WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, December 18, 2008
After so many years of promoting Prince Edward County as THE place to bird, to be credited with providing this year's Presqu'ile Christmas Bird Count's "massive record" of 4686 EUROPEAN STARLINGS was a dubious honour! The census circle passes through the Consecon/Stinson Block/Carrying Place areas of Prince Edward County, and we did redeem ourselves somewhat by contributing others to the overall totals as well, including 2 COMMON RAVENS on the Stinson Block, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS at Gardenville, three of the five WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, the latter found foraging together along the Millennium Trail at the edge of the circle along Salem Road. It is the Christmas Bird Count that generally produces our most exciting finds, and we are hoping for great things when we take part in the Prince Edward Point Bird Count on Saturday. Across the region, some good stuff appearing. A COMMON RAVEN was in the Elmbrook area on the 13th, and another continues to appear sporadically at the east end of Big Island in the Bay of Quinte. A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was singing energetically early this morning at the north end of Sprague Road (something he may decline doing tomorrow!) where it has been for several weeks. There was a GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET at the east end of South Big Island Road on the 13th, and a NORTHERN FLICKER along North Big Island Road near Quinte Point the same day. Another of the latter is in the Elmbrook area where there were also 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS seen on the 13th. A CAROLINA WREN was at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Saturday. North of Stirling, an observer there counted a half dozen COMMON RAVENS. Huge piles of "Tweed Abattoir fat" along Crookston Road in the Tweed area have succeeded in attracting the attention of at least four COMMON RAVENS who have been observed ripping apart huge chunks and then flying off to stash their booty. Of questionable origin, but providing sustenance for several AMERICAN CROWS during the week along the shoulder of Sprague Road, was an enormous discarded liver. It was completely consumed inside of five days. A SONG SPARROW was along the Millennium Trail at Harbard Road in Gardenville on the 14th. An abundant wild food crop this winter, particularly red juniper berries, probably is the reason for the high numbers of AMERICAN ROBINS with counts ranging from a few dozen to over a hundred commonly encountered along roadsides. COMMON REDPOLLS continue to tantalize bird feeder operators as to their intended status in the area this winter. Twelve were seen late yesterday afternoon behind a house along County Road 39 west of Consecon, and a lone individual was spotted on Monteagle Blvd in Belleville early in the week. PINE SISKINS (2) appeared on Harmony Road in Thurlow on the 14th, and three were seen in the Cressy area on the 13th. The number of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES coming to feeders isn't nearly as spectacular as last winter at this time; however, individuals have been seen at feeders this past week in Picton, Bloomfield, and two at a feeder near Tweed. Overall, with the exception of MOURNING DOVES, small numbers of birds at most feeders continues to drag on, although 50 each of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS at a Tweed area feeder are worth noting. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are at two different feeders along George's Road east of Northport, and one along Elmbrook Road. In Trenton, a female PILEATED WOODPECKER is coming to a feeder, and others during the week were seen at Thurlow, Huff's Island and Albury. SNOW BUNTINGS can be heard most days passing over, but only in small numbers; a single bird was perched atop a house roof along North Big Island Road on the 13th. In contrast, a flock of 200 was seen in a field along Belleville's Maitland Avenue last weekend. Six CEDAR WAXWINGS along George's Road were happily munching down Russet apples on the 17th, and a nice flock of at least 65 passed over the Stinson Block on the 13th. Cold weather has made waterfowl viewing a challenge as most of the traditionally good viewing areas are now frozen. One exception is Consecon Lake which this week had scaup, CANADA GEESE, COMMON GOLDENEYE and small numbers of MUTE SWANS. Over 80 MUTE SWANS were present on the 15th at Wellington Harbour and a small gaggle of 1,000 CANADA GEESE was seen in Consecon Lake on the 17th about 4 km west of Melville. TRUMPETER SWAN # 954, a female released at Big Island in 2006, and which spent last February in the Outlet River at Sandbanks Provincial Park, is now residing in the Presqu'ile area. BALD EAGLES seem few and far between this winter to date, and none was reported during the week. In contrast, RED-TAILED HAWKS during the week were so numerous it seems a waste of space to document them all, although an individual perched in a tree at Mountain View Airport is worth mentioning in as much as there was a COMMON CROW perched just above it, while at Stirling the opposite was true where a RED-TAILED HAWK was observed buzzing a tree full of COMMON CROWS. RED-TAILED HAWKS were only two of several raptors noted by the observer north of Stirling during the week, other raptors including GREAT HORNED OWL, NORTHERN HARRIER, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. A NORTHERN HARRIER can be seen most days over the Big Island Marsh. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to David Bree, John Blaney, Henri Garand, Ted Cullin, Joanne Dewey, Judy Bell, Donna Fano, Fiona King, Patricia Bartle, Kathleen Rankine, Janet Foster, Rosemary Kent, Chesia Livingston, Doris Lane, Janet Mooney, Peter Mohr, Donald McClure, Marilyn Holland-Foster and Cheryl Anderson for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, December 25th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. The feature photo on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website is by the author of a birder in action during the Presquìle Christmas Bird Count. Photos in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report are by Dave Bell of Belleville, and include an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County tspra...@kos.net www.naturestuff.net _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. 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