WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, December 11, 2008
With colder temperatures sealing the majority of smaller lakes and bays in Prince Edward County this week, observation of waterfowl from now on likely will be confined to Lake Ontario. However, open water on East Lake on Saturday, before the cold snap, resulted in a noteworthy 32 LITTLE GULLS being observed, 2 on Outlet Beach, 4 at Wellington and another 2 at Point Petre. LITTLE GULLS are no strangers to Prince Edward County and a high of 44 were seen 10 years ago at Prince Edward Point, and East Lake has always been a favourite hang-out for this species, the world's smallest gull where numbers here have also approached 30 in past years. We still don't know much about this gull and tend to regard them as "vagrants' because no one can agree on whether they have always been native to North America, or somehow migrated from Europe where there is a larger population. High numbers of BONAPARTE'S GULLS were also recorded at the above locations with which LITTLE GULLS frequently associate. West Lake, before the temperature plummeted, had over 500 COMMON GOLDENEYES, GREATER SCAUP and about 8 REDHEADS. Also succumbing to the colder temperatures has been Weller's Bay, and waterfowl there moved, out of necessity, to the open channel where two each of HOODED MERGANSERS and TUNDRA SWANS were found among the usual species of waterfowl yesterday. It is hoped that a COMMON LOON, heard calling on the Bay of Quinte on Saturday, has since moved on. The Bay of Quinte has completely frozen over and the usual waterfowl action in the Massassauga Point and Horse Point areas has come to a virtual standstill. Three NORTHERN GOSHAWKS were present this week - one at a feeder at 2800 County Road 1, another trying unsuccessfully to psyche out a red squirrel (or vice versa) at a feeder along Crookston Road near Tweed, and another seen north of Tucker's Corners along Wallbridge/Loyalist Road in the Belleville area. A dark morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK passed over a house on Victoria Road on the 7th, and a light morph was seen three days later in the Elmbrook area. At Barcovan Beach yesterday there was a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK there, along with two RED-TAILED HAWKS and a NORTHERN HARRIER. A cooperative SNOWY OWL was seen by several observers on the 5th in an open field along County Road 12 at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and a BALD EAGLE managed to get entered on one person's yard list as it flew over carrying the catch of the day at Adolphustown. RED-TAILED HAWKS are in good numbers across the Quinte region, but one bird feeder operator at Lake-on-the-Mountain was beginning to feel this week that the argument that even hawks have to eat was being taken to extremes when a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK and a COOPER'S HAWK all checked out the clientel at her feeder one weekend. Singles of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS are near, or at feeders, along County Road 1, South Bay and at Big Island. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH numbers are high this winter across the region, and MOURNING DOVE numbers are soaring, with 31 at a Lake-on-the-Mountain feeder and 44 this morning at a 23 Sprague Road feeder. DARK-EYED JUNCOS are also present in good numbers so far this winter. Forty AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS are regulars at a Tweed area feeder, and there was a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER in a Trenton back yard this week. A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH is coming to a feeder in Bloomfield, and a local bird bander near Elmbrook set up her nets in her back yard a week ago, and caught a BROWN CREEPER. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are at feeders on Glenora Road, George's Road, and Adolphustown. PILEATED WOODPECKERS turned up during the week at Lake-on-the-Mountain, Stirling and Trenton, and NORTHERN FLICKERS were seen at Point Petre and in the Elmbrook area. COMMON RAVENS continue establishing themselves in the Quinte area, and individuals during the week were observed at Trenton (2), Sprague Road (1), and Victoria Road (2). Other noteworthy sightings over the week included 2 PINE SISKINS at Sandbanks, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT at Wellington on the 6th, all three species of scoters at Point Petre on Saturday, 8 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in the Elmbrook area on the 7th, and a flock of more than 100 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS along the Tuftsville Wetlands in the Stirling area. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Eric Caley, Marilyn Sprissler, Tyler Hoar, Borys & Gabrielle Holowacz, Joanne Dewey, Pamela Stagg, Cathie Stewart, Janet Foster, Henri Garand, Silvia Botnick, Kathleen Rankine,Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Bill Hogg, John & Margaret Moore, Nick Quickert, Heather Heron, John Charlton, Nancy Fox, Donald McClure and Brock Burr for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, December 18th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. The feature photo on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website this week is a PILEATED WOODPECKER at a feeder in Trenton, taken by Kathleen Rankine. Photos in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report are by this week's feature photographer Paul O'Toole, of a SNOWY OWL and a NORTHERN GOSHAWK. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County [email protected] www.naturestuff.net _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
