WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, June 11, 2009
Prince Edward County's first confirmed MARBLED GODWIT leads the Quinte Area Bird Report this week. The bird was observed - where else, but at the Kaiser Crossroad flooded fields. Because these are agricultural fields, owners of the land are now draining the water from them preparatory to seeding the fields once again with this year's crop of corn. The new addition now brings the Prince Edward County Bird CheckList to 348 species. Other highlights there this week included a WHIMBREL, 8 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, 46 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 12 DUNLIN, 13 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS and 2 RUDDY TURNSTONES. Also there this week were 3 GREEN HERONS, 18 MALLARDS, 27 CASPIAN TERNS, 5 GREAT BLUE HERONS, 7 CANADA GEESE and one each of AMERICAN BITTERN, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BLUE-WINGED TEAL and OSPREY. At a property south of Carrying Place, the owner there founds lots of raptors flying around this week including both SHARP-SHINNED and COOPER'S HAWK, and a pair of EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS involving one red morph and one grey morph, along with one young of the year bird, about 80% full grown. There was a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK calling loudly at Deroche Lake, east of Thomasburg this morning. Other birds seen there on an 8-km hike around a small section of the huge property were both WOOD THRUSH and VEERY and a singing HERMIT THRUSH. RED-EYED VIREOS and OVENBIRDS were plentiful, and other birds of note encountered were BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, AMERICAN REDSTART, YELLOW WARBLER, SCARLET TANAGER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, EASTERN TOWHEE, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, and HOUSE WREN. It would appear to be a good year for CHIMNEY SWIFTS, given the isolated reports of birds that have been seen in recent weeks. In Trenton, one observer there has been watching an old 20-metre high chimney at Gimpel Electric Supply, a location where 30 years ago was one of several areas where CHIMNEY SWIFTS would gather and nest. The old chimney is thought to be the last site in Trenton where this species is believed to be nesting. The observer watched this week as six birds entered the chimney, and assuming there were 3 pairs. At 8:30 p.m. last Wednesday night he began watching again as a few birds circled the chimney and 30 minutes later birds started to pour in the chimney as if it were a vacuum, the final tally being close to 50 birds. Another good sighting this past week were two pairs of nesting AMERICAN ROBINS, both pairs, in different areas of the region, nesting right on the ground. One pair in Sidney Township, on Forsyth Road, near Keating-Hoards Conservation Area is in the middle of a field with the closet thing for shade being a hydro pole several feet away. A similar nest at South Bay in Prince Edward County had a bit more thought involved in its placement, this one on the ground at the base of a fence post. A COMMON RAVEN was calling again this week at 23 Sprague Road where one has appeared sporadically since last winter. A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was seen today along the Moira River at Rotary Park in Belleville. And a GREAT EGRET was spotted south of Glen Miller. A new bird this week on the yard list of a west Big Island resident was a GREEN HERON that perched atop the branches of a dead apple tree by the shoreline and called repeatedly for several minutes before flying off after being startled by the opening of a door. WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are calling and probably nesting at two locations, along Sprague Road and along Lakeside Drive in the Consecon Lake area. Bird feeders, with the exception of nectar feeders, have eased into a low ebb, now that the nesting season is in progress, and the only birds of interest reported this week were a NORTHERN FLICKER feeding under some feeders just west of Picton, and an EASTERN TOWHEE in a backyard along Highway 62 near Crofton. An UPLAND SANDPIPER was seen perched on a fence post last Friday along County Road 1 near Chase Road. In the Tweed area, a nest box full of TREE SWALLOWS provided some protein for a visiting BLACK BEAR who tore apart a rugged nest box, bending the metal pole and ripping the rough cut one inch pine like cardboard. On Crookston Road a WHIP-POOR-WILL has been calling nightly, and a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO takes up the cause during the day. Canoeists on the Moira River this week spotted the nest of a BALTIMORE ORIOLE, not so much by the pendant shape of the nest itself, but by the colourful thin blue nylon twine the birds thoughtfully used to suspend the nest from the branches. At the H.R. Frink Centre near Plainfield Monday night, there were at least three VIRGINIA RAILS scurrying about the marsh boardwalk, while back in Prince Edward County along Fry Road a resident there was deeply concerned about the health of her ailing husband when she noted a TURKEY VULTURE perched on their utility pole and eyeing the house. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to Nick Quickert, John Charlton, Pamela Stagg, David Bree, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Ted Cullin, John & Janet Foster, Henri Garand, Steve Bolton, Ove Jaste & Mary-Ann Caswell, Virginia Cresswell-Jones and Cindy Nicholls for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, June 18th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. Photo of a nest of BARN SWALLOWS on the Main Bird Page this week is by Marie Clarke of Roslin. Photos of the ground nesting AMERICAN ROBIN at South Bay in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report was contributed by Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes. Additional photos of a VIRGINIA RAIL at the H.R. Frink Centre at Plainfield, and a roosting backyard TURKEY VULTURE along Fry Road are by Donna Fano and Kathy Felkar, respectively. 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 ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
