WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FOR PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, January 15, 2008
Prince Edward County and Quinte area residents who have not seen either PINE SISKINS or COMMON REDPOLLS at their feeders, or have not come across them in their travels this past week, would seem to be in a minority. Some numbers of note at feeders for PINE SISKINS include 80 east of Lake-on-the-Mountain, 50 in Bloomfield, 40 on Dunnett Blvd. in Belleville, 30 on Murney Street in Belleville, 25 on Glenora Road, and 20 at Harmony Road in Thurlow. Among the similarly high numbers of COMMON REDPOLLS appearing across the region, one HOARY REDPOLL showed up at a feeder just east of Lake-on-the-Mountain, where a FOX SPARROW is also present. Another FOX SPARROW and 2 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are at a feeder in Allisonville, the latter species also present at 23 Sprague Road and at Elmbrook Road. SONG SPARROWS are at Waupoos and Trenton. A single PINE GROSBEAK can be seen most mornings along Sprague Road or North Big Island Road. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS have also moved into the area, with small numbers turning up wherever conifers have produced cone crops. One observer on the north side of Belleville said one group was foraging for seeds all week in her conifers, and she commented on the importance of planting conifers and later watching these trees produce results. "Finche are definitely on the move," said one Elmbook area bander who had to close up her nests after two hours due to the sheer volume of birds. Among those caught and banded were 79 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, 22 PINE SISKINS, 22 COMMON REDPOLLS, 15 PURPLE FINCHES, and a single HOUSE FINCH. One of the COMMON REDPOLLS caught had been banded in in Michigan on January 24th, 2008. The new arrivals all seem to be feasting well as all were very fat, said the bander. Numbers of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and DARK-EYED JUNCOS remain high across the region, with over 30 juncos at a Fry Road feeder and over 40 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES at a Wilson Road feeder. Several occurrences of PILEATED WOODPECKERS this week with some in backyards, a few at feeders, and others in wooded areas. Extremely cold temperatures have sealed up all but the most determined bodies of water. The mid-winter Waterfowl Inventory, from Trenton to Point Petre resulted in over 3,000 hardy souls floating amongst the ice floes, representing 12 species. Only 17 MUTE SWANS were seen, compared to last year's 111, a result of Wellington Harbour and other dependable areas being completely iced over. Two NORTHERN PINTAILS were found at the mouth of Consecon Creek and a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS turned up on the mill pond in Consecon. The Trent River at the train trestle in Trenton currently has about 60 CANADA GEESE, 41 MALLARDS, a female WOOD DUCK and an injured MUTE SWAN. At Prince Edward Bay, 20 MUTE SWANS were seen flying along shore there. Hard to imagine, given the current temperatures, that warblers, thrushes and flycatchers will be moving through Prince Edward Point in just a short 14 weeks; however, if one dares in this weather, a visit there now can still produce some interesting finds. Present in the area on the 11th were 3 separate flocks of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 4 adult BALD EAGLES, 2 COMMON RAVENS, a GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, an EASTERN BLUEBIRD, and 10 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. Eight YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were also present on Sunset Drive in the Massasauga area this week. and another COMMON RAVEN present along Highway 49 north of Picton, seen perched on a roof top. Too many SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and COOPER'S HAWKS to list off individually this week, probably a result of lots of patronage at bird feeders and menu items from which to choose. For hawks assigning less importance to diversity in their diet, there are 50 BLUE JAYS visiting feeders in the George's Road area, east of Northport. A RED-TAILED HAWK was seen on Belleville's Murney Street during the week, and one Lake-on-the-Mountain resident got hit pretty hard with no fewer than three hawk species at her feeder, offset though by the sight of four BALD EAGLES along Adolphus Reach. A NORTHERN SHRIKE was in one backyard on Fry Road and another in Belleville during the week. A GLAUCOUS GULL was present on the 11th at the Glenora Ferry crossing, and perhaps the best bird of the week was a GRAY JAY along Melville Road, east of Consecon Lake, something we haven't had in Prince Edward County since 2004. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to John Blaney, Silvia Botnick, Glenn Helm, Heather Heron, Kathy Felkar & Mike Burge, Bruce Ripley, Joanne Dewey, Pamela Stagg, Fiona King, Brock Burr, Donna Fano, Fred Chandler, Gary & Elaine Kirsch, Henri Garand, Laura Pierce, Doug & Evelyn Sloane, Judy Kent, Dirk deBoer, Tom Higginbottom, John Charlton, Margaret Kirk, Brian Durell, Jess Chambers, Dave & Judy Bell, and Monica Mills for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, January 22nd, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. Dave Bell of Belleville submits our featured photo of the week on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website, of something ducks should not be doing these days, given the brisk prevailing westerlies! Photos in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report are also by Dave Bell and include a BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE and a HOUSE FINCH. 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
