WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, March 26, 2000Some nice days this past week resulted in a bit of a flurry of birdactivity. Birders who drove to Wellington in hopes of viewing waterfowlended up being disappointed as most of the high numbers present earlier inthe month have now left.
As of Saturday, there were some 6,000 ducks atPresqu'ile for the first weekend of their annual waterfowl festival,representing about 25 species.Observers at Prince Edward Point late this week had good success down theretallying 10,000 OLDSQUAW, 1,000 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, 80 RING-NECKED DUCKS,350 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and 20 AMERICAN WIGEON. Also present were REDHEAD, CANVASBACK, WOOD DUCK, GREEN-WINGED TEAL (2), SURF SCOTER (2), twoCOMMON LOONS in breeding plumage and a high of 10 HORNED GREBES.
Good observing can be had from South Bay (where thousands of ducks were reportedon Friday) right on down to the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area.The phenomenal number of ducks encountered last week in a flooded cornfield near the corner of Kaiser Road and County Road 8, east of Waupoos, are now but a memory, but there was still a good population to keep observers happy this week. RING-NECKED DUCKS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN WIGEON and an impressive 810 NORTHERN PINTAILS were still present there on Thursday. Overall numbers of ducks were lower there today. Meanwhile at Point Petre, observers there on Wednesday found 300 OLDSQUAW. The wetlands and creeks and open lake along Wesley Acres Road south of Bloomfield contained small numbers of COMMON and HOODED MERGANSERS,RING-NECKED DUCKS, COMMON GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD, MALLARD and CANADA GEESElast week.
The warmer weather has done nothing to push the BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on their way. There were 600 at Prince Edward Point on Saturday, feasting on apples. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were also seen last week along Dug Hill Road in Trenton(60), Big Island (60), Queen Street in Picton (60), and smaller numbers at a Century Drive residence in Picton.
RING-NECKED PHEASANTS are out and about searching for mates. An amorous male was wandering around Maitland Street in Picton on Tuesday, and other confused and bewildered males were sidestepping automobile traffic at four other locations - along the West Lake Road, at the Skyway Bridge south of Deseronto, on Royal Road near Milford and along Highway 33 at Adolphustown. New arrivals this past week included EASTERN PHOEBE (4 at Prince Edward Point, 3 at Presqu'ile, and one at Big Island). GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS (6 at P.E. Pt.), 1 VESPER SPARROW (P.E. Pt.) and an early VIRGINIA RAIL at the Frink Centre near Plainfield on Wednesday. There was also a COMMON SNIPE at Prince Edward Point on Saturday where observers also checked off TREE SWALLOW, 4 NORTHERN FLICKERS, 4 BROWN CREEPERS and a TURKEY VULTURE. There was also a TURKEY VULTURE along Bengill Road on Saturday. A light phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen at Milford today.
The NATURESTUFF web page has already been updated for the month of April.This month you will find information on waterfowl viewing areas in Prince Edward County (marshes and creeks where dabblers can be found), what birds are expected to arrive this month, some tips on naturalizing your premises,and some new information on the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (soon to have their own web site). The special feature on the popular Droll Yankees line of bird feeders will remain for another month. All new photos,as well as the calendar of events for this year's 4th annual Prince Edward County Birding Festival, May 13 to the 20th.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 2nd. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario, Canada
tsprague@kos.net
www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
Dear Fellow Birders
Stopped at Grays Rd. in Stoney Creek on Saturday to look for any eiders or scoters but none of either, lots of Oldsquaw, and some Red-breated Mergansers, Bufflehead, Scaup, and Goldeneye.
Next stop after that was at the Winderemere Basin which the only good birds were 2 Cormorants, though some Scaup were present as well.
After I stopped at Tollgate Ponds and found both Shovellers and Ruddy Ducks there, also present were many Scaup.
Last stop was at LaSalle Marina in hoping for the female eider, but to no avail. There were 30 Coots, 7 Trumpeters and 2 Tundra Swans present, among the Gadwalls, Black Ducks, and R-B and Common Mergansers.
Mike Boyd Oakville, Ontario
In Reply to: Re: Heermann's Gull posted by Tyler on March 26, 2000 at 16:01:10:
Assuming this bird keeps being so wonderfully treatd to so easy and sumptuous a diet as has occurred so far through the kindness of birders, I might be inclined to agree it could spend its whole life here.
Speculation of potential future hybrid breeding as a possibility has occurred to many. Equally possible is that as a stranded bird it may never breed. I doubt though, that we will ever be able to prove a negative. Best we can hope for is to document any such occurrence as thoroughly as we can should it occur.
Such an eventuality has precedent with the 1981, 1982 (and possibly sooner) California Gull at the Leslie St. Spit.
The lone long-staying Kelp Gull in Maryland disappeared for a short while last spring. Who knows whether it attempted to hybridize? Like I said, it is easier to prove a known occurrence than to prove nothing occurred (in the absence of continuous monitoring - and night vision binoculars!).
Yesterday, March 25th, I led one of the Toronto Ornithological Club's Jim Baillie Memorial outings along the western Lake Ontario shore from Sunnyside/High Park to Stoney Creek.
While at Humber Bay Park East we discovered the Heermann's Gull in the east parking lot.
At Colonel Sam Smith Park we saw two Tree Swallows. This is about exactly right for when the first Tree Swallows usually appear in this area according to my own personal records. We also had 2 singing Northern Mockingbirds at Colonel Sam Smith.
Off the foot of Royal York we had a male Blue-winged Teal.
We visited High Park, Sunnyside, Humber Bay Park East & West, Colonel Sam Smith Park, Marie Curtis Park, Bronte Harbour, Appleby Line, Shoreacres Park, Walker's Line, Sioux Lookout, Van Wagner's Beach, Green Rd., Windermere Basin, Tollgate Ponds, North Shore Blvd., LaSalle Marina and the Hendrie Valley and saw close to 60 species.
In Reply to: Heermann's Gull posted by Joel Kits on March 25, 2000 at 19:35:13:
I got a strong feeling that this bird will spend the rest of its life in the lake Ontario Basin. When it matures it will probably then breed with a ring billed and have or attempt to have young. If it remains around this area that long then look to the Leslie st spit or the eastport drive area of Hamilton harbour for it's attempting to secure a ring-billed mate.
Tyler
Just a question: What's going to happen to the Heermann's Gull when it tries to migrate? It would be interesting to find out if it finds its way back to the west coast, or if it flies north with the arctic gulls, or even just sticks around. Any thoughts?
Joel Kits
This past Wednesday, I saw a flock of 40-50 Tundra Swans in a field at the northeast corner of Britannia and 5th Line near Milton. I had only a quick look at them in the morning and wasn't completely sure if they were Tundra Swans or Snow Geese. I took the same route back in the evening and was able to confirm that they were definitely Tundra Swans. The next morning they had moved on.
A pair of Tree Swallows just arrived and are checking out a nest box beside our pond 5 KM west of Stouffville. This seems early.
From Don Davis:
Just a reminder that the Presqu'ile Waterfowl Festival will run from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm on March 25 and 26 and April 1 and 2 . On March 25 and 26, Bushnell Sports Optics Worldwide will offer their popular "Binocular Hospital" cleaning service. A complete line of Bushnell binoculars and telescopes will also be available for field testing. Normal park fees will be charged, or, a donation of five dollars per vehicle will be gratefully accepted to help support next year''s festival. The Presqu'ile Waterfowl Festival is brought to you by the Friends of Presqu'ile Park in partnership with Ontario Parks. For more information please call (613) 475-4324.
Don Davis
Toronto,ON
P.S. A Carolina wren was last seen March 19th in the Residential area of the peninsula. Check the Bird Sightings Board book for the most recent sighting location.
Further to Tyler's recent message about Mountsberg, here are some recent sightings from the reservoir, over the past few days: 28 Ring-necked Ducks, 24 Common Mergansers, 13 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Bufflehead, and 1 Pied-billed Grebe. Last year in late March and early April, the reservoir was extremely productive, with hundreds of ducks of various kinds present - I expect this will be the case again in the coming weeks. The birds present change almost daily, and move around the reservoir too - it's worth checking the different lookout ponits to see what's around.
Marcel
In Reply to: Quinte Area Bird Report - Mar. 19/00 posted by Terry Sprague on March 19, 2000 at 19:50:46:
I have strayed into this online reporting site but was interested in your report on ducks last Sunday. That day, just before leaving Quebec and entering Ontario on the 401 between 2:45 and 2:55 in the afternoon, I saw hundreds of ducks flying north high overhead in many v and trailing line formations coming in waves from the south.
One Pileated Woodpecker was seen halfway along walkway from Edward's Gardens to Wilket Creek Park at 1:30 pm today. Also the Cooper's Hawks are on their territory behind Sunnybrook Hospital as they have bred there for years.
Good calm clear day for birding in both the marsh and scopping Lake Ontario off McLaughlin Bay. Both Second Marsh and McLaughlin Bay free of ice. The following sightings obs. 700AM to 1:30PM.
Second Marsh - East viewing platform 4 Eastern Meadowlarks - east side fields Numerous Killdeer & Song Sparrows - east side fields 22 Mute Swans 4 Northern Shovelers 3 Common Mergansers 2 American Wigeon 18 Northern Pintails 30 American Black Duck
McLaughlin Bay-Viewed from barrier 1 Kingfisher 150-200 Ring-necked Ducks 14 Canvasbacks 8 American Wigeon 14 Mute Swans 1 Trumpeter Swan 1 Long Eared Owl on Osprey Platform marauded by 32 Crows
Lake Ontario - At McLaughlin Bay 14 Common Mergansers Countless Goldeneye & Buffleheads 2 Red Breasted Mergansers
Ghost Road Boardwalk Trail 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk at 20 feet.
ALL IN ALL A GOOD DAY
In Reply to: Re: Right on schedule posted by Jim Heffernan on March 19, 2000 at 20:38:34:
I think perhaps it might be a good idea to respond to this request privately rather than to broadcast this known heronry location over the internet.
GC
In Reply to: Right on schedule posted by Colleen on March 19, 2000 at 19:09:43:
"King City Blue Herons"?? Is that the Township of King "King City"??
I live only minutes from King City and am not aware of any colony in the area. It would be greatly appreciated if you could point the way to them.
Thanks in advance.
Jim
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, March 19, 2000
Despite a significant snowfall last weekend, followed by a week of rather cold weather, there were still some interesting sightings in the Quinte area. There was a NORTHERN FLICKER in Wellington on Monday. GREAT BLUE HERONS have been seen at Peat's Point, Rednersville, and at Northport. KILLDEERS, of course, are everywhere now and TREE SWALLOWS are beginning to turn up in small numbers. There was one flying over the Trent River in Trenton opposite the Domtar plant on Friday, along with a very early one on Amherst Island a week ago Friday. EASTERN MEADOWLARKS have been seen at Big Island, Prince Edward Point, Deseronto and Brighton. The early FOX SPARROW on March 9th at Waupoos, mentioned in last weekend's report, was matched by a sighting of several others at a feeder at Yarker on the same day. There were 19 WILD TURKEYS at the sharp corner along Babylon Road a week ago, and an adult BALD EAGLE seen flying along Long Reach near the community of Woodville in Sophiasburgh Township today.
Still some good feeder birds around. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are still coming to many of the same feeders around the county. There were four RED CROSSBILLS at a feeder just east of Milford on Wednesday. A flock of 60 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, a species we haven't heard from in a few weeks, settled into a flowering crab tree on Queen Street in Picton today. COMMON REDPOLLS are still being reported at most bird feeders in Prince Edward County.
There was no report this weekend on the status of the duck population at Wellington. However, this was more than made up by a phenomenal sight in some flooded cornfields near Kaiser Road, east of Waupoos where large numbers this morning were thought to have arrived overnight. By this afternoon, their numbers had declined. A rough count produced some 1,000 MALLARDS, 500 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 100 BLACK DUCKS, 100 CANADA GEESE, and a lone AMERICAN WIGEON and a few GADWALLS. Two AMERICAN COOTS were in West Lake at Wellington on Monday.
A SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was hunting in the area north of the railway tracks in the Quinte Conservation Area on Friday, and a NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen in the field about 100 metres behind the storage barn on the same property one day earlier. NORTHERN SHRIKES this past week were also seen at Crofton, Big Island, Huff's Island, and Carrying Place.
The fourth annual Prince Edward County Birding Festival will be taking place this spring from May 13th to the 20th. There will be guided hikes, a wildlife art show, photography workshops, and our keynote speaker Dr. Martin Edwards from the Kingston Field Naturalists. The Festival coincides with the Annual General Meeting of the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory featuring guest speaker Dr. Charles Francis. Complete details are now contained under Outdoor Events at: www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/ . The Birding Festival is being presented jointly this year by Quinte Conservation, Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, Prince Edward County Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and Taste the County.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 26th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague
tsprague@kos.net
www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
Just reporting that the "King City Blue Herons" have begun to arrive back home. For approximatly the past 10-12 years I have enjoyed watching the blue herons (upwards of 50+, a few years back). The school March Break has always been their arrival time and on Sat. March 18 I saw my first one. On Sunday there were two. I hope to see a good sized colony this year.
Colleen
In Reply to: Hooded Merganser on Humber posted by George Wilson on December 24, 1999 at 12:23:56:
I was lucky enough to have a beautiful pair of Hooded mergansers grace my small woodland pond for a few days. They 'blew' in on a big SE storm. They were surprisingly bold and did not fly when the dog drank from the pond or when vehicles drove by the pond. The male was strutting his stuff and displaying. I would love to find out more about these beautiful birds. They are not often seen here on Cortes Island and I do not expect they will be staying.
Yesterday (March 12) after doing some work in the Royal Botanical Gardens library I found some time for a little birding and saw the following:
21 Evening Grosbeaks in the Hendrie Valley 8 Pine Siskins in LaSalle Park The female King Eider at the LaSalle marina (up on shore about 1 metre away). 7 Trumpeter Swans (nos. 334, 379, 395, 404 & 440 + 2 with hidden tags) 3 singing Song Sparrows at LaSalle Park 1 Winter Wren in the Hendrie Valley
Also at Bronte Harbour I saw a Pied-billed Grebe and 5 Red-necked Grebes. The Red-necked Grebes were doing courtship calling.
Earlier in the day both Great Cormorants were still present in Port Credit Harbour.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, March 12, 2000
Any scarcity of birds at feeders this past week was likely more than made up for this morning with the arrival of about 15 cm of fresh snow. At our own feeders there were 400+ birds crowding around the large area I had shoveled clean earlier this morning. Most were EUROPEAN STARLING, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, COMMON GRACKLE and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, but everything else was there too feeding in complete harmony with each other, including MOURNING DOVE, BLUE JAY, DARK-EYED JUNCO and the usual winter guests. Three suet logs were stripped clean by noon, and all 22 feeders were refilled three times.
It was quite a mixed scene in the county this past week. Mild weather during the first half of the week brought a flurry of migrants into the area including numerous reports of EASTERN MEADOWLARK, KILLDEER, SONG SPARROWS, and AMERICAN WOODCOCKS. A few of the more interesting sightings this week included an early FOX SPARROW at Waupoos on Thursday, an extremely early FIELD SPARROW today at Consecon (may have wintered somewhere), a BELTED KINGFISHER at Point Petre on Wednesday, a GREAT BLUE HERON at Prinyer's Cove on Thursday, and a WINTER WREN poking around a wood pile at West Lake yesterday.
There were 4 TURKEY VULTURES at Point Petre on Thursday, and a fairly strong movement of CANADA GEESE passing through the area during mid-week. PURPLE FINCHES have been noted at Point Petre, and at Prinyer's Cove there have been as many as 12 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the ice in the cove. PILEATED WOODPECKERS have been seen at Waupoos (1), Prinyer's Cove (1), Fish Lake (5 ! ), Slaven Road (1), and Big Island (1). RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were reported coming to feeders northwest of Bloomfield, and at Fish Lake. COMMON REDPOLLS are still turning up at area feeders in fairly good numbers with a high of 40 present at a feeder northwest of Bloomfield.
EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were seen on Thursday at the old Lakeshore Lodge site at Sandbanks Provincial Park. There were NORTHERN SHRIKES this week at Crofton, Huff's Island Road and at Consecon.
Waterfowl numbers continue to fluctuate depending on where one happens to be. At Cressy Bayside there are hundreds of CANADA GEESE along the shore at various points, along with other species such as MALLARD, AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS and BUFFLEHEADS. West Lake at Wellington was a "bonanza" according to observer Lloyd Paul who on Thursday found 1,400 ducks comprising 1200 scaup, 10 CANVASBACK, 30 REDHEADS, 30 MALLARDS, 20 BUFFLEHEAD, 10 AMERICAN WIGEON, 6 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 80 CANADA GEESE, 20 COMMON GOLDENEYE, 20 COMMON MERGANSERS and one AMERICAN COOT. Huff's Island Road had a GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and the causeway leading to Sheba's Island produced 4 HOODED MERGANSERS. However, the Bucknell's Slough off Wesley Acres Road, normally a birder's paradise at this time of the year, is all but dry this spring. The good numbers of ducks that had occupied Soup Harbour at Point Petre seem to have left with only a few scattered groups of BUFFLEHEAD and COMMON GOLDENEYE remaining.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area.This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 19th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
tsprague@kos.net
www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
This morning we saw 4 red necked grebes in the Bronte outer harbour, behaving as two pairs. This is the first of this year.
Since the last grebe did not leave until late Nov/early Dec, they do not spend much time elsewhere!
Nick Avery
In Reply to: Tundra Swans, Guelph Area posted by L. Berry on March 11, 2000 at 19:40:57:
That is an impressive sighting north of Guelph. Most Tundra Swans I ever saw in the Guelph area were south of the city and usually at the Mountsberg reservoir. Mountsberg can be absolutely incredible for waterfowl and grebes in the spring and fall. The field on the southwest side of the reservoir south of the train tracks can have large numbers of Tundra swans feeding there. My record at mountsberg was 1169 tundra swans in march 1996 with over a thousand in that field alone. Also in the reservoir there are usually large numbers of coots, widgeons, scaup, and ruddy ducks during migration. If anyone is in the Guelph/campbellville area this place is worth a visit.
Saturday, March 11, 2000. 2:30 p.m. Overcast but good visibility. Was travelling south on Highway 6, just south of Fergus, in the afternoon and saw in a plowed field about 150 Tundra Swans, spread out the length of the field among the corn stubble. There was not much eating going on but there were a few instances of wing displays among a few smaller groups. A remarkable sight which had a few cars stopping to watch.
In Reply to: Re: More signs of spring... posted by Joel Kits on March 09, 2000 at 15:47:30:
I just saw my first Killdeer of the year today in the north end of Scarborough (near Steeles Ave. and Markham Rd.). I've heard them in a couple of areas around Maple already.
I've also noticed a big jump in raptor numbers on my drives around town on business. I haven't any time to examine them closely while driving but the majority seem to be buteos (mostly RT Hawks and at least one RL Hawk). I got a brief look at what might have been a perched Harrier or perhaps a Coopers (a long tailed, lean raptor, seen in bad light for a short period of time).
I'm curious to see what the impending return to realistic March temperatures does to all the early migrants - I'll be watching my feeders a little more closely.
Jim H.
In Reply to: More signs of spring... posted by Jim Heffernan on March 07, 2000 at 21:33:38:
I too have been noticing signs of spring, even north of the city. In Woodbridge, I have seen grackles and a accipiter that I believe was a Cooper's Hawk (I didn't have binoculars, but it was extremely long-tailed and at least twice as large as nearby starlings, both of which seem to be pretty good indications), and heard Red-winged Blackbirds and Killdeer calling.
Enjoy the weather while it lasts.
Joel Kits
Hi All,
It's certainly beginning to look like spring (we'll see how long it lasts).
My feeders have been visited by a few species that were absent for the past few months. Recent visitors have included Common Grackles, BC Chickadees (not a winter visitor here), and WB Nuthatch. I've probably missed a few other things as I haven't been watching the feeder all that intently. Also, it appears our local American Goldfinches are now in molt. Robins are common in the neighbourhood and have been seen chasing each other around. Finally, the Cardinals which have been wintering locally are now starting to sing (they've been silent for a long time), although the pair of Cardinals which staked out a territory that included my feeders last year have yet to put in an appearance.
Things are looking up.
Jim H.
I spent the mooring in Burlington at LaSalle Park ( which cane be found at the foot of LaSalle pk. rd. by tacking the waterdown exit from the 403)looking for the Heermann's Gull with know luck .But did have some great looks at the F-King Eider ( and it has all 4 of it's toes) and up to 200 Tundra Swan's over head .
once I left there I desired to go to the Polson st parking lot hear in Toronto(which cane be found off of Cherry st south of Lake shore blvd . east) and after 15 minutes our 1st winter Heermann's gull was at my feet looking for hand outs ...
it must be the Toronto weather that keeps bring it back !!??..
hahahaaaa
Craig McLauchlan csam@sympatico.ca
i saw about 40 robins today in my backyard and it is mating season
Yesterday, March 5, 2000, I saw a Pied-billed Grebe in Bronte Harbour and today I saw a Turkey Vulture flying east over Queen's Park at about 2:00 p.m.
These are early arrivals that likely didn't winter too much further south.
Dear Fellow Birders
Yesterday I had a flock of 70 or so Tundra Swans fly-over Trafalger Rd and Hwy 5 in Oakville yesterday and they were heading directly west, certainly a nice sight to see so many swans so close to home.
Mike Boyd Oakville, Ontario
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, March 05, 2000
Not as exciting a week in the Quinte area as the previous week, but still some good spring sightings. The female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was last seen on February 26th and to our knowledge, has not been seen since, despite attempts by several birders. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, however, have been popping up all over the place this past week.
There was a good movement of AMERICAN ROBINS and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS throughout the Quinte area last week, along with a few other signs of spring . There was a pair of COMMON GRACKLES at Peat's Point on Saturday and PINE SISKINS at a feeder on Royal Road. Reports of TUNDRA SWANS were so numerous and scattered last week, it is impossible to know whether some were migrants or some of the over 40 that had been seen in local waters as late as January, and perhaps which wintered somewhere nearby. Between 60 and 90 TUNDRA SWANS were seen in flight over Stirling last Sunday. Although well out of the Quinte area, a Quinte Conservation staff member notified me from his car phone on Friday, that he and several others were watching 27 in a flooded area near Keene.
The waters of some of the inland lakes are beginning to give way to the milder weather. East Lake was open for about 300 metres from the boat ramp where Belleville birder Don Craighead found 35 RING-NECKED DUCKS. Observer Wynne Thomas on Tuesday counted 800 OLDSQUAW in Soup Harbour mixed in with 500 each of COMMON GOLDENEYE and BUFFLEHEAD, as well as four TUNDRA SWANS in flight over Point Petre. Wellington Harbour hosted 7 TUNDRA SWANS, 2 MUTE SWANS (also seen by another observer on Thursday), 4 AMERICAN WIGEON, and mixed numbers of COMMON MERGANSER, OLDSQUAW, COMMON GOLDENEYE, CANADA GEESE, BUFFLEHEAD, MALLARD, BLACK DUCK and GREATER SCAUP.
Despite the mild weather, there has been a bit of activity at local bird feeders. There are five RUFFED GROUSE coming to a feeder at Cressy bayside, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS at feeders everywhere, and a female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER still coming to a feeder at Elmbrook where it has been since last October. There is another female at a feeder along County Road 1, northwest of Bloomfield.
Other good sightings this past week included an immature BALD EAGLE at Little Bluff Conservation Area on Monday, a GREAT HORNED OWL being harassed by many crows at the west end of the Woodlands Campground at Sandbanks on Saturday, and 2 ICELAND GULLS and 3 GLAUCOUS GULLS at the Napanee Dump on Monday.
The pelagic boat trip to Main Duck Island, organized by Quinte Conservation, scheduled for October 14th, is now filled. Anyone wishing to be placed on a waiting list is welcome to do so in the event that someone may cancel. The boat trip is one of 57 outdoor events, canoe/kayak trips, guided hikes and aerial tours scheduled to take place this year in the Quinte area.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 12th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
tsprague@kos.net
www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
In Reply to: Humber Bay at 7:35 am posted by Jean-François Hic on March 05, 2000 at 12:02:11:
I saw a flock of about 25 Ruddy Ducks at Humber Bay on the 4th at about 4:00 PM, so it's quite probable you saw them as well this morning.
I also saw a shrike at Humber Bay yesterday, but couldn't identify it to species before it flew away. Can anyone tell me which species of shrike is most likely to be seen here at this time of year?
Dominik Halas
Seen at Humber Bay this Sunday morning at 7:35: 2 males Hooded Mergansers + 1 female. Scaups. Oldsqaw. Buffleheads. What seems to be the same Common Merganser couple for the past 3 weeks. Mourning Doves. Common Grackles. Red-winged Blackbirds. 1 Cowbird. 1 Yellow-Billied Sapsucker. 10 American Robins.
I also saw, far from the shore, about 50 small ducks. I was not able to identify them (especially without my glasses!!!) but they looked like Ruddy Ducks. Can anybody confirm?
Thanks and good birding,
Jean-François Hic
P.S.: I would like to extend a special thanks to all the birders on this site indicating quite precisely (street names for example) the exact location where they saw some interesting birds. It allows everybody to enjoy the same sighting.
In Reply to: Re: Snow Egret answer posted by C McLauchlan on May 31, 1999 at 15:44:22:
interesting what or who you find on the web while browsing regards al
In Reply to: Travelling swans posted by George Daszkowski on March 03, 2000 at 20:33:59:
I believe it's too big a flock to be Trumpeters so chances are your gut feel is correct that there're Tundras.
Al
On Thursday morning I spotted 24-30 swans which I believe were tundras.
They were 3-500 meters off shore and very isolated from the local swans feeding along the shores
In Reply to: More on early birds posted by Marcel Gahbauer on March 01, 2000 at 20:35:48:
Hello All,
Red-winged blackbirds have certainly moved inland.
Today I noticed several 'territorial' males staking out their own small patches of marshland while driving along Keele Street between Maple and King City.
Spring is in the air.
Jim H.
In Reply to: Heber Down C. A. posted by Hench on February 29, 2000 at 22:16:35:
I used to visit Heber Down frequently, but have not spent much time there in the last few years, so I'm not sure I can picture where the golf course is proposed to go.
Nonetheless, the potential for the golf course disturbs me. I have seen many instances where "low quality" land is actually valuable grassland habitat. While wetlands and forests have gained some measures of protection over the years, there is very little acknowledgement that meadows / old fields / etc. have any biological value. On the contrary, many of the species requiring this habitat are becoming increasingly scarce as a by-product of this attitude, and it's time that their needs are addressed too.
As I said, I have no first-hand knowledge of how truly degraded the lands in question are. But I suspect that at least part of the area does support grassland birds, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. This should certainly be taken into strong consideration when considering any kind of development for this area. I would encourage anyone who is familiar with and interested in this area to attend these public meetings and provide input.
(This all seems eerily reminiscent of the recent battle to keep the golf course out of the east side of Bronte Creek Provincial Park - where again the grassland habitat was declared expandable. Thankfully there a strong swell of public support convinced the Royal Canadian Golf Association to look elsewhere for their new site).
Marcel
Well, it seems like I've generated quite a bit of discussion on this topic! Certainly reports from all around are indicating that various birds are arriving earlier than usual, and I stand corrected. It would seem that I am simply fortunate to live in an area where these species regularly appear unusually early. Perhaps in other years they arrive along the Scarborough bluffs (and other parts of the shoreline) and stage here for a few days before spreading inland, whereas this year they have pushed right through because of the mild weather. I'll have to pay attention next spring around this time...
Thanks Don, for the additional information on the Don River diving ducks. I generally don't have my binoculars with me on the subway, but thankfully the Common Merganser is easy to identify at a distance. With scoters, however, I would be a bit more hesitant.
As for the Robins, the distinction between wintering birds and recent arrivals is admittedly largely a matter of instinct. I've seen the local wintering flock on a number of occasions, and though the birds the other morning were within the same area, their behaviour was quite different - they flitted nervously from tree to tree, clucking a lot, but not really looking for food. This behaviour is similar to what the red-wings and grackles were doing when they arrived; within a day or two they had already settled in to territories of sorts and had switched from giving calls to full song.
Interesting to note, I have not yet seen any Cowbirds in the Toronto - Hamilton corridor this spring. I did see quite a number in Haldimand County last weekend, but they seem to have held back so far, at least for the most part.
Looking forward to the arrival of the Song Sparrows and Tree Swallows...
Marcel
In Reply to: Female Eider ID posted by Mark Cranford on February 22, 2000 at 12:33:42:
I find that if you go by collier and shape, espshely the shape of the head and bill you cant go wrong. I know that sun light (I was a lighting designer) and distains come in to play but the head and bill shape are so different it hard to confuse.
Craig
In Reply to: Re: Early dates posted by Hench on March 01, 2000 at 10:06:38:
Yes Brian, I do know that in Durham region end of March Tree Swallows have become the norm. The first Tree Swallows that I usually notice are the first real wave of migrants and not the eager males which love to be the first ones to reach home, unless they fly across the lake at bonniebrae point.
Have you noticed up in Brooklin in the last week a visible movement of American Tree Sparrows.
Tyler
In Reply to: Common Merganser on the Don posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 28, 2000 at 12:01:02:
Common Mergansers have been regular in this area since at least the eighties. They are sometimes even joined by scoters. It's also a good place to watch for early returning Black-crowned Night Herons and Blue Herons.
Re:Grackles, etc. It's not unusual to get the odd returning individuals, or small flocks of Grackles, Redwings and Robins before the end of February.
But to get a steady stream of flocks with up to 30 or 40 birds, especially for the Grackles, seems out of the ordinary. It has happened in other years, but not for awhile.
In Reply to: Re: Early dates posted by Tyler on February 29, 2000 at 23:15:27:
I'll be keeping an eye out for the Tree Swallows to see if they re-claim their nest boxes around my pond before the end of March.
In Reply to: Re: Early dates posted by Tyler on February 29, 2000 at 23:15:27:
In Durham Region, March Tree Swallows have been the norm during the past decade. For example, the earliest in 1990 were on March 15th. Early dates (i.e., the first reported) do not tell us as much as the date(s) of the general arrival of a particular species.
In Reply to: Re: Common Merganser on the Don posted by Al Johnston on February 29, 2000 at 09:41:17:
This isn't about mergansers. It's about robins.
I suggest the best way to differentiate migrants from over-wintering ones is to judge by location. For example, I consider the two I saw this past weekend near home in Maple to be migrants as I have never seen over-wintering robins in the area. In a different local, I wouldn't have a clue.
Obviously then, the observer must know what birds are found in what area in what season (if you have to ask the question. In the case of robins, the ones I saw were also solitary and not found in a flock. This might be indicative of territorial behaviour associated with breeding.
I expect your question was at least half in jest. I'm really just excited about seeing robins in the neighbourhood this past weekend.
Jim
In Reply to: Early dates posted by Hench on February 29, 2000 at 16:19:08:
Grackles, Redwings, killdeer and Woodcocks usually show up in Durham around the first week in march. I have kept personal records on migrants for the last 10 years and have found that redwings and grackles usually show up around Oshawa march 7 +/- 2 days. We will really know things are early if the Tree swallows can be their April 7th average by a week and arrive in march.
Tyler
The Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority is holding an open house at Cullen Gardens Restaurant, 300 Taunton Road, Whitby, on March 9 & 10 (3-5pm and 7-9pm) concerning a proposal for a golf course at Heber Downs Conservation Area.
The Open House letter states that the proposed course will use 100 acres of land in the northeast sectioon of the Conservation Area that is "largely degraded", and goes on to list six benefits that the course will provide to the community and the Authority (no disadvantages are provided). According to the letter, an environmental evaluation has not yet been undertaken (but will be proceeded with after community input at the open house). This may lead some to question how the "largely degraded" conclusion has been reached at this point in the process.
Heber Downs was the subject of a volunteer inventory day two years ago which identified a variety of regionally rare, scarce, declining and/or area sensitive breeding birds, flora, regionally rare dragonflies, many of these attributes were on the "degraded" lands or were supported by those lands. Heber Downs is also one of the few places were the landform of the ancient Lake Iroqouis shoreline, is under public ownership.
While the benefits of a golf course on public conservation lands may indeed outweigh any disadvantages, interested persons may wish to engage the public consultation process.
CLOCA can be reached at: cloca@speedline.ca
In Reply to: Common Merganser on the Don posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 28, 2000 at 12:01:02:
In my limited experience (the last decade) this influx of grackles in particular is indeed early. By about two weeks. In earlier years, arrivals of grackles in Durham Region were exceptional during the first week of March, let alone February. An assessment of whether a general arrival of spring migrants is early or not, needs a longer perspective than just the past five years - which just happen to coincide with the warmest five years since record-keeping began.
I was surprised to see a red-winged blackbird and three common grackles at my mixed seed feeder on Saturday the 26th and Sunday Feb. 27, and only the grackles on Monday. I live in the lower southeast part of Toronto, a 15 minute walk to Ashbridges Bay.
In Reply to: Common Merganser on the Don posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 28, 2000 at 12:01:02:
Good spotting, Marcel.(do you take your binoculars with you on the Subway?) Saw a flock of about 30 Robins flying over yesterday--how do you tell the spring Robins from the over-wintering ones? Al
In Reply to: Durham Birds posted by Joel Kits on February 21, 2000 at 20:59:27:
Hi Joel, A very belated followup( for some reason I couldn't post??). I checked for the Tundra Swan at Whitby but I guess it had gone. There were, however, 5 Mute Swans and a Eurasian Shelduck. Terry Sprague figures it's probably an escapee but quite a unique looking bird. Al
In Reply to: Durham Birds posted by Joel Kits on February 21, 2000 at 20:59:27:
Test
Riding on the subway across the Bloor Viaduct yesterday afternoon (Feb 27), I spotted a male Common Merganser in the middle of the Don just to the north. I have now seen Common Mergansers at this site for three of the past four years in early spring, but never at any other time of year, and never anywhere else along the river.
In terms of other signs of spring, in the Guildwood area of Scarborough there have been spring robins (as opposed to those which wintered in the area) since last Thursday, and I saw the first grackles and red-winged blackbirds this morning. All three were singing, as were cardinals and house finches.
I've noticed many people suggesting that these birds are unusually early this year, but I don't agree. For the past five years, I have always seen robins returning shortly after Feb. 20, and grackles and red-wings nearly every year in the last day or two of February. Perhaps they are hitting some other sites earlier than usual, but here at least things are right on schedule.
Marcel
On a short walk through High Park this afternoon we have seen our first American Robin, Common Grackle, Rubby Crowned Kinglet and few chipmunks. Kind of early for all of them.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 27, 2000
This past week tired me all out just hearing about it. The big news was a well marked female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD just west of Prince Edward Point. First seen by Bud Rowe and Joel Ellis of the Kingston Field Naturalists on Tuesday, February 22nd, the bird has remained in the same area through this weekend. Generally associating with three EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, the western straggler this weekend was near the Gravelly Bay Road at County Road 13. Prince Edward County's only other record of this species, also a female, was 10 years ago, almost to the month, and just a few kilometres west of this week's sighting.
Whether these bluebirds are a sign of an early spring, we don't know, but there certainly have been other sightings to suggest it. KILLDEERS this past week began trickling into the county on Thursday, with sighings at Gravelly Bay Road (3), Black River (1), Consecon (4), and one at Fenwood Gardens. Exceptionally early AMERICAN WOODCOCKS turned up at Morrison's Point on Friday (probing the soft earth over a septic bed), and at Presqu'ile on Saturday. High AMERICAN ROBIN numbers this past week included 75 along Babylon Road, 250 on Big Island's South Shore Road, 20 on Potter Road, and lesser numbers on Partridge Hollow Road, Sandbanks, Waupoos and Ameliasburgh. There were four TUNDRA SWANS in flight over Milford this evening (likely some of the 40+ that hung around the South Bay area until freeze-up), and a TRUMPETER SWAN today in Weller's Bay at Barcovan Beach where there were also 38 MUTE SWANS. On Tuesday there was a male RING-NECKED PHEASANT on Fish Lake Road , and 6 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS on East Lake Road near the Beaver Meadow entrance. A pair of NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS appeared to be establishing territory on Thursday near the Mariner's Museum at South Bay. A NORTHERN FLICKER was in Trenton last week.
But there have also been other sightings to remind us that winter is still with us. SNOW BUNTINGS, in flocks of 25 each, were seen at the Quinte Skyway Bridge west of Deseronto and at Big Island. A feeder near the Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, north of Brighton has 60 EVENING GROSBEAKS coming regularly, the dependable NORTHERN SHRIKE is still along County Road 14 just west of the Doxee Road turnoff, and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are still coming to feeders at 2800 County Road 1 (where the Black-backed Woodpecker was seen earlier this winter), Melville Road east of Consecon Lake, and near the corner of County Roads 1 and 2. Large numbers of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS included 800 at Prince Edward Point yesterday and another 400 feeding in a flowering crab tree at Big Island, also yesterday.
Thousands of ducks are beginning to show up at Presqu'ile, and today there was an estimated 8,000, mainly GREAT SCAUP, interspersed with good numbers of COMMON GOLDENEYE, and plenty of MALLARDS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCKS, AMERICAN WIGEONS, REDHEADS, CANVASBACKS, BUFFLEHEADS, OLDSQUAW, COMMON MERGANSERS and a couple of AMERICAN COOTS. Weller's Bay today had a lot of open water and species seen there at Barcovan Beach included COMMON GOLDENEYES and a sprinkling of BLACKS, MALLARDS, GREEN-WINGED TEALS, RING-NECKED DUCKS, COMMON MERGANSERS, GADWALLS, and CANADA GEESE. At an open area near a dock at still frozen Prinyer's Cove, kept open by a bubble system, there is a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS and 3 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS.
Other noteworthy sightings this past week included an EASTERN SCREECH OWL peeking its head out of wood duck box at Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area, a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL in Ameliasburgh, a BROWN CREEPER and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW northwest of Bloomfield, and a NORTHERN HARRIER just south of Smoke's Point Road.
And I think that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 5th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague
Picton, Ontario
tsprague@kos.net
www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
On Feb 26 we spotted a mixed flock of at least 200 common grackles and rwb's in a field near Copetown (Hamilton). In our (somewhat limited) experience, this is at least 10 days earlier than usual.
It,s back !!!!! at 3:55 this after noon Jean Iron and I wear at the parking lot off of Polson st hear in Toronto and like a Hollywood move the Heermann's gull came flying right out of the fog and land at our feet , It was very hungry eating 3 smelt and 3 egg,s (hard boiled) there wear big smells all a around !!!!
Craig McLauchlan
Wednesday in Poort Credit I saw a flight of 8 swans that I believed to be trumpeters. They were flying east along the watersedge, did a bit of a loop around the Adamson estate and Cooksville Creek before heading east into the city.
Noisy and fast, I they had black bills and sounded much like geese, but louder. Suggestions?
I played hooky this morning but missed see any Eiders at LaSalle.
Except when he says "You just missed it, man." I'm a really big fan of Geoff Carpenter. Matter of fact I can't think of a single OFO ex-pres I don't admire. Any I posting two email from the ONTBIRD list server in hopes of generating a bit of discussion on female Eider ID. I think this bulletin board is a better place to discuss Hamilton birding than ONTBIRDS and would like to see more ID topics covered here.
Subject:
eiders, cormorants, swans and scoters
Date:
Mon, 21 Feb 2000 08:34:41 -0500
From:
"Geoff Carpentier" Another couple, Terrie and I studied it for about 10 minutes as it stayed in very close to the
shore with the puddle ducks. The bird, to me, looked almost exactly like the depiction in the
third edition of National Geographic, with the following minor exceptions: the overall colour
was a shade "blonder" than that shown for the "dresseri" race [east coast]. The horizontal
barring on the upper breast shown in the field guide was not nearly as evident on our bird, nor
did it seem to rise as high on the breast as shown. The upper part of the breast seemed almost
unmarked in fact. The lower part, near the water line was clearly heavily marked however.
Other than this, the bill shape and colour [gray], slope of the head, head and face colour,
barring on the flanks, eye markings and the heavy patterning and light feather edging on the
coverts was very obvious and as shown in NG. Now here's where I'd like to scold Ron, Bob,
Jean, Alan, and Willie - to name a few - because you!
guys [and gals] always write such detailed, excellent and descriptive reports of your
sightings, I find that not only do I have to report my observations, with reference to species,
but now I have to try to go to the subspecific level - to do this I have to do research!!! To
this end, I do believe this female is a "dresseri", based on the overall colouration, that
being much more reddish [?] brown than dark brown. In the course of my research, I did find an
amazing variation in the photos and/or paintings of the female Common Eider, so variable in
fact that one might think there were actually five or six races. Even the female "dresseri" was
shown as everything from the depiction in NG to a dark bodied individual virtually identical to
the "nigra" race! One book even showed the female King Eider looking almost identical to the
Common in colour, but not shape [body and bill]. This made me pause for a few minutes and
reconsider the identification. But not to worry, the!
field marks we saw are definitive, and I think the book actually erre
d Directions to Lawrence Sayers Park and Greens Road ... QEW to Hwy 20, exit and take North
Service Road east to Drakes Road and then go straight to the lake. When you reach the last
row of houses turn right for a short distance to a dead end. Park on Oceanic Drive [read the no
parking restrictions] and look out over the water by L. Sayer's Park. Greens Road is the next
significant road south of here. Lasalle Park is easily reached by following the North Shore
Blvd of the QEW towards Hamilton and watching for Lasalle Park Road. Follow this road a short
distance to the lakeshore and the park. When you get there, the eider was in with the Mallards
in very shallow water in the small embayment [near a concrete boat launch] just to the right of
the parking area. Good birding! Geoff Carpentier
Ajax, Ont.
carpenge@ene.gov.on.ca
Re: Female King Eider field marks
Date:
Tue, 22 Feb 2000 09:07:10 EST
From:
Mitchmail9@aol.com
To:
ontbirds@hwcn.org
I read the notes on the uncomfirmed Common Eider female and something didn't seem quite right. When identifying female King Eiders look for the chevron black markings on the breast and
flanks, unlike the streaks in the Common Eider. This tends to give the markings in the plumage
of King Eiders a more organized look. Also, King eiders are only about 2/3 to 3/4 the size of
Common Eiders. Another good field mark if you can get close enough is that the way the form of
the bill in the King Eider tends to make it look like it is smiling. The bill of the King
Eider, in general, is darker than for Commons. Also, most King Eiders have a brighter cinnamon wash than King eiders, however, I have seen
Common Eiders that are cinnamon but nowhere near as cinnamon as the most cinnamon King Eider,
if you can follow that. Lighting can play a factor in this and there is so much overlap that
it is not a reliable field observation for identification but when you do find a brightly,
cinnamon female they are quite amazing. I hope someone can nail this bird. For those that have not seen a King Eider female it is
worth the trek if confirmed - it is an inredible plumage and rivals the beauty of some of the
larger shorebirds. Maybe this phenomenon is a result of the birds needing to blend into the
Arctic tundra as do the shorebirds. Mitch Meredith
Yesterday we went on a birding trip to the Durham region. The highlights included a flock (or two flocks combined) of 400 Bohemian Waxwings on one of the sideroads east of Salem Rd. (2 or 8, I think), 1/2 km. north of Concession 7. At the Brock St. bridge, we found the Tundra Swan, a female Lesser Scaup, and what appeared to be a Barnacle Goose x Canada Goose hybrid. At the Hall's Road larch plantation, we missed the crossbills, but just before sunset we saw two Short-eared Owls, another owl (possibly a Screech Owl) and eight Ring-necked Pheasants to finish a fine day.
Thanks to Marcel Gahbauer for the directions. Joel Kits
In Reply to: Quinte Area Bird Report - Feb. 20/00 posted by Terry Sprague on February 20, 2000 at 19:34:08:
Enjoyed your report Terry, particularly the story
about the cardinal.Used to enjoy, as well, your
articles in the Nature Society News years ago.
With our spring-fed pond being one of the few in
the area ( 5 km west of Stouffville ) having open
water, there must be five hundred or so mallards
and black ducks. I just wish I could attract
purple martins like that!
I'ii be carefully watching your reports in April
to learn when the martins are returning.
Al
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 20, 2000
Some would argue that I am being overly anthropomorphic if I said the NORTHERN CARDINAL purposely picked my window over those of some 15 other offices in our building. But it seemed at the time that this male was trying to get my attention as he clung to the window pane, scratching and clawing to maintain his questionable perch. Just then I was astounded to see a NORTHERN SHRIKE pounce on the bird not more than two feet from my eyes. The two birds fell to the ground and when I tapped on the window the shrike released his grip and flew off with the cardinal recovering within a few moments and escaping to a white pine grove behind the office.
That was but one of several good sightings this past week in the Quinte area. There was an incredible flock of over 2000 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS last weekend at Prince Edward Point, roughly between the Point Traverse corner and the Prince Edward Point Harbour. Another nice flock of 85 turned up yesterday at the corner of Ben Gill Road and Highway 62. The mixed flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS and BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS is still encountered periodically by hikers and cross country skiers at the Quinte Conservation Area in Quinte West, and smaller numbers have been noted elsewhere in Prince Edward County.
Wellington Harbour continues to respond to the whims of the weather with some days producing open water and plenty of waterfowl, and others days not. There were 50 MALLARDS there today with about 25 RING-BILLED GULLS and a pair of COMMON GOLDENEYE. BUFFLEHEAD and COMMON MERGANSER have also been there on other days. There were 25 MALLARDS sitting in a snow-covered field just outside Wellington on Wednesday.
A SHORT-EARED OWL was seen flying over the Big Island causeway on Wednesday, where there was also a NORTHERN HARRIER later that same day. Both NORTHERN SHRIKES and AMERICAN KESTRELS have been reported from various areas of the county, but there have been no recent reports of the two or three SNOWY OWLS that had been observed earlier.
The female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER is still coming to a feeder at 81 Slaven Road, one of two that had been regulars there this winter. A RING-NECKED PHEASANT can be seen almost every late afternoon feeding along the roadside on Big Island's South Shore Road. Big Island is located off County Road 5, just 1 km south of Demorestville.
Signs of winter and signs of spring with several large flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS seen this past week at Ben Gill Road and along Highway 2 at Shannonville, and HORNED LARKS turning up at numerous roadside locations in the county this past week.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 27th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario tsprague@kos.net www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
The Hermann's gull was seen at the parking lot off Polson st hear in Toronto
at 10:45 this mooring all thought the parking lot was closed off ??? you
could pull up and around in to the area . Craig McLauchlan
There was a good opportunity to study gulls at close range yesterday around 2pm. On the parking lot there was flock of about 30 gulls within 15 feet of each other, including: 3 immature Glaucous, 1 adult Glaucous, 1 immature Kumlien's, 1 adult Kumlien's and the Heermann's. An adult Thayer's was on the ice about 30 feet from the dock. By getting close to the gulls it was an interesting opportunity to compare call notes: the Glaucous "Baa-ing" like sheep, and the Heermann's barking "Ow-ow-ow" like a little dog.
In Reply to: Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 09, 2000 at 14:13:30:
Humber Bay Park is actually located at the mouth of Mimico Creek (Humber Bay itself is off to the east). You can reach it by taking Park Lawn Drive all the way down to Lakeshore, and crossing Lakeshore Blvd into the park. Park Lawn is accessible from the QEW if coming from the west, or via Lakeshore if coming from the east on the Gardiner Expressway. Lambton Woods is on the west side of the Humber River between Eglinton and Dundas. Access it via Edenbridge, which runs east from Royal York Road. Park in the James Gardens parking lot at the bottom of the big hill, and walk south from there; you will see the signs for Lambton Woods as you enter the forest. Marcel
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 13, 2000
Compared to last weekend's report, this past week has been rather dry in terms of bird sightings and reports. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS continue to be reported. There has been one coming to a feeder near the junction of County Roads 1 and 2 for most of the winter, and another two were seen last weekend along Slaven Road where a SONG SPARROW, NORTHERN FLICKER and a BROWN CREEPER were also reported, as well as what was probably a HOARY REDPOLL along the same stretch of road at Civic address #81.
There was a PILEATED WOODPECKER seen last week at Morrison's Point, and one residence had no fewer than three in a tree beside the owner's house.
Cressy lakeside had an immature BALD EAGLE on Tuesday, likely one of three or four that have been hanging around the South Bay, Smith's Bay, Waupoos and Adolphustown areas this winter. There was a NORTHERN HARRIER at Big Island on Thursday and another cruising low over a corn field just south of Fenwood Gardens the same day.
Most feeders in the Quinte area are enjoying visits from COMMON REDPOLLS with a nice flock of 60 coming to a feeder on Clearview Road, north of Belleville. The male WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL continues to visit the feeder at the H.R. Frink Centre where it can be seen most days, where other daily guests include BLUE JAY, DARK-EYED JUNCO, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, TREE SPARROW, COMMON REDPOLL, DOWNY WOODPECKER and HAIRY WOODPECKER. To reach the Frink Centre, take Highway 37 north out of Belleville for 9 kms, and turn right onto Thrasher Road and follow east for 2 kms.
EASTERN BLUEBIRD reports seem to be petering out, although one was observed on Wednesday in the community of Allisonville, north of Wellington. Since December 1st, there have been 16 individual reports of wintering EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in Prince Edward County and the Belleville area, involving a total of 73 birds. A flock of 155 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS turned up at a Blakely Road residence last Sunday, and small numbers of them continue to be seen in with CEDAR WAXWINGS at the Quinte Conservation Area in Quinte West.
A Milltown resident phoned into the open line program on CJBQ (Belleville) last week and reported a CANADA JAY coming to his feeder. Might be worth checking out. The community of Milltown is on Highway 2, east of Shannonville, between Belleville and Napanee. There is a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH coming to a feeder near Wellington.
SNOW BUNTING reports last week included a resident flock of 30 at the Mountain View airfield, and a flock of about 80 in a hay field on Clearview Road, north of Belleville.
The Quinte Field Naturalists will be meeting next Monday night, on the 28th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bridge Street United Church in Belleville. Guest speaker Jim Kelleher, General Manager of Lower Trent Conservation will be speaking on the Oak Ridge Moraine. The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists meet this Tuesday night, the 22nd, at 7:00 p.m. at the Bloomfield Town Hall to hear guest speaker Jim Ives talk about the natural history of the Waring Creek.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 20th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario tsprague@kos.net www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
We moved to Chicago from Toronto about two years ago and have found the city and surrounding areas to provide marvellous birding opportunities - especially right in the city ,often along the lake shore (Montrose Park,Seneca Park(right behind the John Hancock Building),and Jackson Park).The key migratory seasons are ; 1) late April-early June; and 2)mid-August to mid October.Most of the eastern birds are here as well as additions of many mid-Western , Western and Southern specialties. Some of our local favorites - Connecticut Warbler (reasonably common in spring and fall),Buff - breasted Sandpiper, sparrows (Sharp-tailed,Henslow's,Harris',LeContes),Dickcissal ,Yellow-throated Warbler,Sandhill Cranes (one Whooping Crane last year),Avocets ,Little Blue Herons,Pelicans and many more.If anyone is visiting in the Chicago area please email and we would be happy to direct you to some of the accessible spots.
This site you have developed is great and makes us quite homesick for the Toronto birding scene.We'll be back this summer but I think we will then miss the birding in Chicago. I can hear a Cardinal singing !! Can Spring be far off , eh?? A Couple of Transplanted Canadians ,Rob and Bob Cumming
This morning I had a return visit from a single Common Redpoll to my niger seed feeder. It was last seen about two weeks ago (I'm assuming it's the same one) for a period of a few consecutive days. I've always found Redpolls to be gregarious and sociable, so I'm a little surprised to see this one alone. Jim Heffernan
Today I had the pleasure of leading the Toronto Ornithological Club's annual
mid-winter Durham Region Baillie Memorial Outing. Fifteen of us spent the
day visiting a variety of sites, resulting in a total of 47 species. The highlight of the day for most participants were the crossbills at Hall's
Road. We were treated to close views of 6 White-winged Crossbills (5 male
and 1 female) and 3 Red Crossbills (only 1 male). At one point they were
spooked by the arrival of a Ring-necked Pheasant, and later they again took
flight as a gorgeous male Harrier swooped past. The crossbills today were
in the first plantation of larches as you walk in from Hall's Road, to the
right (south) of the path. Aside from that, we had our best concentration of sightings at the feeders
at 3870 Sideroad 22, north of Highway 7 in Pickering. There were close to
20 Brown-headed Cowbirds and a female Red-winged Blackbird, both Downy &
Hairy Woodpeckers, and a flock of 25+ Redpolls. There was a somewhat paler
redpoll among them, but none of us felt convinced that it was a Hoary. Just
a few hundred metres south of this spot, we came across a massive flock of
over 200 waxwings. They remained in sight only briefly, but both Cedar &
Bohemian were heard and seen, although Cedars definitely outnumbered
Bohemians by a large margin. Other good sightings included: a Tundra Swan west of the bridge on Brock
Road just north of Whitby Harbour, a Glaucous Gull harassing the smaller
gulls on the lake south of Whitby Harbour, a couple of secretive
Golden-crowned Kinglets along the west side of Cranberry Marsh, a Northern
Shrike flying west across Hwy 12 south of Taunton Road, the hardy Swamp
Sparrow at the NW platform of Cranberry Marsh, and the regular
White-throated Sparrow along the Lynde Shores feeder trail (although we
could not locate the elusive Spotted Towhee). Good birding, Marcel Gahbauer
Scarborough ON
gsteve6@attglobal.net PS - please e-mail me privately if you need further details on directions to
any of the sites mentioned above
Please Excuse my spelling ,I am Dyslexic
thank you for your understanding.
Craig
Today at the Polson st parking lot across from the Docks Restaurant from
8:00 am to 11:30 am there wear 7 Iceland Gull's / 5 Glaucous Gull's and at
10:00 am the Heermann"s Gull flu in from the south , I am being ask what the
best time to see this Gull is and to that the answer is ??????? it is
showing no pattern at all, it was at the first of the month staying at the
parking lot most of the day now it comes and go,s and as yesterday showed I
dint see it at all. I think if you rely want to see this gull and it isn't there when you get
there tack the time (it may be hours like this mooring) to look at the
others that are there it is well worth it..
Craig Mclauchlan
To day in between film locations I was aball to get down to Polson st and
spend some time looking at the Gulls. All though I did not see the
Heermann,s gull ( I guess it doesn't know my car) there wear 5 Iceland gulls
( 2 adults, 2.1st winter an 1.2nd winter) 2 Glaucous gulls , 4 G.B.B.Gulls ,
Herring and Ring billed gulls all wear right in the parking lot or right
next to it and easy to get great looks at. it is a exhalent place to learn
about the different moults that gulls go thought and to learn ( or hone)
aging off gulls. Craig McLauchlan.
Dear Fellow Birders Went for a quick walk into the 16 Mile Creek in Oakville yesterday, and the best bird seen was a Swamp Sparrow. I was a little surprized to see it since there isn't really many marshy areas in the area and it was seen in tall grasses alongside the river just north of the Upper Middle Bridge. Other birds seen were a pair of Mallards and a Hairy Woodpecker. Mike Boyd
In Reply to: Invitation to birding trip in Durham posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 10, 2000 at 09:18:30:
Hi Marcel,
I would have loved to accompany the group, however, I have other plans. Could you e-mail me information about the Toronto group, as I was unaware there was one. I would be interested in future outings in the Toronto area.
Thanks and happy birding,
Elizabeth
In Reply to: duck rafts posted by George Daszkowski on February 07, 2000 at 08:01:56:
Most likely oldsquaw, there have been thousands
kindof rafting up in the inner harbor before it
froze over.
This Saturday February 12, the Toronto Ornithological Club is offering a Jim Baillie Memorial Outing in Durham Region. Everyone is welcome to participate in this free trip. We will meet at the Pickering GO Station (southeast of Hwy 401 and Liverpool Road) at 9:00 am. The trip will continue for most of the day, so you may want to bring a lunch (although it will be possible to stop somewhere along the way to buy lunch too). Planned highlights (no guarantees though!) include the Red and White-winged Crossbills at Cranberry Marsh and the Spotted Towhee at Lynde Shores. We will also make an effort to find Redpolls and Waxwings, and many more species. I will be the leader for this trip; please e-mail me if you would like additional information. Marcel
Just saw a pileated woodpecker in my backyard this morning. I
believe it was a female. She was doing a good job ripping bark
from the bottom of a pine tree and as I watched her, she flew from
tree to tree where she'd circle the tree then rip a bit
of bark from it.
This is the second sighting of a pileated woodpecker in our
backyard in the last 2 weeks. I am located just outside of the city
of Belleville.
In Reply to: Birds at Toronto's Western Gap posted by Sandra Eadie on January 30, 2000 at 18:52:34:
Hi Sandra,
I just read your note and had a couple of question. I have an idea what "rafts of ducks" means, but I don't want to assume. Could you enlighten me. Also, is the Western Gap the same place as the foot of Stadium St?
Thanks for your note and assistance.
Elizabeth
In Reply to: Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 31, 2000 at 16:30:48:
Hi Marcel,
Would you kindly tell me where the Lambton Woods and the Humber Bay are located.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
In Reply to: Re: Get a confirmation of duck posted by Jim Heffernan on February 07, 2000 at 22:37:32:
Hi Jim,
Thanks for your reply. As I am a novice at birding, any variation is a novelty to me.
Happy birding.
Hi. I was wondering if anyone could give some approx. dates for winter finches migrating back north. Thanks
While filling up with gas at Lawrence & Markham Road around 11 am this morning, I spotted a hawk soaring overhead, and was surprised to see that it was a light phase Rough-leg. First one I've ever seen in Scarborough.
In Reply to: Get a confirmation of duck posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 07, 2000 at 13:33:21:
I don't think that the possibility of an Am. Black Duck and a Mallard hydrid is really all that remote. I've seen two Mallard hybrids in Ontario in the past couple of years; one at the mouth of the Niagara River in Fort Erie and another on the Lake Ontario waterfront in either Burlington or Mississauga (I forget which city). I saw a third Mallard hybrid in California only last winter that gave a distinct Gadwall impression (I believe the Mallard x Gadwall hybrid is known as Brewer's Duck). The NG field guide itself notes that many dabbling ducks are known to hybridize. For the most part, I've treated them as curiousities - but I'm changing. I think the next time I see one I'll probably spend a little more time making observations. Jim Heffernan
Hi all,
On Sunday Feb. 6 at approximately 16:00 at Ashbridges Bay I saw a duck that I later determined by my National Geographic guide was a hybrid: an AMERICAN BLACK MALLARD HYBRID. I believe this to be the case but I would appreciate hearing from anyone else if they have seen this species around.
There are significant congregations of ducks on Lake Ontario. They are seen flying in clouds and when on the water they resemble a raft floating on the water. I cannot identify them. Any suggestions?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 06, 2000
What a super week in Prince Edward County and the Quinte area! Some great stuff coming to area feeders. Since December, there has been a CAROLINA WREN coming to a feeder in Corbyville, just north of Belleville; and now, there is one that has been coming for the past two weeks to a feeder near the corner of Hill Street and Spencer Street, in Picton. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are still being reported in Prince Edward County, with one, a male, still coming to a feeder at South Bay where it has been since late December, and a female that has been coming for almost two weeks to a feeder along County Road 12 at West Lake. At a residence along Blakely Road on the west side of the county there is a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD sampling the menu at a feeder there. Visitors to the Open House and Activity Day at the H.R. Frink Centre today had a splendid view of a male WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL visiting the feeder there where it has been part of the regular clientel for some weeks.
The 22 hikers on a bird hike at the Frink Centre today had an excellent look at a BARRED OWL that was perched in a tree beside the trail, eventually taking off and obligingly flying only a few metres above the ground toward those on the hike. There was a SNOWY OWL on Wednesday along White's Road, east of Trenton, and GREAT HORNED OWLS are turning up everywhere. One was seen today at the north end of Rock Crossroad, east of Lake-on-the-Mountain. There was a well described RED-SHOULDERED HAWK found dead at the Shelter Valley Trailer Park south of Picton on Wednesday, and what appears to have been an immature GOLDEN EAGLE seen by several observers from the Glenora Fisheries Research Station, perched on the ice along the ferry channel. There was a BALD EAGLE at Point Petre on Tuesday.
COMMON REDPOLL numbers are remaining stable with numerous little groups visiting feeders everywhere. Some larger numbers include 30 at Prinyer's Cove, 20 at Point Petre, 35 at Clearview Road off Highway 62 north of Belleville, and 25 at Big Island. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are also moving into the county. There have been between 20 and 30 mixed in with CEDAR WAXWINGS at the Quinte Conservation office in Quinte West. There were 40 seen on Friday at Point Petre and another 100 found at Prince Edward Point the same day by John Charlton of Trenton who was birding the county that day. Belleville area birders Doug Guay and Albert Boisvert today found another 150 along Babylon Road near the Ostrander Road junction on the way to Prince Edward Point.
As one might expect, the colder weather has made waterfowl viewing somewhat difficult, but Wellington Harbour can be productive depending on what day one chooses to visit. Observers there say the strong current results in the availabilty of open water changing daily. Today, there were 300 CANADA GEESE, 100 MALLARDS, and scattered numbers of other species including doubles of COMMON GOLDENEYE, COMMON MERGANSERS and BUFFLEHEADS.
Other interesting birds found around the Quinte area this past week include several large flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS at South Bay (70), Prince Edward point (60), and Point Petre (50). There were 13 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS along County Road 13 near the Rutherford Stevens Lookout today, and another 15 along Babylon Road. A BELTED KINGFISHER at Stoco near Tweed, around 20 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS at Cherry Valley and 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS seen today along Rock Crossroad, east of Waupoos conclude the more notable sightings during this past week.
The Naturestuff web page has been updated for the month of February with new information on what birds to expect in Prince Edward County this month. The Birding Opportunities page looks at Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, and the Birdfeeding Page features a look at the popular Droll Yankees bird feeders and why they have become the leading manufacturer of bird feeders in North America. Lots of new photos throughout the site, with numerous photos in the three newly opened galleries on Birds, Aerial and People.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 13th. Good birding everyone and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague Picton tsprague@kos.net www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
Well finally today at Polson st we found all the winter gulls in the area
this year , Glaucous Gull 14 , Iceland gull 10, Thayer,s gull 1 imm.
G.B.B.Gull 19 , L.B.B.Gull 1 adult, Herring Gull , R.B.Gull and of cores
after waiting in till 4:45 pm the Heermann's gull flue in, I think if you
are looking for this gull look in the early morning , but 8 gulls in
Toronto in Feb. not bad...
Craig McLauchlan.
There seems to be an albino red tailed hawk around the Credit River in the town of Norval( Highway 7 and Winston Churchill). It is all white with a little darkness in its primaries.
to day of off the parking lot at the docks restaurant and Polson st there
wear at least 8 Glaucous gull's ,5 wear in with in 20 feet the Heermann's
gull was still present and feisty. And there wear 5 G.B.B.Gulls harassing
all the gulls and to show that strange moults accouter this time of year the
largest of the G.B.B.gulls a full adult had 2 Wight wing patches jest off
the shoulder on booth wings , this mist of bin the sergeant. or is it
corporal. Craig McLauchlan Polson st is jist off of Cherry st south of the Lake shore blvd. in Toronto.
This mooring I watched something happen down at the Toronto harbour that I
thought was exclusive to Frigatebird's , a G.B.B.Gull swoop down on a adult
Glaucous Gull and held it by the tall as they booth flue off, this caused
the Glaucous to regurgitate its stomach contains witch the G.B.B.Gull then
eat . soon a another G.B.B. Gull tried the same thing on the same Glaucous
Gull but with know luck!!!!! O by the way the Heermanns Gull was seen at the end of Polson st and at
least 7 Glaucous Gulls could be seen of on the Ice . And On the Question of name that gull I am happy to say that 94% (mostly
angry one's) suggested the nick name should be Heermann's. But I think the
best was "Alibi"!! I am sheer that we all have yoused it.
In Reply to: Re: protected posted by Hench on January 28, 2000 at 22:28:44:
I think that the last line of the statmint below says it all ! I cut and past this from the Fish and wildlife act.
Craig. You may not destroy or take the nests or eggs of wild birds, except for American crows, brown-headed cowbirds, common grackles, house sparrows, red-winged blackbirds or starlings.
You may not capture, kill or harass endangered species.
You may not cause unnecessary suffering to any wildlife.
In Reply to: Re: protected posted by Hench on January 28, 2000 at 22:28:44:
In The New Fish And Wildlife Conservation Act,
under the section Protection of Property from
Nuisance Animals,the following birds are not
protected: American crows ,brown-headed cow birds,
common grackles,house sparrows,red winged black
birds and starlings.The Act became effective
Jan.1,1999.For any one who wants to look into this
in more detail the website is as follows:
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/csb/news/jan5cfs99.
html. Happy Ground Hog's day tomorrow(should be
Woodchuck!)
In Reply to: Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay posted by Jean-François Hic on January 31, 2000 at 15:02:51:
No, you're not crazy :-) The Lambton Woods blackbirds have actually been there for at least a month, and around Christmas at least there was a Rusty Blackbird with them (it may still be in the area). Mostly the blackbirds have been seen near the north end of Lambton Woods, but I guess they move around. On the other hand, the ones at Humber Bay are "new" birds to my knowledge. Marcel
In Reply to: Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 31, 2000 at 12:49:28:
Marcel, Last week, on sunday, I saw about 10 red-winged blackbirds at Lambtonwoods south of the feeder where we can usually see the cardinals. An other birder saw them this sunday around the same spot. Did anybody see them??? (I swear I'm not crazy !!!)
Friendly yours,
Jean-François Hic
In Reply to: Re: Birds of Prey posted by Al johnston on January 30, 2000 at 18:20:30:
I agree that at a hawk frequenting a feeder is very likely either a sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's hawk. Many people believe they have seen peregrine falcons hunting birds at their feeders - although this no doubt happens on occasion, I have found from talking to people that the true culprit is generally one of the two accipiters (the problem is that more people are familiar with the peregrine due to its high profile, while many have never heard of the sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawks). Of course, depending on where you are, you may also be seeing red-tailed hawks or American kestrels in your yard - or possibly even other species, if you're lucky. I have recently set up a new page on the Canadian Peregrine Foundation website to help with ID of raptors other than the peregrine. To date I have posted images of red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, harrier (European), and Eurasian kestrel. The gallery is at http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/mountsberg/rafoto.html. If anyone has any photos of other raptor species to contribute, please get in touch with me, as I would like to expand the gallery and make it a more useful resource. Marcel Gahbauer Canadian Peregrine Foundation
In Reply to: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay posted by Jean-François Hic on January 31, 2000 at 09:56:59:
No, Red-winged Blackbirds are quite uncommon at this time of winter. The large number of Wigeons you saw is quite remarkable too. Marcel
Seen at Humber Bay Park between 9:00 and 10:00 am : 6 coots
50 oldsquaws
1 hooded merganser
numerous black ducks
2 Trumpeter swans
6 mute swans
30 american wigeons
6 gadwalls
mallards
black ducks
6 red-winged blackbirds (is that normal ???)
In Reply to: Re: Birds of Prey posted by Al johnston on January 30, 2000 at 18:20:30:
I think I got the web site figured out.It's www.ai-design.com/stargig/raptor/global/content/IndexHawks. and its listed under "Rapter-Hawks"
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 30, 2000
Continuing cold weather has made waterfowl viewing increasingly difficult everywhere except for the most open areas of Lake Ontario. At Prince Edward Point, the water between the Point and Swetman Island and Timber Island is completely frozen. However, in some of the open areas there are still good numbers of OLDSQUAW, COMMON GOLDENEYE and BUFFLEHEAD to be seen. Open areas in Soup Harbour at Point Petre contained upwards of 1,000 of the same species this past week. There were 18 SNOW GEESE seen at Huyck's Point, west of Wellington on Wednesday, along with about 100 MALLARDS.
Walter Frey, birding the Prince Edward Point area yesterday found a mixed flock of about 150 waxwings comprising mostly CEDAR WAXWINGS with about 30 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. He also turned up 6 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS near the corner of Old Milford Road and Kingsley Road, just south-east of Picton. There were 9 seen at Whattam Road near Little Bluff Conservation Area on Friday. Another half dozen EASTERN BLUEBIRDS have been present off and on some 14 km. north of Belleville.
The big news this past week was the appearance of a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER in a swamp along County Road 1 (Scoharie Road), not far from Bloomfield. The swamp is located at Civic Number 2800 County Road 1, at the home of Ron and Nancy Fox. There is also a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW visiting a feeder at this location. Another was seen on Friday by Lloyd Paul, visiting a feeder at the corner of Ben Gill Road and Tripp Road.
Other interesting birds this past week included a SONG SPARROW and a NORTHERN SHRIKE at Point Petre, 12 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS and 9 WILD TURKEYS near Cherry Valley, and numerous small flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS at Waupoos, Stinson Block, Halloway Heights (north of Belleville), Rednersville, Salmon Point, Allisonville and Mountain View.
The Outdoor Events section has now been updated on the NatureStuff web site with details of some 57 interpretive events taking place between February and December of this year. This program which I run through Quinte Conservation attracted just under 2,700 participants last year and we have expanded the roster this year to include an all day trip to Algonquin Park, a pelagic boat cruise to Main Duck Island, a canoe tour of Sawguin Creek, along with the usual complement of canoeing and kayaking tours and instruction, day hikes, evening kayak paddles, evening hikes, birdfeeding seminars, activity days and our interpretive aerial tours which are offered daily between April and December.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 6th. Good birding everyone, and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario tsprague@kos.net www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
Today at the foot of Stadium St. (Just west of Bathurst south off Lakeshore) there were several rafts of ducks close to shore providing excellent views of their very fresh plumage. You could also see rafts from the grass shore along the Lakeshore near by. There were 3,000 ducks in the area if not more. Occasionally they would be scared off by an airplane taking off (arrivals didn't seem to bother them so much) but they would gradually come back. This is an amazingly easy location to get a birding fix from in Toronto. It is at the Western Gap across from the Toronto Island Airport. Ducks seen: Greater Scaup (thousand or so), Oldsquaw (few hundred), Redhead (hundreds), Canvasback (3), Hooded Merganser (near shore 8 males several females-I have seen them here other years), Mute Swan (10), Trumpeter Swan (1, right leg silver band no yellow tag), Bufflehead (20 or so), Mallards (20), Black Duck (10), Gadwall (50), Red-breasted Merganser (3, 1 young that seemed to be going into adult plumage), 10 beautiful Common Mergansers (male & female), Goldeneye (3). The Oldsquaw were calling and the sound of a few thousand ducks taking off as their wings beat and they lifted off the water was beautiful.
--
In Reply to: Birds of Prey posted by Lynn Gibson on January 30, 2000 at 13:16:11:
Using the search engine HotBot,search for"raptors"
I'd give the web site but I can't replicate it
myself. (I'm not really computer literate)
If it's a hawk around a feeder,chanches are good
it's a Sharpshinned.Good luck in your research.
I would like some assitance in finding a web site, showing various birds of prey, in order to identify the hawks that have been seen in our backyard. Thank you.
I would like some assitance in finding a web site, showing various birds of prey, in order to identify the hawks that have been seen in our backyard. Thank you.
In Reply to: Re: Redpolls at My Feeder posted by Jim Heffernan on January 28, 2000 at 12:13:24:
I usually have Tree Sparrows galore in the winter at my
feeder out here in Flamborough. This winter I have
only seen one on the last day of December. On the
other hand I have had a Red-breasted Nuthatch all
winter. Although I have always had White-breasted
Nuthatches, this Red-breasted is the first in many
years.
In Reply to: Re: protected posted by Al johnston on January 27, 2000 at 20:20:12:
While these two are not covered by the Migratory Bird Convention Act, or the Endangered Species Act (surprise!)
They may be covered by the new and improved wide ranging Fish and Wildlife Act that the Province introduced in the past year or so.
I don't know, but it is worth checking. They may also be protected by the Criminal Code (without lawful reason etc.).
The method of control may also be regulated (e.g., by municipal bylaw).
BH
In Reply to: Redpolls at My Feeder posted by Jim Heffernan on January 27, 2000 at 22:56:45:
This cold Friday morning brought an American Tree Sparrow (a first) to the feeder along with the Common Redpoll. A couple of House Finches, House Sparrows and one Dark-eyed Junco (some of the regulars) rounded out the morning activity. The Redpoll was also around at noon when I returned for lunch. Jim
I have had at least one Common Redpoll at my niger seed feeder over the past two days. One individual was first observed yesterday. It was a very nice surprise given how slow things have been at the feeder over the last few weeks. It was back at the feeder again very early this morning - almost at first light - and was sited later in the day. I believe that there were two at the feeder when I returned home from work. Unfortunately, both birds flew off before I could get a good look. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing some more. Jim
In Reply to: protected posted by mikey E on January 26, 2000 at 21:18:28:
The starling and the house sparrow are not protected
The Heermann's gull was in the parking lot off of Polson st today and even with the -32 wind chill it looks fine , flying ,eating (aggressively) and sleeping? (My guess is conserving energy)
The ice in the harbour has bin broken up and the white wing gulls are quite far out now and a good scope is need . Iceland and Glaicous gulls could be seen. Craig McLauchlan
are european starlings a protected bird?
i noticed a scattering of bluejay feathers be side the tell-
tale imprint in the snow of a raptors spread wings spanning
29 inches (74 cm) .i figure probably a coopers hawk. it doe-
snt seem to bother the 150 or so mallards and blacks in the
remaining open open water in our pond.any other possibilit
ies?
In Reply to: trumpeter Swans posted by George Daszkowski on November 22, 1999 at 00:22:14:
any more trumpeter sightings? if so, any tags or numbers?
Yesterday afternoon (Jan 25) I drove the backroads from Guelph to Richmond Hill, searching in vain for Bohemian Waxwings. There were apple trees loaded with fruit wherever I went, but not a bird in sight in any of them (not even starlings). I'm beginning to think I have a waxwing curse hanging over my head, as everyone else seems to be seeing trees full of them this winter. However, I did have one interesting sighting around 4:30 pm. As I drove east on Major Mackenzie past Jane, I saw a swirling flock of what I thought were finches based on their behaviour, size, and shape. Thinking I had happened across a group of redpolls or siskins, I pulled into a nearby parking lot, and looked at the trees and wires where they had all landed. I was amazed (and of course disappointed) to see that every last one of them - 120 in all - was a House Sparrow! I can't recall having ever seen House Sparrows flocking like this, and I found it particularly surprising to see this now, since I've found their numbers to be a bit on the low side this winter. Marcel
PS - there were thankfully a few more exciting birds along the roads too, including a Pileated Woodpecker on highway 7 south of sideroad 27, a Harrier at 401 & Hwy 6 south, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk roughly 1 km south of the Harrier.
Today ( this afternoon) at Polson st ( which is off of cherry st ) there wear all the winter gulls at 3:00 p:m there wear Iceland(4), Glaucous(9) ,G.B.B.Gull (12), L.B.B.Gull(1), Thayer's gull (1 add-1imm) ,R.B.Gull ,Herring gull and after some waiting I look out of my car window and right beside my car was our Heermann"s Gull .
some one ask me the other day what Heermanns gull name was ( I said Heermanns) lets play name that Gull PLEAS reply in privet .... Craig McLauchlan Please Excuse my spelling ,I am Dyslexic
thank you for your understanding.
Craig
In Reply to: Polson Street posted by Derrick Marven on January 23, 2000 at 18:39:13:
No pleas lave me hear!!! I have lots of company, lots of food, lots of worm close and the gull watching is out of this world I could youse a port a potty though....the Heermann"s gull is still hear in the Toronto harbour along with Glaucous and Iceland gulls .. Craig McLauchlan
testing
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 23, 2000
It has been a week of owls. GREAT HORNED OWLS were reported this past week
at Point Petre, Stinson Block area at Weller's Bay, Sandbanks Provincial
Park, Big Island, South Bay, and one which could be seen almost every
morning at 7:15 perched atop a light standard at the entrance to Fenwood
Gardens, just south of Belleville. There was a SNOWY OWL on Melville Road
near Consecon Lake on Wednesday, and another can be seen quite regularly
circulating around the East Lake and Sandbanks area. There was a SHORT-EARED
OWL calling from the south side of Consecon Lake on Wednesday.
Frigid temperatures have put a damper on waterfowl populations around the
Quinte area. Soup Harbour which is still fairly open due to its proximity to
Lake Ontario, had 2,000 BUFFLEHEAD and COMMON GOLDENEYE along with a
solitary MALLARD. Today, there were 7 MALLARDS flying over the shore at
Prinyer's Cove looking for open water. The cold temperatures also created
some hardships for a pair of MUTE SWANS which became stuck in the ice near
Prinyer's Cove early last week. Two staff members from Quinte Conservation
waded into the frigid water, agitating the birds enough for them to free
themselves. Quinte Conservation, and other interested groups, were also
called to the Moira River in Belleville to check on a lone CANADA GOOSE with
a damaged wing. It turned out to be the same wounded mate of a goose,
described in this report last year, that was present last year with an
arrow through its wing. That goose managed to loose its arrow. A rather
unlucky pair of geese.
Hawks, both dead and alive, continue to turn up. A dead COOPER'S HAWK was
found north of Picton along Highway 49 on Monday, and a dead AMERICAN
KESTREL was found at Fish Lake on Friday. RED-TAILED HAWKS were reported
from Wesley Acres Road at Bloomfield, Point Petre (also a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
there), Prince Edward Point area (numerous individuals), Old Milford Road
(3), and one at Huff's Island. There was a NORTHERN SHRIKE at Macaulay
Mountain on Tuesday and another today on Royal Road, a NORTHERN HARRIER on
Old Milford Road (another 3 were seen today elsewhere in the county), and a
COOPER'S HAWK on Victoria Road today just south of Belleville. Nels Banting
and Nick Quickert birding the area today found a perched and uncomfortably
cold TURKEY VULTURE at Prince Edward Point. They also found an adult BALD
EAGLE at Point Petre. This morning there were three BALD EAGLES that flew
from Morrison's Point toward the open water area of Prince Edward Bay.
Other interesting sightings around the county this week included a GREAT
BLUE HERON at Morrison's Point on Wednesday, 4 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, and
several large flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS including one LAPLAND LONGSPUR, all on
Royal Road today. There have been several reports of small numbers of HORNED
LARKS with one large flock of 40 present today along Wesley Acres Road
(strolling brazenly beneath a KESTREL perched on a hydro wire) and 30 near
the Loyalist Parkway in Bloomfield. A flock of 50 WILD TURKEYS was at
Sandbanks last week, and another 8 seen today at the east end of Royal Road.
Waxwing sightings include 100 CEDAR WAXWINGS (with 6 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS) along Royal Road today, and another 100 reported from the Quinte Skyway Bridge area south of Deseronto. A nice flock of 142 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS remained in our flowering crab tree on Big Island, north of Demorestville, long enough to be counted where they fed on the apples for much of the afternoon.
The cold weather this past week has also increased the patronage at most feeding stations in the Quinte area. There was a male and two female RED CROSSBILLS at a feeder at Smith's Bay last weekend, a male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER at a feeder near Sandbanks (another was seen near the junction of Wild Oak Lane and Gilead Road Wednesday), and 20 COMMON REDPOLLS at a
Prinyer's Cove feeder.
All in all, not a bad week in the Quinte area. The Quinte Field Naturalists
will be holding their monthly meeting Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the
Bridge Street United Church in Belleville. Guest speaker Terry Sprague will
be speaking on "Quinte Area Wildlife - A Century of Change." The Prince
Edward County Field Naturalists hold their meeting the following night at
7:00 p.m. at the Bloomfield Hall. Guest speaker David Bree will speak on
lizards. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the
Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and
will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 30th. Good birding everyone,
and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario tsprague@kos.net www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
At approximately 3:20 pm today (+/- 5 mins) an immature Ivory gull flew west
past humber bay east. While talking to another birder at humber bay east I noticed a snow white
gull flying west with three Herring gulls. Curious to what it was, I looked
through my binoculars and was stunned to see an immature Ivory Gull.
The bird was first noticed approaching the footbridge on the northeast side
of humber Bay east. It flew south west above the the footbridge at newly
developed area with the floating docks, then over the parking lot and last
seen flying over humber bay west park. I was about 150 feet away from it when I initially saw it and watched it for
approximately 1.5 to 2 mins as it flew west. I observed it to have a darkish
bill,snow white plummage except for extensive black smudging on the face
between the eye and the bill and some black dots primarily 3-4 rows on the
wing coverts most visible posterior to the alula .Dave Mudd who was with me
and closer to the bird when Yelled at him to look noticed the bill to have a
light coloured tip. we tried to intercept the bird at spencer smith park and then looked for it
back at humber bay west to no avail. I have just learned that Glenn Coady has located the bird at bronte harbour resting on the ice at dusk. Tyler Hoar
I wonder if someone could go down and catch Craig McLauchlan and take him to a rehabber it seems he's stuck there and won't migrate any where else, it would be sad if he's stuck down there with the Heermann's gull for the rest of his life.
Yesterday, a trip along the waterfront turned up five gull species, ten waterfowl species, and eight land bird species for a total of twenty three. Our trip comprised the Humber Bay, Polson St., the Leslie St. Spit, and Ashbridges Bay. The gulls were Ring-billed, Herring, Greater Black Backed, Glaucous, and Heermann's. We left many more gulls unidentified at Polson St., as glare off the ice made it difficult to see. The waterfowl were all at Humber Bay. There was a large raft of Greater Scaup and Redhead, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, two male Wood Duck, many Oldsquaw, Mallard, and Canada Geese, with smaller numbers of Black Duck, Bufflehead, and Gadwalls. The land birds were mostly those omnipresent imports, House Sparrows, starlings, and Rock Doves. There were also crows and a flock of Common Redpolls at Ashbridges Bay, while Leslie St. Spit yielded one each of Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrow, and American Kestrel. Happy Birding,
Joel Kits
In Reply to: Toronto gulls posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 18, 2000 at 15:08:46:
This mooring at Ashbridge's Bay (at the foot of Coxwell ave and the Lake
shore Blvd.) ther was a Thayer's gull along with the others and at the
Leslie st spit ther was a Ad. Bald Eagle , but the best was at Polson st
wear along with Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway wear found 18 Glaucous, 2 Iceland
Gulls along with G.B.B.Gulls and R.B.Gulls, Herring gull and our Hermann"s
gull which is starting to show some moulting on the Throat and the Orbital
(eye) ring is starting to lightin in colour .amusingly I did not notice this
yesterday it almost seems that it happened over night. Craig McLauchlan
In Reply to: Feeder visitors posted by Andy on January 12, 2000 at 08:35:38:
The only bird I saw at my fider to day was a R.B.Nuthatch a femall I have not seen one in my back yard for some time it was nice to wach. Craig
It appears from the news reports that we have indeed stopped the RCGA from putting their new golf course at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Just want to extend a personal "thank you" to all of you who sent letters, faxes and e-mails to stop this. FYI, the groups that worked together in this effort included: Bronte Creek East Preservation Association,
Wildlands League,
Federation of Ontario Naturalists,
South Peel Naturalists,
Friends of Bronte Creek Provincial Park,
North Peel Naturalists,
Canadian Alliance of Wildlife Partners,
University Womens Club, Burlington and Oakville,
Earthroots, as well as many private individuals, who simply saw a need to get involved. If I missed anyone, I apologize. Many of these groups and individuals are continuing to work to stop any further development in the park. Good luck in their efforts.
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, I thought this might be of relavence here, since there was some discussion about it earlier. The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) announced on Tuesday that it will not be building a golf course on the east side of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. They said that because of such public opposition to it, they decided to build it at another site, not yet named. However it is still likely that there will be campsites put in though. Mike Boyd
In Reply to: Re: Toronto gulls posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 19, 2000 at 09:04:39:
Timing is everything.....how true! That logic applies
to shorebirds during migration at Humber Bay as well as
many other bird species all over N. America. Well put
Marcel.
In Reply to: Re: Toronto gulls posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 19, 2000 at 09:04:39:
my sightings wear betwine 10:30 and 12:00. and the Gulls wear moving around the holl time. Craig
In Reply to: Toronto gulls posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 18, 2000 at 15:08:46:
The local gull population is highly variable. I was down in the same area as Craig around 8:30 am, and only wish I could have seen half as many gulls. There were only 2 Ring-bills at Polson Street - nothing else in sight. I went down to the end of Cherry Street and looked out over the ice, where only another 50 or so gulls were present: the Heermann's gull way out on the ice, surrounded by 16 Gr. Black-backs, maybe a dozen Ring-bills, and roughly two dozen Herrings. Not a Glaucous, Iceland, L. Black-back, Bonaparte's, or Thayer's in sight! Timing is everything... Marcel
It seems that not only did our Heermann's gull survive the cold of the last nights it looks better than the other gulls around it. also the cold and strong north west wind has brought down and in other gulls. at Polson st to day along with the Heermann's gull wear Glaucous gull 1 adult. G.B.B.Gull 4 adult.,
L.B.B.Gull 1 adult, R.B.Gull and Herring Gull at Ashbridge's bay there wear Glaucous Gull 2 ( 1 adult and 1 juv.) Iceland Gull 3 adult, G.B.B.Gull 3 adult ,
L.B.B.Gull 1 adult, Thayer's Gull 1 adult , R.B.Gull , Herring Gull , and a very out of place Bonaparte's gull
adult.
So that's 9 species of gulls port lands area not bad. Polson st is of Cherry st south of the Lake shore blvd . and Ashbridges Bay is at the foot of Coxwell ave wear the lake shore blvd meets the Gardiner expwy. Craig McLauchlan csam@sympatico.ca
In Reply to: Feeder visitors posted by Andy on January 12, 2000 at 08:35:38:
Well the snow and cold weather has not changed my back yard feeder at all as a mater of fact it has worsened it I have only had 1 Downey woodpecker in 2 days? I might not have to fill my feeder this month if this keeps up.
Carig
In Reply to: Feeder visitors posted by Andy on January 12, 2000 at 08:35:38:
It has been fairly quiet at my feeders as well. Although, this is only the second winter I've had them up. My daily regulars include only House Finches and American Goldfinches. Less frequent, but still common, visitors include Dark-Eyed Juncoes, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, House Sparrows, and European Starlings. This winters surpises have included both Nuthatches, Pine Siskins, a Downy Woodpecker and one European Goldfinch (which has been showing up off and on since the spring of '99). In general, I think feeder traffic has been slow. My feed seems to last a long time. Jim Heffernan
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 16, 2000
Much colder weather this past week certainly increased the tempo of activity at most bird feeders in the Quinte area. There were 14 species of birds at our feeders this afternoon including large numbers of COMMON REDPOLLS. The latter species was also present at feeders today at Morrison's Point, Prinyer's Cove (30) and Sandbanks Provincial Park. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are coming to feeders at South Bay, Bloomfield and Elmbrook. And at Fish Lake, wildlife artist Mia Lane has a pair of RING-NECKED PHEASANTS sauntering around her backyard. George Love at Morrison's Point has a SONG SPARROW and some 25 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and there is another SONG SPARROW at Point Petre and one coming to a feeder at Sandbanks. There were also PURPLE FINCHES coming to a feeder on Bayshore Road in the Adolphus Reach area this past week.
Despite the colder temperatures there still seems to be some open water offering shelter to numerous species of waterfowl. There were 5 TUNDRA SWANS at South Bay on Wednesday, another four(2 adults and 2 juveniles) at Morrison's Point yesterday, and two MUTE SWANS in the Prinyer's Cove area today. There were also 200 CANADA GEESE at the mouth of Prinyer's Cove this morning and another 200 at South Bay on Wednesday. The still open water of Soup Harbour has approximately 200 BUFFLEHEAD and 100 COMMON GOLDENEYE. Meanwhile at Morrison's Point, just east of Black River, there are MALLARDS, COMMON MERGANSERS, COMMON GOLDENEYE and BLACK DUCKS. On Wednesday, the harbour area at Prince Edward Point was completely free of ice and observer Walter Frey checked off 60 REDHEADS, 100 MALLARDS, a few scaup, and several hundred OLDSQUAW . There were 20 MALLARDS near the shore east of Little Bluff Conservation Area yesterday.
Reports of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS continue to increase in the Quinte area. In addition to the numerous reports from the Kingston area, there have been isolated reports from Prince Edward County including about a half dozen or so with a flock of 75 CEDAR WAXWINGS at Prince Edward Point on Wednesday.
There was an adult BALD EAGLE at Point Traverse on Wednesday, three along Adolphus Reach on Saturday, and another adult at Morrison's Point this past week. Some of the same individuals may be involved in these various sightings.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 23rd. Good birding everyone, and our thanks to contributors who make this report possible.
Terry Sprague Picton, Ontario tsprague@kos.net www.pec.on.ca/naturestuff/
Durham Birds
Posted by Joel Kits on February 21, 2000 at 20:59:27:Re: Quinte Area Bird Report - Feb. 20/00
Posted by Al Johnston on February 21, 2000 at 12:43:20:Quinte Area Bird Report - Feb. 20/00
Posted by Terry Sprague on February 20, 2000 at 19:34:08:Hermann"s gull
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on February 19, 2000 at 14:09:27:Polson Street, again
Posted by Don Peuramaki on February 17, 2000 at 08:59:48:Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 14, 2000 at 12:18:28:Quinte Area Bird Report - Feb. 13/00
Posted by Terry Sprague on February 13, 2000 at 20:03:10:Chicago Visitors
Posted by Bob Cumming on February 13, 2000 at 11:38:49:Redpoll at my feeder
Posted by Jim Heffernan on February 13, 2000 at 10:50:24:Durham birds - Feb 12
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 12, 2000 at 21:25:48:Today's Toronto gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on February 12, 2000 at 16:48:42:Toronto Gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on February 11, 2000 at 14:41:37:Oakville Birds
Posted by Mike Boyd on February 10, 2000 at 22:39:03:Re: Invitation to birding trip in Durham
Posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 10, 2000 at 17:16:33:Re: duck rafts
Posted by George Wilson on February 10, 2000 at 16:22:44:Invitation to birding trip in Durham
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 10, 2000 at 09:18:30:Pileated Woodpecker
Posted by Robyn Dowsett on February 10, 2000 at 08:32:40:Re: Birds at Toronto's Western Gap
Posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 09, 2000 at 14:25:08:Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay
Posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 09, 2000 at 14:13:30:Re: Get a confirmation of duck
Posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 09, 2000 at 14:07:54:Finch Migration
Posted by Joel Kits on February 08, 2000 at 18:33:06:Rough-legged hawk in Scarborough
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 08, 2000 at 12:26:42:Re: Get a confirmation of duck
Posted by Jim Heffernan on February 07, 2000 at 22:37:32:Get a confirmation of duck
Posted by Elizabeth McKernan on February 07, 2000 at 13:33:21:duck rafts
Posted by George Daszkowski on February 07, 2000 at 08:01:56:Quinte Area Bird Report - Feb. 06/00
Posted by Terry Sprague on February 06, 2000 at 20:20:34:Toronto Gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on February 05, 2000 at 19:35:20:Albino red tailed hawk
Posted by Piers M. Perren on February 05, 2000 at 10:41:47:Toronto Gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on February 02, 2000 at 17:23:39:G.B.B.Gull vearsGlaucous gull
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on February 01, 2000 at 12:53:21:Re: protected
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on February 01, 2000 at 12:15:24:Re: protected
Posted by Al Johnston on February 01, 2000 at 11:46:08:Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 31, 2000 at 16:30:48:Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay
Posted by Jean-François Hic on January 31, 2000 at 15:02:51:Re: Birds of Prey
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 31, 2000 at 12:56:54:Re: Sunday 30 at Humber Bay
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 31, 2000 at 12:49:28:Sunday 30 at Humber Bay
Posted by Jean-François Hic on January 31, 2000 at 09:56:59:Re: Birds of Prey
Posted by Al Johnston on January 30, 2000 at 20:42:44:Quinte Area Bird Report - Jan. 30/00
Posted by Terry Sprague on January 30, 2000 at 19:43:35:Birds at Toronto's Western Gap
Posted by Sandra Eadie on January 30, 2000 at 18:52:34:Re: Birds of Prey
Posted by Al johnston on January 30, 2000 at 18:20:30:Birds of Prey
Posted by Lynn Gibson on January 30, 2000 at 13:16:11:Birds of Prey
Posted by Lynn Gibson on January 30, 2000 at 13:15:13:Re: Tree Sparrow at my feeder.
Posted by Gerry Mielke on January 29, 2000 at 17:35:48:Re: protected
Posted by Hench on January 28, 2000 at 22:28:44:Re: Redpolls at My Feeder
Posted by Jim Heffernan on January 28, 2000 at 12:13:24:Redpolls at My Feeder
Posted by Jim Heffernan on January 27, 2000 at 22:56:45:Re: protected
Posted by Al johnston on January 27, 2000 at 20:20:12:Heermann's gull
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on January 27, 2000 at 19:21:09:protected
Posted by mikey E on January 26, 2000 at 21:18:28:bluejay kill
Posted by Al Johnston on January 26, 2000 at 18:02:41:Re: trumpeter Swans
Posted by al johnston on January 26, 2000 at 14:58:39:Flocking House Sparrows
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 26, 2000 at 11:19:41:Polson st Gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 24, 2000 at 18:50:39:Re: Polson Street
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 24, 2000 at 12:25:18:testing
Posted by Andy on January 24, 2000 at 11:49:48:Quinte Area Bird Report - Jan. 23/00
Posted by Terry Sprague on January 23, 2000 at 20:12:14:Ivory Gull
Posted by Tyler Hoar on January 23, 2000 at 19:40:04:Polson Street
Posted by Derrick Marven on January 23, 2000 at 18:39:13:Toronto Waterfront
Posted by Joel Kits on January 23, 2000 at 14:41:15:Re: Toronto gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 22, 2000 at 13:49:29:Re: Feeder visitors
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 21, 2000 at 17:53:24:Congratulations!
Posted by Fischer on January 21, 2000 at 09:27:15:Bronte Prov. Park
Posted by Mike Boyd on January 19, 2000 at 22:57:13:Re: Toronto gulls
Posted by Brete Griffin on January 19, 2000 at 17:32:54:Re: Toronto gulls
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on January 19, 2000 at 10:00:08:Re: Toronto gulls
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 19, 2000 at 09:04:39:Toronto gulls
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 18, 2000 at 15:08:46:Re: Feeder visitors
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on January 17, 2000 at 22:16:43:Re: Feeder visitors
Posted by Jim Heffernan on January 17, 2000 at 00:02:18:Quinte Area Bird Report - Jan. 16/00
Posted by Terry Sprague on January 16, 2000 at 19:57:14:Com. Grackle in the near north
Posted by