This is the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory report for the week of August 30th to September 06, courtesy of David Okines, Bander in Charge.
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS are plentiful offshore with up to 8000 being seen daily. A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was seen in the harbour on the 1st and 2nd and two GREEN HERONS flew over on the 1st. Six MUTE SWANS seen offshore on the 5th may be the largest number ever observed here of this increasing species. One to three MALLARDS are being seen daily but 32 were noted on the 5th, no other duck species were noted this week. NORTHERN HARRIERS have been seen going over all week and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS are becoming commoner. The first COOPER'S HAWK of the fall was seen on the 2nd. BALD EAGLES have also been moving or even hanging around and 12 were seen going over on the 1st including a flock of 7, all seen that day were young of the year birds. Shorebird activity has been quiet but four KILLDEER flew over on the 5th, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER has been seen on and off and a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER was seen on the 31st. Gull numbers are picking up and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS (see photo by Jeff Haffner) are being seen almost daily now. A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was seen behind the Observatory on the 5th and a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was caught on the 6th. The EASTERN SCREECH-OWL that was banded last week is still hanging around and the white outer two primaries can easily be seen when it takes flight. COMMON NIGHTHAWK passage continues to be slow but 16 were seen on the 1st and 4 were seen on the 6th. All the regular flycatchers except EASTERN KINGBIRDS continue to trickle through. A YELLOW-THROATED VIREO seen on the 5th is only one of a small handful of fall records for here. RED-EYED VIREOS are moving in reasonable numbers and peaked at 35 on the 2nd. BLUE JAYS are starting to move with a peak count of 30 on the 5th. Eight TREE SWALLOWS on the 5th and 2 BARN SWALLOWS on the 1st were the only swallow records this week. The first GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH of the fall was banded on the 1st as was the first WOOD THRUSH. Up to 8 SWAINSON’S THRUSHES are being seen daily. Twenty-two species of warblers were seen during the week. No big warbler movements have really taken place yet apart from the 5th when 150 BLACKPOLL WARBLERS were seen. High day counts included MAGNOLIA WARBLER with 20 on the 1st, western PALM WARBLER with 11 on the 5th and AMERICAN REDSTART with 12 on the 5th. New species for the fall were PINE WARBLER on the 2nd and CONNECTICUT WARBLER on the 5th. The first LINCOLN’S SPARROW of the fall was seen on the 5th and occasional WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are being seen. BOBOLINKS have now finished going over. PURPLE FINCHES are picking up a bit again with 20 on the 5th being the peak count, AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES are also starting to move and over 200 were banded during the week with the 5th having at least 225 being recorded. For more information on the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, check out www.peptbo.ca . Elsewhere around Prince Edward County, a hatch year FRANKLIN’S GULL was seen and photographed near Amherstview in the Kingston area on September 5th, and a female SUMMER TANAGER was observed near Bongard’s Crossroad, east of Lake on the Mountain on the 6th. Up to 4 MERLINS have been present along Sprague Road, Big Island, near Demorestville. Two CAROLINA WRENS were present for several days in Picton, but have since moved on, and another has been in the Carrying Place area. A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was seen at Lake on the Mountain on the 2nd and eight COMMON NIGHTHAWKS passed over the same area a day earlier. For birding news around the Prince Edward County area, be sure to click on BIRDING/QUINTE AREA BIRD REPORT from the Main Menu of my website. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County tspra...@kos.net www.naturestuff.net _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
