and MYRTLE or YELLOW-RUMPED have started to increase with 380
present on the 10th. Two PALM WARBLERS were present on the 8th and 10th and
the last AMERICAN REDSTART was seen on the 7th, and an OVENBIRD was banded
on the 6th. Migrant CHIPPING SPARROWS are putting in an appearance with up
to 10 present daily, the second FOX SPARROW of the fall was trapped on the
8th, 10-35 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are around daily and similar numbers of
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS can also be seen, most of which are young birds but
one or two adults with their distinct black and white heads can also be
found. DARK-EYED JUNCOS are also starting to appear and 65 were counted on
the 6th, and 35 were seen on the 10th. A few blackbirds are going over each
day and 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were seen on the 9th and 10th sitting in the tops
of the trees.
While the over 60 mm of rain that we received yesterday and overnight has
put a damper on the owl migration, it has, however, resulted in some
interesting observations elsewhere in the county. One observer from
Allisonville comments, "I have spent the last hour or so looking out the
windows of our house trying to spot the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock somewhere
on the property. A flock of 300-400 grackles descended (literally) upon us
and went into feeding frenzy mode. They were all over the feeders and on the
ground eating what had fallen from the feeders. They also must have found
bugs or worms that the rain brought to the surface as they fanned out over a
lot of the yard to eat like crazy. Some were bathing and drinking in the
generous puddles that have formed in the last couple of days. So far, none
have tried to come down the chimney."
A similar sighting was made east of Northport when 40 to 50 AMERICAN CROWS
arrived at an address on George's Road and were seen walking along and
drinking out of the rain puddles. For waterfowl though, the weather has been
perfect. About 165 CANADA GEESE were seen in the Bay of Quinte off George's
Road, and on Muscote Bay at the west end of Big Island, 12 MUTE SWANS
continue to be seen along with the same number of AMERICAN WIGEONS, and up
to 60 MALLARDS, along with seemingly thousands of unidentified ducks in the
bay out of reach of the spotting scope. A BELTED KINGFISHER was still
present on Sunday, and the last OSPREY (so far) of the season was still
hanging around Consecon Lake yesterday, the 11th. Two GREAT BLACK-BACKED
GULLS turned up in the Bay of Quinte at George's Road during the weekend.
In between showers, it has been business as usual for migrating birds with
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS still here in good numbers, lots of both
WHITE-THROATED and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, CHIPPING SPARROWS, AMERICAN
ROBINS, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, EUROPEAN STARLINGS and both RUBY-CROWNED and
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS still passing through. As they pass through, others
such as DARK-EYED JUNCOS have arrived in good numbers, although many of
these will also continue on their way, leaving lesser numbers probably to
join the winter guests at local bird feeders. Of course, this large movement
of migratory birds hasn't been without its incidents. One observer at the
corner of Whitney Road and Melville Road in the Consecon Lake area, was
alarmed on the 10th to be awakened by the sound of birds hitting his west
window. Most were GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS with a few RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS
and no fewer than 20 strikes were made while he and his wife attempted to
thwart off the Kamikaze birds. Near Northport, one garage there contained a
confused BROWN CREEPER.
The saga of the COMMON RAVEN continues in Prince Edward County and it
appears the species is intent on becoming established in this area. In
addition to individuals having been seen occasionally in the Black River,
Waupoos, Milford, South Bay, Prince Edward Point, and Stinson Block areas
through the summer, another individual was seen on October 8th north of
Carnrike Road, in the Consecon Lake area. At least one tardy EASTERN TOWHEE
was still present in the Allisonville area as of today. In the Tweed area,
an EASTERN BLUEBIRD was present along Crookston Road, and in downtown Tweed
itself, a WILD TURKEY appeared on the 10th.
This is a condensed version of the Quinte Area Bird Report, containing only
the significant sightings for Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. The
full version can be found on the NatureStuff website, under BIRDING from
the Main Menu.
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
