WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, February 12, 2009
It may not have been on his windowsill as the popular 1940s song proclaims, but a Crowe's Road resident at Milford had one on his sundeck railing this week. It has been a good year for EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and scattered numbers continue to show up in Prince Edward County, particularly in the Milford area and south. Certainly more common than bluebirds, has been another member of the thrush family, the AMERICAN ROBIN, and a conservative estimate on Monday between Little Bluff Conservation Area and Point Traverse put the number at 500. Another observer on the 1st, estimated 1,000. Elsewhere, smaller numbers in pockets of 30 or 40 turn up across the County almost anywhere one chooses to drive. Also enjoying the warm weather this past week were four WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS that continue to patronize a feeder at South Bay, and two more showed up this week at a feeder on the east side of Picton. A NORTHERN FLICKER remains on George's Road east of Northport and a SONG SPARROW is visiting a feeder on Maitland Drive in Belleville. For the most part though, the warmer weather has resulted in a 50% drop in clientel at feeders. Exceptions are a feeder east of Milford where COMMON REDPOLLS and PINE SISKINS remain at about 100 with a Murney Street feeder in Belleville trailing in with 50 PINE SISKINS. At Big Island as many as 50 SNOW BUNTINGS have joined the regulars at a feeder near the west end of the island. Those regulars include up to 100 COMMON REDPOLLS. Two PURPLE FINCHES are at a Maitland Drive feeder in Belleville, there is a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH at a Thurlow feeder, and five NORTHERN CARDINALS descended on a feeder in the Barrie Heights area of Trenton this week. A GREAT GRAY OWL turned up for one pair of motorists on Bronson Rapids Road off Springbrook Road and Lahey Road, south of Madoc Tuesday, the second to appear in the Madoc area this winter. Some good stuff at Prince Edward Point including 100 CEDAR WAXWINGS last week, and turning up for observers on Monday was an adult BALD EAGLE on Timber Island and 4 PINE GROSBEAKS at South Bay. WILD TURKEYS are where you find them and a fairly dependable rafter can usually be found north of Belleville along Sidney Street where this week 60 were counted just north of Bell Blvd. A COMMON RAVEN flew over Cape Vesey on yesterday. Despite the mild weather, it will be a few more days even with warm temperatures before conditions improve at some of the more popular viewing areas. One RED-NECKED GREBE early this week tired in its search for open water and dropped exhausted to the centre of Burr Road near Highway 62 where it was rescued and released in open water some distance away. In Trenton, an injured MUTE SWAN, some 40 MALLARDS, and 15 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS continue to remain in the open water of the Trent River near the train trestle where local residents have been feeding them. Open water in the Moira River at the Belleville foot bridge this week harboured at least 400 MALLARDS, 7 COMMON GOLDENEYE, 5 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS and a single COMMON MERGANSER. Prince Edward Bay, beyond the ice at Cressy, contained 4 REDHEADS, 1000 GREATER SCAUP, 12 BUFFLEHEADS, and 100 COMMON GOLDENEYE on Monday, while the mouth of the harbour at Prince Edward Point the same day produced 3 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and a hundred LONG-TAILED DUCKS. In Bloomfield, there was an AMERICAN KESTREL in a Duncan Street backyard, and both SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and COOPER'S HAWKS put in their usual appearances at bird feeders across the region. RED-TAILED HAWKS were seen at several locations, including one perched on a feeder near Jackson's Falls, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK turned up along the Old Milford Road one day last week. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Marilyn Holland-Foster, Sacha Warunkew, Patrick Davies, Lisa Castle, Peter Goode, Dave Bell, Fiona King, Rosemary Smith, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Ted Cullin, John Charlton, Henri Garand, Fred Chandler, Garry & Elaine Kirsche, Judith Gray and Russ Williams for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, February 19th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. All photos this week are by by Paul O'Toole, and include the Amherst Island BARRED OWL on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website, with a COMMON REDPOLL and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER highlighting the online version of the Quinte Area Bird Report. 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/
