Birders visiting Presqu'ile Provincial Park this week have found a good variety of both land birds and water birds. Ice conditions in Presqu'ile Bay during most of the week have made it possible to view hundreds of birds in the water from various vantage points along Bayshore Road, and feeders in that area have been very active.
In Presqu'ile Bay off the government dock there have been two Horned Grebes on December 31 and January 1, and three Tundra Swans on December 29. A drake Northern Pintail accompanied the Mallards at Salt Point on December 31 and January 1. The two Green-winged Teal that have been with the Mallards at Beach 1 were still there on January 1. A few Canvasbacks, a Ring-necked Duck, and Lesser Scaup continue to reward patient birders who are willing to scan the rafts of Redheads and Greater Scaup in Presqu'ile Bay. Small flocks of White-winged Scoters can be seen far offshore in Lake Ontario when viewing conditions are right, and two individuals are appearing repeatedly off Salt Point. A single female Black Scoter was in the company of a handful of Common Goldeneyes in Lake Ontario east of the Nature Centre on January 1. Two different Bald Eagles have been seen at Gull Island, one on December 28 and the other on January 1. Two Sharp-shinned Hawks and a possible Cooper's Hawk are the only other noteworthy hawks seen in the Park this week. Mid-winter is not the season when one expects to find shorebirds, yet on December 29 there were two Dunlins and a Purple Sandpiper on Gull Island. The Dunlins were seen again on December 31 and January 1, but have eluded some observers. A Glaucous Gull was sitting on the ice of Presqu'ile Bay on January 1. On December 31 a very tame Great Horned Owl at the west end of the High Bluff campground showed some field marks of the northern race. Several reports suggest that there may be more than one, and perhaps several, Northern Shrikes in the Park. Although Golden-crowned Kinglets are not uncommon in the denser coniferous forests of the Park in winter, the one that was seen in the vicinity of the lighthouse on December 31 and January 2 was unexpected. The flock of American Robins that has been voraciously consuming buckthorn berries near the lighthouse parking lot has caught the attention of many visitors with only a casual interest in birds. The most recent sighting of the Chipping Sparrow at 83 Bayshore Road was on December 31, but four other species of sparrows have been seen there in recent days, including two White-throated Sparrows, a Song Sparrow, and, from December 30 to January 1, an adult White-crowned Sparrow. A House Sparrow (rare at any time on the peninsula) was also there on December 30. Common Grackles and a Brown-headed Cowbird are the only blackbirds found at Presqu'ile this week. To reach Presqu'ile Provincial Park, follow the signs from Brighton. Locations within the Park are shown on a map at the back of a tabloid that is available at the Park gate. The channel separating Gull Island from the mainland has almost disappeared, making the island almost a peninsula. The channel is only a few metres wide and about 10-15 centimetres deep. However, when the channel between the island and Owen Point is frozen, as it has been recently, the ice may be unsafe to walk on without breaking through. Questions and comments about bird sightings at Presqu'ile may be directed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Fred Helleiner 186 Bayshore Road, R.R. #4, Brighton, Ontario, Canada, K0K 1H0 VOICE: (613) 475 5309 If visiting, access via Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Fred Helleiner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
