WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE
WEEK ENDING Thursday, March 16, 2006
From a week that was so boring that I was reduced to reporting rats at a
feeder to create any kind of a report at all, to one that is bustling with
signs of spring in the offing. What can only be described as a fallout of
blackbirds took place in Prince Edward County took place on March 10th, when
nearly every bird feeder from Wellers Bay to Prinyer's Cove and from Big
Island to Sandbanks Provincial Park had both COMMON GRACKLES and RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS, apparently having arrived during the night. While most feeders
reported numbers ranging from a handful to several dozen, there were 500
COMMON GRACKLES and 2,000 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS at Prince Edward Point the
following day. As the migration continued north, reports began trickling in
from the Madoc and Tweed area the following day.
The blackbirds, however, were only the catalyst. SONG SPARROWS also became
more apparent by an increase in numbers and in many locations were singing
enthusiastically last weekend. The first two KILLDEER of the spring season
were seen in the area of Smokes Point and Gardenville Roads on the 10th,
another was seen the same day west of Trenton, another on Barry Road in
Trenton on the 14th, one showed up in Bloomfield on the 11th, one was seen
on the 12th along Kaiser Crossroad, and a nice group of 7 turned up along
North Big Island Road at the west end of Big Island on the 15th. The first
WILSON'S SNIPE of the spring showed up along Kaiser Crossroad on the 12th,
and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS put in appearance in the Brighton area on the 12th,
and along Ridge Road in Prince Edward County on the 14th. An AMERICAN
WOODCOCK was heard at 4:30 a.m. at 23 Sprague Road on the 11th, and have
been heard every morning and evening since. AMERICAN ROBINS also staged an
impressive return during the past week.
But it is the waterfowl that were the stars of the past week, although
sometimes difficult to find. Some bodies of water like East Lake, are now
fully open and others are making better than normal progress at losing their
ice. This has resulted in waterfowl numbers being widely dispersed and often
difficult to pull in, even with the aid of spotting scopes. But, they're out
there. Today, COMMON GOLDENEYE, LONG-TAILED DUCKS and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS
were seen at West Point, and there were lots of LONG-TAILED DUCKS and a few
BUFFLEHEAD in Athol Bay this afternoon. At the Glendon Green boat launch off
County Road 18 at East Lake, both AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS and MALLARDS were
present along with 2 COMMON MERGANSERS, 4 RING-NECKED DUCKS, about a dozen
MUTE SWANS and 52 TUNDRA SWANS. Wellington Harbour these days is quite
disappointing as the ducks are mostly out of sight, but there were 400
CANADA GEESE there this afternoon. A HOODED MERGANSER was seen in Prince
Edward Bay just south of Kaiser Crossroad.
The famous flooded cornfields along Kaiser Crossroad are just now starting
to come to life. On Sunday, there were 200 NORTHERN PINTAILS, 75 AMERICAN
BLACK DUCKS and a NORTHERN SHOVELER. Today, the NORTHERN PINTAILS were still
present in similar numbers, along with at least 2 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, a few
AMERICAN WIGEONS, and a WOOD DUCK mixed in with the CANADA GEESE, TUNDRA
SWANS, MALLARDS and AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS. Birders visiting the county in the
next few weeks who wish to get up close and personal with waterfowl would do
well to visit this site as viewing opportunities are excellent. To reach
Kaiser Crossroad from Picton, take Highway 33 east to Lake-on-the-Mountain
Road and follow County Road 7 for about 15 kilometres to Kaiser Crossroad.
At Prince Edward Point on Sunday, there were 2,000 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS,
12 HOODED MERGANSERS and about 30 GREATER SCAUP. Twenty-seven TUNDRA SWANS
were counted at South Bay the same day, a location that seldom was without
this species through the entire winter, due to changing ice conditions.
Unlike earlier years when TUNDRA SWANS in the spring were something of a
novelty, with few being seen compared to the thousands that show up each
March in the Lake Erie area, the species has been getting increasingly
common in Prince Edward County in recent springs. They tend to show up
wherever there is open water and proof of that is the sighting of 9 in a
tiny flooded depression in an agriculture field along Burr Road on the 13th.
And in Fish Lake, 11 were seen on the 15th.
A seemingly prolific body of water for migrating waterfowl anymore is
Muscote Bay where over the past two days there has been an impressive
variety comprising RING-NECKED DUCKS (20), GADWALLS (4), MALLARDS, HOODED
MERGANSERS (12), COMMON MERGANSERS, COMMON GOLDENEYE, scaup and AMERICAN
WIGEON. Cressy Lakeside on the 12th produced MALLARDS, COMMON GOLDENEYE,
BUFFLEHEAD and COMMON MERGANSER. With water conditions the way they are this
spring, it's a case of simply driving along and stopping whenever ducks are
close enough to the road to observe.
A few other signs of spring included a GREAT BLUE HERON today along Wesley
Acres Road at Bloomfield and another at Cherry Valley on the 15th. Two
TURKEY VULTURES have shown up - one along Sandy Hook Road south of Picton on
the 15th and another gliding near the Number 2 dam on the Trent River a day
earlier. There was a BROWN CREEPER seen on the weekend in Adolphustown.
The PEREGRINE FALCON continues to frequent the McNabb Towers area in
downtown Belleville, and RED-TAILED HAWKS during the week were seen on
Bradley Crossroad, Fish Lake, and West Point. There has been an AMERICAN
KESTREL along Green Point Road in the area of the Quinte Skyway Bridge.
Other noteworthy sightings during the past week included a DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANT at Glenora on the 12th, a PILEATED WOODPECKER at Rosehall on the
11th, and 4 BALD EAGLES (2 imm and 2 adults) at Glenora on the 12th.
While bird feeders have lost some interest with the disappearance of the
snow, there were 2 COMMON RAVENS and 4 EVENING GROSBEAKS this past week at a
feeder on Lahey Road south of Madoc. And the famous feeder along Glenora
Road in Prince Edward County which attracted so many birds and watchers of
birds this winter, appears to be faltering with only 45 PINE SISKINS and
COMMON REDPOLLS, 5 DOWNY WOODPECKERS, 2 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, 15 AMERICAN
GOLDFINCHES, 20 DARK-EYED JUNCOS and 25 BLUE JAYS.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.
Our thanks to Ron Weir, Doug McRae, Silvia Botnick, John Squire, Cheryl
Anderson, Yvette Bree, Doris Lane, Donn Legate, Theresa MacKenzie, Nancy
Smitts, Barbara & Jerry Kennedy, Judith Gray, Mia Lane, Evelyn & Doug
Sloane, Pamela Martin, Will Ogden, Henri Garand, Frank Artes & Carolyn
Barnes, Brian & Gloria Durell, Bill Hogg, Margaret Kirk, Pamela Stagg, Trudy
Kitchen, Lorraine Mattin, Peter Marshall and John Charlton for their
contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on
Thursday, March 23rd. Bird sightings may be forwarded any time to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] before the Thursday 6:00 p.m. deadline. This report also
appears for a week on the NatureStuff website, under BIRDING, where this
week's photo of an AMERICAN WOODCOCK is by Peter Sporring of Belleville.
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.naturestuff.net
