Very productive morning at Marie Curtis Park:
5 Northern Cardinals, 1 Great Black-Backed Gull, 1 Long-Eared Owl, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl (grey race).
I've been told that Leslie Spit is quite a good place for birding. I've also been informed that access to the entire area is limited on certain days of the week. Can you help me???
Birdwatching at lunch on Wednesday, I saw a male Hooded Merganser with 2 females among several mallards and one gadwall (I had no telescope) off the National Yacht Club (which is just west of the Island airport entrance) looking towards the mainland. Look for them west of Bathurst in the parkland along the shore off Lakeshore Dr.. There were also a hundred or so oldsquaw between the Toronto airport and the club's spit. An immature Greater Black Backed Gull was eating a dead duck (very bloody) on the breakwater of the club closest to land near the Hooded Merg.
There have been at least 2 different immature Bald Eagles at the waterfront in the last week.
At 3:45 on the 30th, a 2 year old (3rd winter) bird flew over Villiers St. It has a white belly, whitish head/throat, and white tail with dark terminal band and edges.
The other one, which was at Ashbridge's last week, is in first-winter plumage. It appears much darker except for the usual white axillar spots and white diagonal lines on the underwings and white inner secondaries.
Went to Presqu'ile Prov. Park yesterday Dec.30, 1998 with Craig McLauchlan and we found 14 Purple Sandpipers still on Gull Island. The other 30+ may have moved out before the arctic blast hit or they may just have gone out to the treed High Bluff Island just to the west as there would be a lot more shelter there from the strong cold wind. We could not get to High Bluff Island as a steady flow of wind blown water was between it and Gull Island. We also saw approx. 1200 Snow Buntings and 50 A. Tree Sparrows on Gull Island and a Northern Goshawk came out of the woods at Owen Point and tried for a bunting but they all flew up and surrounded it in a wheeling mass and it left without a meal for the time being. At the lighthouse we found an American Coot feeding at the edge of the ice and slush. Norm Murr
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I went birding along the Hamilton and Burlington lakeshore today starting at Green Rd. in Hamilton where there were about 2000 Goldeneye offshore and mixed in with them were all three Scoters numbering about 300. Then at Windermere Basin there was a Pied-billed Grebe, a Green-winged Teal, a Pintail, and many Ruddy Ducks, Shovellers, and both Scaups, also there were a pair of Hooded Mergansers. Then over at Burlington Bay beside the Tollgate Ponds (the ponds are frozen over) were many Pintail, Shoveller, Gadwall, and C. Merganser. Then over at the CCIW there was a Mockingbird and on the north island there was a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a pair of Wigeon. Then at LaSalle Marina there were 64 Tundra Swans, 62 Coots, a female Canvasback, 2 Pied-billed Grebes, Ring-necked Duck, both Scaup, and C. Merganser. Then at Venture Inn there were about 200 Goldeneye and 5 Surf Scoters, and at the foot of Walker's Line there was a Black Scoter.
Mike
In Reply to: Brewer's black bird posted by Craig McLauchlan on December 29, 1998 at 15:09:10:
Tue., Dec.29, 1998 This was a great sighting with only my second one for Toronto, and my first female bird for the same area. Thanks to Craig picking me up in the am and Don Peuramaki for discovering and reporting it I was able to be with the Lone Birder so that this sighting would not go unrecorded. I do suggest that if anyone goes down to the area that they stand just south of the corner of Villiers and Saulter Streets ( on Saulter St.) and watch for the birds coming out of the fenced in area as some of them tend to land on the small trees at the corner of the bus depot property before moving on or going to feed on the seed and bread put out for them. Thanks again Don Norm Murr
In Reply to: Black-headed Gull posted by Don Peuramaki on December 28, 1998 at 13:27:30:
Norm Merr and I look for this Bird today with no luck not to say that it is not still around jist that we could not find it .
Craig
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Park sightings posted by B. Taylor on December 28, 1998 at 10:22:13:
Hey Barb Craig and I saw thorns, they are pointy things. Just kidding ?? Happy New Year and see you on the spit Norm Murr
the female brewer's black bird was esaly seen this moring at 8:10 (12-28-98)at the cowner of Villiers st and sautler st as it left it's nightly roost it flue across the street to the bus termanall and feed on breed that lays at the foot of the fence. Seeing that this is not a lone birder observason for Norm Merr was eith me to help with the I.D of this bird. I am sher that all that need this for life Toronto list will find it with no problim. Villiers and saulter are jist south of the Done Valley pkwy and the Gardiner expresway tern east. also seen ther wear Rusty.B.bird 1,Cow bird 4,red w.b.bird1,Grackle 4, E starling 3000 ,w.t sparow 2,a.robin 1.
Craig McLauchlan
At 11:00 AM today, there was a winter adult Black-headed Gull at Ashbridge's Bay. It was swimming with a flock of Canada Geese about 20 feet from the boat ramps.
I couldn't relocate it 20 minutes later, but, hopefully it will stick around.
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Park sightings posted by Mark Cranford on December 28, 1998 at 09:45:37:
At least the Robins that didn't fly south yet managed to avoid that terrible ice storm that went through the Virginia, N. Carolina and Louisiana areas. Looked pretty bad on the news.
I will take a closer look at those shrubs with the black berries...I don't remember seeing any thorns.
Bye now, Barbara
In Reply to: Re: Purple Sandpiper on the Spit posted by NORM MURR on December 28, 1998 at 09:18:19:
This species (Purple Sandpiper)would have allowed Toronto to break our all time record high species count on the 27th. did anyone see it who is prepared to write an RBR for a sighting on that date???? All of the above also holds true for Short-eared Owl also not seen by our counters on that date. If so please send to Frank Pinilla at 50 Castlegrove Blvd., Don Mills M3A 1L2. Phone him at 4492183 for a blank form or me at 535-1902.
In Reply to: Sunnybrook Park sightings posted by Barbara Taylor on December 27, 1998 at 21:11:45:
If the pickings get real thin the robins will fly south. Not sure but I think your "ink-berry" shrubs are Common Buckthorn. It's originally from Europe, keeps its leaves longer than most native shrubs, the berries make an ugly mess on parked cars and is considered invasive (a bad plant). At least robins like them.
Mark
In Reply to: Purple Sandpiper on the Spit posted by Norm Murr on December 27, 1998 at 21:52:02:
Further to the Purple Sandpiper. The bird had also been seen by others between the first sighting and Dec.26th. I mention this to fill in the gap so that the sightings seem to support it being the same bird. Also seen off and on is the female Harlequin Duck, so this bird should be watched for also. Norm Murr
For those interested the Purple Sanpiper found at Pipit Point(blue box or extreme southwest tip) on Nov.14 is still there.Seen on Dec.20 and again on Dec.26. As the Presqui'le Purples are still hanging around I can see no reason why this is not the same bird found in November. The spit can be birded all this week as it is not open for the dump trucks and you will not be stopped at the gate, but please leave your dog at home as there are too many on the spit this week and everyone say's they didn't know but by coinsidence they just happen to take them out there this week. Norm Murr
In Reply to: Re: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 26, 1998 at 17:42:54:
Thanks Don. I went down this afternoon and we got everything but the Brewer's Blackbird, but I will try again Norm Murr
Merlin - 1 N. Mockingbird - 1 Rusty Blackbird - 3 Red-winged Blackbird - 4 Common Grackle - 4 Brown-headed Cowbird - 4
Today I was surprised to see so many Robins (21) still hanging around now that the ground has frozen. The "ink-berry" shrubs don't have many berries left...what will the birds feed on then?! The Pileated Woodpecker was near his usual spot, just across the road from the log cabin parking lot. On my walk through the park, I also saw 45 Chickadees, 7 Crows, 1 Wh. Br. Nuthatch, 1 House Finch, 4 Cardinals, and 3 Blue Jays. The creek was partially frozen over, so I didn't see the usual Mallards. Pretty slim pickings but heh, it's officially winter now.... : )
Regards, Barbara
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 27
Colder weather descended on the Quinte area this past week, but several days of brisk winds have kept local waters open, resulting in good numbers of ducks. Nick Quickert and Nels Banting checked the open water at Carrying Place during the Dec. 20th Presqu'ile Christmas count and rounded up 1 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 7 GADWALL, 4 AMERICAN WIDGEON, 3 HOODED MERGANSER and 10 REDHEAD as well as many BLACKS and MALLARDS and both GREATER and LESSER SCAUP.
The Prince Edward Point Christmas count one day earlier saw an incredible 101,718 OLDSQUAW, 8,515 GREATER SCAUP, and 1,530 WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. Also seen were TUNDRA SWAN (37), CANADA GOOSE (480), AMERICAN BLACK DUCK (68), MALLARD (1,067), NORTHERN PINTAIL (17), NORTHERN SHOVELLER (4), LESSER SCAUP (13), BLACK SCOTER (2), SURF SCOTER (1), COMMON GOLDENEYE (489), BUFFLEHEAD (165), HOODED MERGANSER (5), COMMON MERGANSER (115), and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (18).
The open water at the Bay Bridge just south of Belleville today had MALLARDS (200+), BLACK DUCKS (30), COMMON MERGANSER (20+), HOODED MERGANSER (2), NORTHERN PINTAIL (2), AMERICAN COOT (7), COMMON GOLDENEYE (3), with an additional 150+ flying around the bridge area. Marc Johnson of Belleville, who tallied the ducks today, also found an AMERICAN ROBIN at Massassauga Point and a NORTHERN HARRIER at Fenwood Gardens.
Elsewhere though AMERICAN ROBINS are in good supply. Sandbanks Provincial Park has had about 30+ in the Richardson's Campground, the Prince Edward Point Christmas count tallied 96, and isolated reports of small wintering flocks have come in from Consecon, Green Point, Big Island and Milford.
Other interesting finds on the Prince Edward Point census included a GLAUCOUS GULL, one SCREECH OWL, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at Lake-on-the-Mountain (mentioned in last week's report), one RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, a SWAMP SPARROW, and 17 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. The latter species was also seen (4) in the Consecon/Carrying Place sector of the Presqu'ile count. Up that way too are 3 NORTHERN FLICKERS, a BELTED KINGFISHER on the Murray Canal and a FIELD SPARROW at Carrying Place. Reports of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS continue to trickle in with the last sighting involving 6 at Old Kingston Road, east of Belleville on Monday.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 3rd. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, went birding along the lakeshore to see what I could find and to try out my new scope. At Oakville Harbour not much except the 3 regular gulls, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and R-B Merganser. At Bronte Harbour there were about 5,000 Oldsquaw flying back and forth far out over the water, also present were C. Merganser, R-B Merganser, and Goldeneye. Next stop was Sioux Lookout but couldn't find much because I was snowed out, however there were about 600 Oldsquaw flying around. Then at Venture Inn there were 2 Coots sitting on the rocks, and about 300 Goldeneye. The next stop and by far the best was LaSalle, there were 2 Pied-Billed Grebes, 3 Hooded Merganser (1 male & 2 female), 54 Coots, a Ring-Necked Duck, along with both Scaup, a female Canvasback, about 15 Common Merganser and a single R-B Merganser, a few Black Ducks and Gadwall, Bufflehead, a single Mute Swan, and 14 Tundra Swans. I stopped by LaSalle just before dark, so if I had more time I might have been able to pick out a few more species.
Mike
In Reply to: Re: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 25, 1998 at 15:28:12:
Update on waterfront:
Ashbridge's Bay today: 6 Iceland Gulls, 1 Glaucous, 1 Lesser Black-backed, the Killdeer was still there, 2 Great Blue Herons, 1 Cormorant
Villiers St. Starling roost: 5 Cowbirds, 3 Redwings, 2 Rusties, 1 Brewer's Blackbird (female, from 4:30 til 4:38)
In Reply to: Re: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by craig_mclauchlan@ago.net on December 25, 1998 at 14:49:45:
The huge Starling roost is right at the foot of the Don Valley Parkway.
Birds congregate in large numbers beginning at about 4pm around the Don Roadway and Villiers (sp.?) St. Starlings fly up under the Gardiner, but blackbirds fly south into the marshy area south of Villiers, and often more to the eastern end of this short street. I believe that street is called Saulter. The mix of blackbirds seems to change every day. I've only seen the Brewer's once, (there have been as many as seven Grackles).
Good luck.
In Reply to: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 24, 1998 at 17:51:55:
wear was the brewers blackbird i wood like to look for that bird my self. Craig. Happy holladys
In Reply to: Toronto eastern waterfront posted by Don Peuramaki on December 24, 1998 at 17:51:55:
Some very nice birds Don, particularly the Brewer's Blackbird. There are very few Toronto winter records.
I'm not sure who covers this area for the Toronto CBC either but Dan Bone will know.
Failing that, if you are not covering another area you could try to re-find these goodies and report them to the compiler Sunday evening at Ron Tasker's phone number.
If you are covering another route, I hope you have this same kind of good fortune.
Merry Christmas and may 1999 fill your binos with wonderful sights.
I'm not sure who's covering these 2 areas for the CBC on Sunday - but here are a few birds to watch for.
Ashbridge's Bay: today - immat Bald Eagle, 2 Iceland Gulls, 2 Glaucous Gulls, 1 very cold looking Killdeer being sandblasted by a windchill of -19c.
Foot of Don Valley at Gardiner(Starling roost): today: 9 Redwings, 2 Grackles, 3 Cowbirds, 1 Mockingbird, and Robins, etc.
Not seen today but seen earlier this week: Merlin catching Starlings, Rusties, 1 Brewer's Blackbird (calling weakly).
In Reply to: Re: Gull data table cleaned up posted by Mark Cranford on December 24, 1998 at 15:24:56:
I did not know that such a facility was available using Netscape and I still don't know how to use or access it, but thank you for illustrating it.
BTW, the example table does not accurately reflect the relative mantle shades of Herring Gull vs. Thayer's Gull.
In Reply to: Re: Gull data table cleaned up posted by Glenn Coady on December 21, 1998 at 13:44:55:
| Dark | Great Black-backed Gull | |||
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | ||||
| Mantle | Common | California Gull | ||
| Shade | Ring-billed Gull | Herring Gull | ||
| Thayer's Gull | ||||
| Light | Iceland Gull | Glaucous Gull |
The above table does not even scratch
the surface of gull identification.
After you have spent some time reading
the standard field guides and thought about gull ID in the field. You should
take a look at two references.
Chapter 14 - The Basics of Gull Identification
in Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufman (in the Peterson Field Guide Series)
Gulls - a guide to identification
2nd edition by Peter Grant
In addition Steve Hampton has
created an excellent website on Gull
Identification
Please email me Mark Cranford at cranford@netcom.ca
if you have any comments, questions or suggestions. Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Gull data table cleaned up posted by Glenn Coady on December 21, 1998 at 13:44:55:
I forgot to mention that there was a Herring Gull in the loafing flocks of gulls (I saw it at 3 of the five sites eventually) that will certainly be mistaken for a 1st basic Glaucous Gull by many.
It is an ENTIRELY white bird in terms of plumage, with no light brown or coffee coloured barring anywhere. It has a mostly black bill with some faint pink at the very base.
Structurally it is identical to Herring Gull in terms of size, head shape, bill proportions, primary projection, and tarsus length.
It does not have pink eyes though, it has dark irides. Seen at same distance as adult Herring Gulls on which whitish-yellow irides were easily discerned.
In Reply to: Peregrine Falcons - downtown posted by Barbara Taylor on December 12, 1998 at 15:15:45:
Dear Barbara:
Read with interest your observations on Peregrine Falcons in downtown Toronto. I am a member of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation and if you're intrested in following the Falcon's you can do that on the WWW @ www.peregrine-foundation.ca . Also on the Web Page is an E-Mail address to send in updates through the winter and in the Spring when they hopefully set up their nest for the 5th summer.
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
I strongly suspect that Jim may have seen a different bird. The bird I saw had gray primaries not black as the one Jim describes. These pale primaries are what made the bird unusual in my mind. I, like Jim, am not an expert in Gull identification. However, Jim is probably right about the ID of the bird he saw. I am just not sure if it is the same bird as the "Mystery Gull". Hopefully, the bird will be around some more.
In Reply to: Keele Valley Landfill & environs - Dec. 19, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 21, 1998 at 13:27:08:
As I strongly suspected before I posted this web site will not allow tabular format with many blank spaces.
Here is the data in a format I hope this site can handle. Site numbers are as defined in the last posting.
Ring-billed Gull: Site 1 - 800; Site 2 - 220; Site 3 - 300; Site 4 - 25; Site 5 - 150 Total - 1495 Corrected Total - ?
Herring Gull: Site 1 - 3200; Site 2 - 750; Site 3 - 550; Site 4 - 130; Site 5 - 670 Total - 5300 Corrected Total - ?
Great Black-backed Gull: Site 1 - 157; Site 2 - 76; Site 3 - 44; Site 4 - 89; Site 5 - 57 Total - 423 Corrected Total - ?
Lesser Black-backed Gull: Site 1 - 5; Site 2 - 1; Site 3 - 2; Site 4 - 3; Site 5 - 0 Total - 11 Corrected Total - 10
Glaucous Gull: Site 1 - 3; Site 2 - 1; Site 3 - 1; Site 4 - 1; Site 5 - 1 Total - 7 Corrected Total - 6
Iceland Gull: Site 1 - 11; Site 2 - 13; Site 3 - 6; Site 4 - 5; Site 5 - 8 Total - 43 Corrected Total - 36
Thayer's Gull: Site 1 - 1; Site 2 - 2; Site 3 - 1 Total - 4 Corrected Total - 4
Saturday I birded in York Region at the Keele Valley landfill and several of its traditional associated loafing sites for gulls.
The gull watching was exceptional, in fact I doubt if I would have done better at Niagara Falls (perhaps more species).
I concentrated on five areas as follows:
1) Keele Valley landfill (where fresh dumping continued until 12:45 p.m.)
2) Loafing area just south of St. Joan of Arc Ave. & Rosanna Cres. (one block south of Teston Rd. & two blocks west of Keele)
3) Loafing area just north of St. Joan of Arc Ave. & Cunningham Dr. (one block north of Major Mackenzie Dr. & one block west of Keele)
4) The pond where the Don River crosses Cunningham Dr.
5) The field on the west side of Jane St. just north of Canada's Wonderland at Major Mackenzie Dr. which stretches west over to Hwy. 400.
The results of my efforts referring to the numbered areas above are summarized below. Since gulls readily move between the landfill and the various loafing sites I attempted to ensure counting duplication was eliminated as best as I could. As such I provide a corrected figure for the last four species where I believe repeat birds were seen at more than one site. Such correction was not possible for the three more numerous species. correct 1 2 3 4 5 total total
Ring-billed 800 220 300 25 150 1495 ? Gull
Herring Gull 3200 750 550 130 670 5300 ?
Great Black- 157 76 44 89 57 432 ? * backed Gull
Lesser Black- 5 1 2 3 0 11 10 backed Gull
Glaucous Gull 3 1 1 1 1 7 6
Iceland Gull 11 13 6 5 8 43 36
Thayer's Gull 1 2 1 0 0 4 4
TOTAL 4177 1063 904 253 886 7283 7274?
* The 432 Great Black-backed Gulls is a huge number in which there is undoubtedly some overlap and duplication, however some gulls were also likely missed and so I feel it reasonably approximates the numbers of gulls truly present.
Here is the age breakdown on the corrected totals for the four rarer species:
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 4 1st basic; 2 2nd basic; 1 3rd basic; 3 adults
Glaucous Gull: 3 1st basic; 1 2nd basic; 2 adults
Iceland Gull: 12 1st basic; 7 2nd basic; 4 3rd basic; 13 adults
Thayer's Gull: 1 1st basic; 3 adults
At dusk gulls left all the above sites except curiously not site 5 (the field west of Jane St.) which I assume they left after I did. Not all gulls headed south, about 5% headed north of the moraine.
I sure hope my table of gull data remains intact when I post it. Here goes .....
I also took part in the South Peel CBC on Saturday. I helped Jean Niskinen with her area. She and I found two BRANT (ssp. hrota) along the shore of Lake Ontario between the foot of Alexander and the foot of Brentwood. Neither of these reach the lake (they both terminate at Argyle), so to get to the spot you have to drive to the nearest lake access to the west of these streets (the foot of Chartwell) and walk along the cobble beach that has been exposed by the low lake levels.
= B E A K === E N V I R O N M E N T A L == S P E C I A L I S T S = Anthony Lang, PhD, Ecologist alang@beak.com Beak International, 14 Abacus Rd Fax 905-794-2338 Brampton, ON, Canada L6T 5B7 Tel 800-361-2325 ext 245
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 20
A persistent lack of snow and cold weather has made for some interesting birding in the Quinte area this past week, although it didn't help a whole lot with the Prince Edward Point Bird Count yesterday. Count results aren't in yet, although it is expected that numbers of some species were down due to the rain that persisted most of the day. Among the more interesting sightings was a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER along a private laneway just east of Lake-on-the-Mountain. There were high numbers, however, of some ducks. Over 100,000 OLDSQUAW staged a flyby at Prince Edward Point. Other high numbers included 8,000 scaup. There were also two LITTLE GULLS recorded at the Point along with 100 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and a total of 39 TUNDRA SWANS at South Bay.
The SANDHILL CRANE saga of last weekend continued well into the following week with the banded pair from the Bill Lishman experimental group blocking traffic on Highway 33 east of Picton, and creating traffic tie-ups at the beer store parking lot, and when not otherwise occupied monitoring the traffic entering and exiting the Emergency parking lot at the local hospital. The pair which turned up in Belleville for one day only last weekend, spent five days in Prince Edward County due to people's misguided efforts at feeding them. Joe Bergeron of Bergeron's Exotic Animal Sanctuary captured the birds Thursday evening to overnight at his facilities. Released the next morning they promptly returned to Picton's hospitality where they were captured again Friday morning and driven to Bath, to continue their flight to Kingston, Watertown, and ultimately to their Virginia wintering grounds.
The Bay of Quinte at Carrying Place had a number of ducks present for birders Nels Banting and Nick Quickert on Friday. In with the MALLARDS and BLACK DUCKS they found 10 HOODED MERGANSER, 18 GADWALL and 7 AMERICAN WIGEON. Perhaps the best bird was a MERLIN just west of Carrying Place, on the Portage Road.
Don Craighead found 1 RED-TAILED HAWK, and 4 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Monday, and added a COOPER'S HAWK to his list at West Point on Friday. Other good sightings included a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in the Woodland Campground on Monday, and 16 AMERICAN ROBINS in the same area on Friday.
There were 15 HORNED LARKS in a field along the highway south of the Mountain View airport on Friday, 6 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS at Fish Lake early last week, and four COMMON MERGANSER in Picton Harbour on Tuesday.
And that's it from the Quinte area this week. To all readers of this report and to everyone who contributes making this weekly report possible, a very merry Christmas and best wishes for a prosperous New Year. Good Christmas birding everyone.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 27th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Re: Black Swan? posted by Laurence Concannon on December 16, 1998 at 10:39:19:
I have seen him again along the shore near Hiawatha Park but would be interested in your photos if you contact me directly
In Reply to: Re: Night Heron Roosting posted by Glenn Coady on December 15, 1998 at 16:18:54:
All the night herons from the rookery along the lake in Port Credit have long gone
In Reply to: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 11:41:29:
After looking for over a hour yesterday Thursday 12/17/98 I did not find the red eye vireo this is not to say that it is not there jist that could not find it or any of the birds that it had bin associating with. I hope that it has found its way to a wormier climate. Once again I think that this bird might still be their I have no reason to doubt this but with the change in weather the chains are slim.
CRAIG
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
Although I only got to see this bird ever so briefly, I believe it was likely a Nelson's Gull. This is the hybrid of Glaucous Gull x Herring Gull.
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Don Peuramaki on December 16, 1998 at 17:37:16:
Yes Don, good thinking. When I received word of Patrick's discovery of this bird I raced down to the park (I only live a block away) figuring Yellow-green Vireo might be just as likely as Red-eyed Vireo at such a bizarre date. The bird is definitely a Red-eyed Vireo though.
The bird was still present as of yesterday afternoon although I haven't heard whether it was seen today (Dec. 16).
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 16, 1998 at 10:47:24:
An ID question regarding the High Park vireo. I haven't seen the bird, but I was wondering if Yellow-green vireo has been ruled out.
Last year, Paul Lehman suggested local birders look closely at late (November/December)Red-eyed Vireos. He said this was the time that Yellow-greens tended to show up.
Just a thought.
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by C.Mclauchlan on December 15, 1998 at 10:21:25:
Alfred Adamo has asked me to make people aware that the Red-eyed Vireo was present in the hillside gardens are yesterday at 1:40 p.m.
It is hoped this bird may stay present until the Toronto Christmas count on Dec. 27th.
In Reply to: Re: Black Swan? posted by Laurence Concannon on December 15, 1998 at 14:34:25:
The swan in question has returned to this area again. It arrived about 9:30 am and has been swimming and preening itself on and offshore for the last hour or so. It would appear to have all the markings of the black swan, generally black all over, with a reddish orange bill, around which is a very distinctive white band. Its white flight feathers were visible while it was preening. I was able to take several pictures and listen to its call which is both quite softer and of a higher pitch than that of the swans we see more commonly.
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
Howard,
I saw this bird on the afternoon of Sunday, December 13, at the mouth of the creek between Humber Bay East and West. It was in a flock of gulls, mostly R-B'd. I was able to spend five to ten minutes looking at this bird at rest using my recently purchased scope. This is the first time I've performed such an exercise. I'm not good with gulls, yet, and found myself assuming this bird to be a pale second winter Herring Gull. I consulted Ken Kaufman's "AdvanceD Birding" for guidance.
I was able to note the following in forming my opinion. The gull is very pale grey but with a mottled appearance. The eyes are very dark with no hint of colouration. I found the legs to be flesh-coloured with a slight hint of pink. The bill remained black tipped but showed alot of yellow towards the base. The bill also appeared large relative to head size. I also saw brown on the scapulars/primary coverts and black at the wing tips. I did not see the bird in flight - wish I had.
Without much experience, I've concluded the following. The pale colour suggest this bird is past its first winter. However, the essentially black eyes suggest that this bird is not a third winter bird. I end up relying upon leg colour, which I found to be more flesh-coloured than pink and the relatively large bill size to be indicative of the Herring Gull. Perhaps relying on these features isn't wise but I'm far too uncertain of my skill to make any other conclusion. I admit to being confused by the pale colouration which I would associate with a Thayer's Gull. Perhaps this gull will linger and develop some eye colour through the winter.
Advise from others would be appreciated.
Jim Heffernan
In Reply to: Night Heron Roosting posted by Ram Nambiar on December 15, 1998 at 15:40:46:
Dear Ram,
Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons are likely a lot hardier than you might think. Last winter one wintered all winter at the mouth of Mimico Creek and they have been seen on Toronto Chistmas Counts in the exact location you describe, at the mouth of the Humber, in the Keating Channel, along the Don River and other locations usually near warm water outflows.
It is quite out of the ordinary for them to winter here but they are capable of doing it.
Tuesday,15th Dec,'98
Hi Gord,
I visited the Spring Road pond,on the eastern most section of High Park(just west of Parkside Drive less than 1O meters south of Queesway)this morning.
A lone subadult grayish brown Black-crowned Night Heron(Nycticorax nycticorax)was resting on one leg on a tree stump merely a meter above water. It had its head tucked straight down into its breast feathers between the wings, the eyes barely visible.
When the strong wind made the nearby dry leaves fly the heron suddenly woke up revealing its full head and stout beak. The irides were bright orange or should I say nearly red?. The brownish head was devoid of filamentous feathers. Streaks and spottings on the brownish body were not very conspiceous as in summer young.
The pond hasn't been frozen yet but the sign of it is all there with the small ice flakes floating.The 'Qwok' must have been enjoying the food abundance in the water and in its perifery at night so far. With the weather going to be changed soon for the worst the future of this reluctant migrant seems pretty bleak. Already late,
we hope it moves down south at least now.
Good Birding
Ram Nambiar 3368 Hargrove Rd Mississauga.ONT birder@echo-on.net
In Reply to: Re: Black Swan? posted by Mike Boyd on December 11, 1998 at 15:28:00:
I have seen the bird on the shore East of the Port Credit marina on the 12th and 13th Dec. It is slightly smaller than the other swans and had an orange bill. I wasn't close enough to see if there was the white ring on the bill, which I believe the black swan is supposed to have, hopefully next time.
In Reply to: Re: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 16:44:06:
is this bird still being seen?has any one heard. CRAIG
In Reply to: Red-eyed Vireo @ High Park - Dec. 13, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 11:41:29:
As expected Jerry Guild informed me that the Red-eyed Vireo was seen again this morning by many observers in the same hillside gardens area of High Park where it went to roost last night.
Harry Kerr told me that the woman at the warden's office above the hillside gardens thinks that this bird has been present for some time already.
Good luck to those that go seeking this bird.
Thanks again to Patrick Stepien-Scanlon who found this bird yesterday and quickly made others aware of its presence.
Two large flocks of Robins seen while at Sunnybrook Park this morning. Over thirty birds in one area near the suspension bridge over the creek at far end of the Serena Gundy parking lot. Another large flock in the shrubbery along the creek that runs beside the main road. The birds were eating black berries from some tall shrubby looking trees (ink berries?) as well as poking around in the leaves on the ground.
I could swear some of those robins thought it was spring...at least some of them were belting out songs that sounded like it should be spring! : )
In Reply to: Re: American Golden-Plover @ Leslie St. Spit - Dec. 12/98 posted by C. McLauchlan on December 14, 1998 at 11:34:05:
It sure would be nice to have access to get out on the Spit tomorrow with the high temperatures forecast for southern Ontario. Even more species of plants will likely be out and record-late occurrences by butterfly species would be useful to be searched for.
Yesterday at about 1:00 p.m. Patrick Stepien-Scanlon of Toronto discovered a Red-eyed Vireo at the north end of Grenadier Pond. After a couple of hours of searching the bird was rediscovered by Mark Cranford and myself just south of the floral maple leaf of the hillside gardens feeding in a couple of oaks at 3:40 p.m. Although Mark left quite soon after seeing the bird, I continued to follow the bird up the hill to the east as it fed. At 4:15 p.m. a saw the bird go to roost in a yew tree a few metres north of the white sign put up to commemorate the gift of the Rhododendron garden. I watched the bird at the roost for a few minutes, leaving at about 4:20 p.m.
Contrary to Mark's comment in his post below, I took no photographs of this bird.
From what I can tell this is the first winter occurrence of this species for Ontario. A nice find by Patrick - a harbinger of an unbelievably mild fall/winter to this point.
In Reply to: American Golden-Plover @ Leslie St. Spit - Dec. 12/98 posted by Glenn Coady on December 14, 1998 at 11:26:09:
On Sunday N. Murr and my self tried to refined this bird but wear ounaball to find it there is a female harlequin duck still at the blue box though and there wear 16 speeches of plants still in bloom this was a first for me for it was Dec 13 . CRAIG
Saturday afternoon as I was walking off the Leslie St. Spit and was just past the beginning of the endikement when I noticed a large flock of gulls had been scared up by something back towards bay D and then heard a plover call. It took me a few seconds to find the bird among the gulls. It was an American Golden-Plover flying east along the area over the marina. I followed the bird's flight east to the area around Ashbridges Bay where I lost sight of it.
This is the first time I have encountered this species in winter in the Toronto area (or Ontario for that matter).
In Reply to: Re: Tundra Swan migration posted by Tony Lang on March 26, 1998 at 11:04:46:
Lasalle Park, Burlington Ontario. Off the east end of the park, spotted 300+ tundra swans in the water (Hamilton Bay). They were spotted at 13:30 on Saturday December 12th. I would like some more information on their migration patterns. It was quite a site!
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 13
Some very good birding in the Prince Edward County area this past week, with some large numbers of certain species being seen. In addition to an incredible 52 PURPLE SANDPIPERS at Presqu'ile Park, there were 40 LITTLE GULLS at Outlet Beach a week ago Sunday. A week ago, there were 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and one first winter GLAUCOUS GULL at the Napanee Dump.
Members of the Kingston Field Naturalists birding the county last week found three NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS, 1 near the road on the hill on the north side of South Bay and the other two close to a feeder on Hilltop Road about 2 km west of South Bay. Other birds were 2 NORTHERN FLICKERS separately on high perches close to the road, one near the Rutherford Stevens Look-out at Smith's Bay, and another between Black Creek and South Bay on a tree near the road. The birders also found 20 to 30 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, mostly in dense Red Cedar patches near the road in 4 or 5 locations along County Road 13 and Hilltop Road.
There was an immature SURF SCOTER among White-wings fairly close to the shore, northwest of West Point. Between 30 and 40 AMERICAN COOT and 15 AMERICAN WIGEON were at Wellington, and from Highway 33 east of Wellington there was a good mixed flock of ducks with many scaup, REDHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD and at least 1 RING-NECKED DUCK.
The BELTED KINGFISHER is still in the harbour area at Wellington, and small numbers of GREAT BLUE HERONS have been seen this past week at South Bay (2), Sandbanks Provincial Park (2), and another 2 in the Moira River at Belleville, and at least 4 others seen in flight at various locations in the Quinte area.
Two SANDHILL CRANES spent most of yesterday on Keller Drive in Belleville. The birds whose leg bands ultimately identified them as Frank and Edna arrived at 7:00 a.m. and spent the day wandering around the front lawns of Keller Drive residents. According to Bill Lishman who escorted seven cranes to southern wintering grounds last year, these two have been all over southern Ontario this past summer. They are on their own this fall with no escort, but according to Bill are right on course, arriving in Grafton earlier in the week, and touching down in Prince Edward County today, at Clark Road just south of Picton, the identical route taken by the birds last fall. After peering in the open windows of some cars, untiing the shoe laces of at least one resident, and slurping down the contents of a bird bath, the birds left at about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Ann Anthony of Peterborough spent Saturday birding Prince Edward County and came up with a RUSTY BLACKBIRD in Cherry Valley and one LITTLE GULL at West Lake just northeast of the causeway leading to Sheba's Island. She also found 16 TUNDRA SWANS at Wellers Bay just north of Consecon, and another 26+ at South Bay. The swan activity last week was quite heavy in fact, with even others being reported by other observers at Elmbrook (19), and Huff's Island (9). There were 5 MUTE SWANS in the marsh near the entrance to Presqu'ile Provincial Park on Friday.
Nick Quickert of Trenton spent this afternoon in the western part of the county coming up with 2 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, 3-RED-TAILED HAWK, 1 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, 1 PILEATED WOODPECKER, 1 RUFFED GROUSE, and 5 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS along the Bryant Sideroad, between Victoria and Rednersville roads. Along Old Orchard Road there were 5 AMERICAN ROBINS. The Bay of Quinte at Carrying Place contained MALLARDS, 5 BLACKS, 4 GADWALL, 8 AMERICAN WIDGEON, and 12 SHOVELER.
Although considerably north of this report's coverage area, Algonquin Park had some good birds on Wednesday for Don Craighead, Maureen Riggs and Albert Boisvert of the Belleville/Trenton area. They reported RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD and 90 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Whitney, COMMON RAVENS on the Whitney garbage dump road, 12 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS on the Opeongo Road, 2 BOREAL CHICKADEES and a SPRUCE GROUSE on the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail, a GRAY JAY and 15 EVENING GROSBEAKS at the Visitor Centre, and 2 PINE GROSBEAKS and PURPLE FINCHES elsewhere in the Park.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 20th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 12, 1998 at 17:56:05:
The smaller lakes are not frozen over yet. On Saturday I was at Mountsberg Conservation Area. Normally at this time the lake is frozen and 'duckless'. Righ now the lake is full of ducks. Lots of Am Wigeons, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, 30 Pintails, 20 Ring-necked Ducks, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, 40+ Hooded Mergansers, lots of Coots and 3 Tundra Swans. It's worth wile to check out the lake. Best timing is in the afternoon from the Dam.
In Reply to: Re: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Mike Boyd on December 12, 1998 at 18:46:01:
Mike I was up at Algonquin Park a week ago. The lakes were open and NO waterfowl. Northern lakes aren't appealing to ducks this time of year. Lakes and marshes south of the Shield (Lake Simcoe, Wye Marsh) could be ducky. Last weekend, Cranberry Marsh had as many ducks and geese in it as I have ever seen. I bet diving ducks are in Lake Ontario right now but well offshore.
BTW I saw Red-eyed Vireo in High Park today at 3:30 pm in tall willows on the east side of Grenadier Pond hanging in with Goldfinch. Photos were taken.
In Reply to: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 12, 1998 at 17:56:05:
I agree that duck numbers do seem to be down. A couple of places with lots of ducks are the Tollgate ponds in Hamilton Harbour and the foot of Grays Road in Stoney Creek. At Grays Road this morning in addition to all three scoters there was a Red-throated Loon and the immature Northern Gannet.
In Reply to: Where have all the ducks gone? posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 12, 1998 at 17:56:05:
Hi, one reason why there might not be as many ducks as usual is because it has been such a warm fall. I suspect that the lakes further north haven't frozen over yet, and the ducks are still up north using them. However, this is just a guess they could be wintering elsewhere this year. But, I bet that once (or if) the cold weather hits we will probably find more ducks. One spot I have found some ducks this winter is Bronte Harbour, there are almost always Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and R-B Merganser, and there is a good chance the Grebes are still around.
Mike
In Reply to: Re: Unusual goose in Etobicoke posted by Graham Bryan on December 11, 1998 at 12:26:14:
If anyone spots this unusual goose again (i.e. the grayish-white one with the black bill), I would very much appreciate it if you would e-mail me to let me know. I didn't have my camera with me when I first saw it, and would really like to take some pictures of it.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
Today I bounced my way along the Lake Ontario shoreline, starting at 4th Street in Etobicoke, and going as far as the Venture Inn in Burlington, stopping at Sam Smith, Marie Curtis, Appleby Line, Walker's Line, Guelph Line, and Sioux Lookout along the way.
I was amazed at how few ducks were to be seen. Among the species which I did not see at any of the locations mentioned were Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Oldsquaw, both Scaup, and all three merganser species. I had expected to see all of these (and more) somewhere along the way.
I suppose it's possible that I just had really bad luck, and missed the spots where the ducks were hanging out today. However, I find it hard to believe that I wouldn't have come across at least a few somewhere. Has the continuing warm weather perhaps caused the ducks to move from their usual wintering areas?
For all my travel today, the only birds worth reporting are 7 American Wigeons at the foot of 4th Street (the Harlequin Duck and unusual Brant-like goose were also no longer there) and a high count of 96 Gadwall at Sam Smith Park.
Good birding,
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
Two Peregrine Falcons were seen flying around the King & Victoria St. area of downtown Toronto today between 10:00-10:30 a.m. I guess they have decided to spend the winter close to the old nest site once again.
In Reply to: Re: FON trip program posted by Anon.... on December 08, 1998 at 13:32:21:
Both what we are hearing from John Miles and our anonymous correspondent is consistent with what you see on the FON web page when you look under trips. No announced trip beyond Oct. 25/98 is on the web site.
The fact that no mention of this occurred in the latest issue of Seasons (even as an insert!) is also most disappointing. Although the Board has a mandate to make such decisions for the federation it would be nice to think they consulted members first or at the very least informed them after the fact.
Sounds like the FON is beginning to take its membership for granted. First the American Birding Association and now the FON. Maybe these organizations are just growing too big to be bothered to try to keep the lowly member informed. Two months and no mention on the web site - pitiful! This is clearly a sign of disdain toward the membership.
I wouldn't mourn for the trip program though. The private tour companies will invariably move in to pick up the slack and it will be the FON's loss. Such a pity.
In Reply to: Black Swan? posted by George Daszkowski on December 11, 1998 at 13:21:15:
Hi, there has been a Black Swan present at Humber Bay this fall, which is likely the bird that you saw, but it decided to visit Mississauga for awhile.
Mike
I have just seen a bird that looks like a swan flying past my, home on the Port Credit waterfront. Size, neck length, etc looks like a swan but it is black with white wing tips.
I have sighted this before but no one ever seems to know or have suggestions?
Any suggestions or other sightings?
In Reply to: Unusual goose in Etobicoke posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 08, 1998 at 07:19:18:
I live on 7th st. and while walking my dog in the morning have noticed a few odd geese in the parks around 3rd and 6th streets. Unfortunately, I am not much as knowledgable about waterfowl as I'd like to be, so I have a hard time interpreting what I've seen. I believe I've seen your unusual goose, but likewise am mystified. I have also encountered a larger than normal Canada Goose with much larder white cheek patches - much more like a domestic goose. Again I am at a loss to explain this, other than it being, I assume, some sort of cross.
Is there anything else in this location that perhaps I should be monitoring? Between myself and my wife we are at at least one of these parks every morning. We might as well be logging what we see.
In Reply to: FON trip program posted by John Miles on November 30, 1998 at 15:02:50:
This is indeed true. Not only have they cancelled the member's trips program, they have not seen fit to bother informing the membership! The staff have been hung out to dry with no support and the members left in the dark. This decision was made by the board TWO MONTHS AGO! The Bpard of Directors have much to answer for. I regret that for the present I wish to sign this anon.
Monday, 8th Dec,'98 ERINDALE PARK IN DECEMBER
David Culham Trail, at Erindale Park in Mississauga, is the best place to see the left over Robins at this time of the year. I saw several of them here yesterday
American Goldfinches were seen.Permanent residents of this park?. The male doesn't have that distinctive black crown of summer any more and the yellow is kind of duller.
I made a count up to 3O Tree Sparrows(Spizella arborea).The black spot in the centre of the grayish breast, the red cap, were unmistakable.They were on the floor of the dried leafless bushes surrounding the pond on the left side of David Culham trail. Some flew over the River to the west side bushes.
At least in this area the Credit River was running fast. Thanks to the rain of previous night. The coffee water from the river has gone into the dry pond at the Park and several Mallards were displaying for a mate.
Good Birding
Ram Nambiar,3368 Hargrove Rd,Mississauga,ONT,birder@echo-on.net
We've probably all seen a variety of strange domestic geese, but most of those are easily recognized by their orange bills and often irregular coloration. The goose I saw yesterday morning (Dec. 7) was sufficiently different that I thought it would be worth mentioning. It was about the size and shape of a Brant, and even had the same kind of delicate blackish bill. The entire goose was a delicate white and gray - it looked like perhaps each feather was white and lined with gray. Is this just another variety of domestic goose, or is it something else?
The goose was at the foot of Third Street in Etobicoke yesterday around 10 am, and was swimming with several Canada geese. Also in the area were several Am. Wigeons and Gadwalls, while further offshore there were many Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. Just to the west, at 4th Street, the female Harlequin Duck was on a rock by the shore, near a male Hooded Merganser. I could not find the gnatcatcher or mockingbird that had been reported in this area.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Re: European Goldfinch posted by John Miles on December 06, 1998 at 10:18:09:
I would be just as likely to be suspicious that such a large number of European Goldfinches were likely the result of an escape and/or intentional release. This species is seen annually somewhere in the Toronto area which tells me they are imported not uncommonly for the cage bird trade.
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 20:48:30:
The Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpeckers have been in the area since at least 1984, and probably before. Last year, they spent quite a bit of time in the ravine behind Glendon College. Both of them could often be seen perched in the same tree. They move around quite a bit though and can be found anywhere from that location to Wilket Creek.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 06
Birders throughout the Quinte area were out on Tuesday for the official start of the winter season and a good start on the winter bird list for the year. South Bay had 30 TUNDRA SWANS for members of the Kingston Field Naturalists, along with some 25 KILLDEER and a COMMON SNIPE near the Black River Cheese Factory. The best find was BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE along the south shore of Prince Edward Point, just west of the lighthouse.
Amherst Island has lost its numbers of shorebirds. Meanwhile, the PURPLE SANDPIPER population just continues to grow at Presqu'ile Provincial Park with an incredible 56 on Gull Island according to the most recent report received. If Prince Edward County ever DID have any, they're long gone now in favour for whatever the mysterious attraction seems to be at Presqu'ile.
David and Yvette Bree found the four LITTLE GULLS on Friday that have been pretty reliable at the mouth of the Outlet River for some days now. However, their numbers had burgeoned to 10 times that number by noon today! By far the largest number of this species that has ever been seen at Sandbanks, although high numbers here are not uncommon at this time of the year.
COMMON GOLDENEYE, AMERICAN WIGEON and MALLARDS were at Wellington Harbour on Friday and the resident BELTED KINGFISHER was also present. West Point at Sandbanks had WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, OLDSQUAW, COMMON GOLDENEYE, and BUFFLEHEAD.
There was a GREAT BLUE HERON today at Weller's Bay. NORTHERN SHRIKES continue to put in an appearance with individuals this past week being reported at Amherst Island, Roblin and Napanee. There were two seen today at Wooler and Carrying Place.
Despite the unseasonably mild weather this past week, most feeding stations are reporting brisk activity with plenty of TREE SPARROWS present, with some areas reporting DARK- EYED JUNCOS. BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, HOUSE FINCHES, and BLUE JAYS are regulars at all feeders now. Beyond the feeder, rural areas are seeing good populations of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS. A few small flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS have also been seen.
A total of 41 Brighton area residents turned out for the second annual birdfeeding seminar at Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Centre, north of the town. This brings to an end the fall series of birdfeeding workshops that have been held in Madoc, Picton, Napanee, Belleville and Brighton, presented by Quinte Conservation and sponsored by local feed mills, and bird specialty outlets in the Quinte region. A total of 330 people attended the seminars this fall. Quinte Conservation will resume its program of outdoor events and workshops in April, with an event every weekend until early December.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 13. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Mystery Gull at Humber Bay West posted by Howard Shapiro on December 06, 1998 at 17:20:54:
I forgot to spell-check the posting before I sent it off. I apologize for some of the errors, especially the Glaucoud-winged Gull whick should be a Glaucous-winged gull and the pill which should be a bill.
I was at Humber Bay West on Friday and Saturday (Dec 4 & 5). There was a gull which which I could not identify. It was present on the docks south of the boardwalk leading to the gazebo. The following observations are from both days. The gull was Herring Gull sized or larger. It had a stalky short legged appearance. The head and breast were mainly white with faint black spots visible. Its mantle and scapulars were grey. This grade was the same shade or lighter than the nearby Herring Gulls. Visible on the second day were brown and white feathers on the lesser and median coverts. The primaries on the sitting bird were about the same color or just a touch darker than the mantle and tipped with white. When the bird flew its wing tips were dark. Its eyes were dark. The legs were pink. The bill was heavy and tipped with black in the manner of a first year Glaucous Gull. The rest of the pill was pink near the black tip and getting lighter near the base. This bird did not seem to fit any description that I could find. It is probably a third winter bird although second winter may be possilbe. It is probably not a Glacous Gull or Iceland Gull because of the dark wing tips and grey primaries. It could be a Herring Gull that is late moulting. The primaries would be grey because they are faded and worn. However, the eye is usually pale,the pill is not so extensively blacked tipped by 3rd winter and the head and breast are usually more mottled. It could be a Thayer's Gull but I thought Thayer's would be a bit smaller than a Herring Gull, not have a heavy bill tipped as this bird and not show as much dark in the primaries when flying. A very very remote possibility is a Glaucoud-winged Gull which has grey primaries on a sitting bird about the same shade as the mantle. However, the bill is supposed to be yellow not pink on a third winter bird and the mantle is supposed to be darker than a Herring Gull. The last possibility is a hybrid of some sort such as Herring x Glaucous and about which I have no idea how to identify. There were two other birders present with me on Saturday but unforetunately the gull flew off before either could see it for more than about 5 seconds. I'd be interested on any comments people have about the identity of the bird and be thrilled if someone went to see it and knew what it was.
In Reply to: European Goldfinch posted by K. Adams on November 29, 1998 at 21:38:38:
Further to the message of November 29th Ian McLean reported on "BIRDCHAT" that on Nov. 9, 1998 that there appeared to have been a major landfall of European Goldfinches at E. Laurencetown Beach a few miles N, E. of Halifax. Also found was a Brambling.
For the second day in a row I've seen a Rough-legged Hawk at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, near the office by Mount Pleasant Rd. Maybe the hawk has decided to spend the winter there...lots of nervous squirrels around.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet posted by Mark Cranford on December 05, 1998 at 07:09:49:
OOPS The Gremlins are loose. The correct URL to review ONTBIRDS follows - I hope.
http://www-stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~siler/birdmail.html
Good Birding Mark
In Reply to: Re: Gannet posted by Chris Clark on December 05, 1998 at 00:20:45:
Chris This is from the listserv ONTBIRDS which currently has 400 subscribing getting the lastest unusual bird sightings in the province. Eastport Drive is the first exit on the QEW past the Hamilton 403 cutoff (heading towards Niagara). You might consider subcribing to ONTBIRDS You can also read ONTBIRDS on the web at http://www.erols.com/gregorym/rarities.html
Enjoy your birding
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Street
In Reply to: Gannet posted by Mike Boyd on December 04, 1998 at 11:42:02:
Where, exactly, are you talking about? Sorry, but the "Toll Gate Ponds" is something that I am not familiar with. Also, which lighthouse and canal? I know of a few. (Leslie spit, Welland...) My wife and I have seen Gannets in Cape Breton and I was lucky enough to see Avocets on a business trip to Palo Alto. However, my wife has never seen an avocet so we would welcome some directions. Thanks!
In Reply to: Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker posted by Barbara Taylor on December 04, 1998 at 19:36:04:
Unfortunately, I only caught a brief glimpse of the Pileated as it flew through the forest - I don't know whether it was a male or female. However, since I was so pleasantly surprised with my visit to Sunnybrook the other morning, and it's not out of the way for me, I'll probably be dropping by more regularly from now on. If I do get a better look at the Pileated, I will definitely check whether it is a male or female. Marcel
In Reply to: Sunnybrook Park - December 3 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 07:13:45:
Was the Pileated you saw a male or female? I have often seen a male Pileated near the foot of the concrete steps leading down from the sports fields...near the log cabin parking lot. I have wondered if he had a mate but I've never seen her around. P.S.- I was at the park same day as you but at the east side of the sports fields. Didn't see the Pileated but there were at least 20 Robins eating berries off the small trees at the edge of the field.
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, I finally had a chance to go out to try and find the Gannet
and Avocets this morning. And I had 100% success, I first
stopped at the canal at about 9:30, and just as I got down to
the beach I thought I would take a look out, and sure and behold
the Gannet was out there circling around the lighthouse, and
I even saw it dive once. But, shortly after a boat went through the
canal and scared off all of the gulls and ducks (including the
Gannet). This bird is a lifer for me, so I was really glad to see it.
When I was leaving I Mike Street informed me that the Avocets
had moved over to the Toll Gate Ponds, and I found them on the
far end of the east pond, I have only seen these birds once
before in California, so I was really happy to see them. Also
at the Toll Gate Ponds were many Scaup, Ruddy Duck,
Shovellors, Ring-Necked Ducks, Bufflehead, and Oldsquaw,
also in the bay right beside the ponds was a Cormorant. Mike
Planning to bird Saturday. Looking for Franklins Gulls Toronto or east to Cobourg. Have any been seen in the last couple of days. I'm driving down from Muskoka.
Thanks. Eleanor Kee Wellman
keewell@muskoka.com
I went to Sunnybrook Park this morning for the first time in years, and found that there were actually a lot of birds to be seen. Highlights included 1 Pileated Woodpecker at the west end of the sports field, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets and 1 Robin south of the Toronto Field Naturalists cabin, 1 Winter Wren just west of where the road forks to Wilket Creek park, and 13 Goldfinches. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:
Judging by what Glenn, Craig, and Norm have written, what I have to say might make me
somewhat unpopular around here, but I have to disagree to some extent on this issue. I must admit that when the original message was posted by Jonathan Higbee, I skimmed
through it only briefly. Since I have never owned any birds, nor do I have any plans to, I
didnt think that this issue affected me directly. Moreover, at a quick glance, it looked to
me like a good way to prevent the trade of endangered species. However, I have since read the text of the proposed by-law in its entirety, and have
become quite concerned about some of the implications of this legislation. Here are three
scenarios that come to mind which would be affected by this by-law: 1) A bird is found dazed or injured. My impression from the by-law is that it would now
be illegal to pick up this bird and keep it to be brought to either a vet or a suitable place
for release. How would this affect a group like FLAP, who pick up stunned birds
downtown during migration, keep them in a quiet place to allow them to recover, and then
release them in a safe place? Alternatively, what would happen if a situation were to
occur, as it did several times this year, where a fledgling Peregrine Falcon from one of
Torontos nests came to the ground? In the past, volunteers have rescued these birds,
kept them for examination, and then released them. According to the new by-law, this
would no longer be legal - are we now supposed to let an endangered species get run over
by traffic instead of helping it? 2) Captive birds or other animals used for educational purposes. Let me first clarify that I
do not unconditionally endorse keeping wild animals in captivity. However, there are
many institutions and organizations which legally keep non-releasable animals on a
permanent basis. Some of these animals are physically disabled to some extent, while
others are human imprints; in either case, they would not be able to survive in the wild.
Many of these animals have long been used by educational facilities to teach children and
adults alike about environmental issues and bird biology. I have seen from personal
experience that exposure to even a single educational bird can have a profound effect on
people, who generally come away with a greater respect for birds and nature in general.
Many people in our society know very little about our native fauna, and I know of at least
a few who were stimulated to learn more only after being introduced to one of these
captive birds. To my knowledge, all of the birds (and snakes, turtles, etc.) that I have seen used for the
purposes of education are animals which are in captivity only because they are
non-releasable. If they were not being used for education, chances are these animals
would be put down, because the cost of keeping them could not be justified. I see no
harm in allowing educational programs to continue using live birds (and other animals),
PROVIDED THAT these animals are non-releasable and are not taken from the wild
unjustifiably. In my opinion, the cost of further distancing people in the city from nature is
far greater than allowing these animals to be in the city. (I should note - in the proposed by-law, there is an exemption granted for educational
purposes, but only to institutions accredited by the Canadian Association of Zoological
Aquariums or the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. In many of the cases I am
familiar with, these educational programs are carried out by individuals or small
organizations that would probably have difficulty becoming accredited by these
organizations. This exemption should be broadened to include these educational programs
as well). 3) Hacking birds. As many of you may be aware, an important part of the Peregrine
Falcon recovery program in Ontario involved hacking young Peregrines from several sites
within the city (including York University and Queens Park among others) in the 1980s.
Under the proposed by-law, this too would be illegal, as the chicks would be kept on city
property for several weeks before being released. At the moment, no additional hack
releases are planned for the City of Toronto, but as a matter of principle, I object that they
would not be allowed. Who is to say that additional Peregrines, or other birds, wont
have to be released in the future? I see no provision in the current version of the by-law
which would allow for this to take place. These are just three examples - Im sure there are other cases I havent thought of. I
certainly dont want to give the impression that I am against everything in the proposed
by-law, or that I agree with everything on the BFBS home page; in fact I think that the
bulk of the by-law is quite reasonable. However, I do think that this by-law as it is
currently written could have severe implications for conservation and education in
Toronto and other cities that may follow suit, and that both people and animals will suffer
as a result. I would encourage everyone to carefully read the text of the by-law and
consider the examples I have listed above. If you agree that this by-law should not be
passed in its present form, I would urge you to write to Mayor Mel Lastman and the city
councillors with your comments and concerns. Sincerely, Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:
3 cheers for Glenn and Craig and 4 cheers for the authors of the proposed ban.
Norm Murr
I have been informed by the FON trip co-ordinator whose job is terminated today that the FON Trip program has been cancelled by the FON Board of Directors.
This program introduced many people to birding especially in the Metro area and will be missed.
In Reply to: Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on November 30, 1998 at 11:38:30:
I agree with Glenn on this one, even moor after going to the site's web page and reading it ,the city gets my vote of approval on this ban CRAIG
In Reply to: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998 posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:
Who do those of us who are delighted at this
prospect write to in order to congratulate
them on their excellent courageous proposal? I would be quite interested in supporting
such a ban.
A European Goldfinch was observed today between 09:30 and 10:45 at a backyard niger feeder along the fenceline in the southeast quadrant of York Cemetary on the west side of Senlac Road. It was amongst a group of 8 to 10 American Goldfinches that visited the feeder every 20 minutes or so. Four birders observed the specimen. No pictures were taken. It was not seen again for the balance of the day.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 29 There is an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER coming regularly to feeders at two adjoining houses located at 1177 and 1201 Fry Road (1/2 km N. of County Road 5, and 6 km NNW of Picton. The best time to see it is mornings between 8 and 9. The bird, first observed on Wednesday has been seen collecting peanuts from the feeder and sticking them into holes in a nearby telephone pole. There are still a few shorebirds around. Presqu'ile Provincial Park had a LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER on Tuesday, along with 11 PURPLE SANDPIPERS and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. There was also a PURPLE SANDPIPER on the Kingston Field Naturalists property on Amherst Island this past week, as well as 3 DUNLIN, 3 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and one RUDDY TURNSTONE. Lots of waterfowl around. Prince Edward Point had thousands of WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and OLDSQUAW on the north side of the peninsula in Prince Edward Bay this week. Similar numbers of ducks were observed by Albert Boisvert and Maureen Riggs in West Lake today and elsewhere around Prince Edward County. At Pleasant Bay they found MALLARD, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, along with 3 MUTE SWANS and 15 TUNDRA SWANS in Pleasant Bay. Wellington had MALLARD, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, COMMON GOLDENEYE, BUFFFLEHEAD, COMMON LOON and 29 AMERICAN COOT. At Salmon Point, the duo found HORNED GREBE, OLDSQUAW, and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. The 21 WILD TURKEYS are still in the Woodlands Campground area at Sandbanks Provincial Park where NORTHERN HARRIER, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and RED-TAILED HAWK were also seen by Albert and Maureen. They found 2 LITTLE GULLS at the mouth of the Outlet River where what are thought to be the same two were observed one day earlier. Another individual turned up at West Lake, behind the Isaiah Tubbs Resort. A total of 40 species seen during the day - not bad for this time of year. Yesterday in the Woodlands Campground, there was a PILEATED WOODPECKER at Campsite 631, where both WHITE-BREASTED and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH were also heard calling. A small flock of PINE SISKINS flew over on the other side of the same campground loop. This would appear to be a very good season for both ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS which are turning up everywhere, and NORTHERN SHRIKES which are being reported regularly. New sightings of NORTHERN SHRIKES in addition to those reported last week, have come in from Tweed, Napanee, Fish Lake, Huyck's Point, and Plainfield. Another was seen at Big Island this afternoon.
A total of 53 Belleville area residents turned out for the fourth annual birdfeeding seminar at the city's Foster Ward Community Centre Centre today. For Brighton area residents this coming weekend there is the second annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on December 6th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, north of Brighton off Highway 30. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation, Lower Trent Conservation and The Birdhouse (Wooler).
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 06. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
the vegae/herring gull was back at the sunnyside beach at the foot fo ellis ave today at 11:55 am . CRAIG
In Reply to: Leslie St. Spit sightings posted by Barbara Taylor on November 28, 1998 at 18:07:32:
all so at the spit today was a PURPLE SANDPIPER 1 at the blue box 26 hooded merganser
1 bonaparte gull 1 Iceland gull and 4 R.C.kinglet all and all a good day CRAIG
Today along the Leslie St. Spit I saw 5 Kestrels. Great-horned Owl was out towards the end of the spit, not far from the porta-outhouse. Lots of Oldsquaw near the lighthouse. Along the way saw Mallard, Mute Swan, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Redhead, Gadwall, Scaup and Black-backed Gulls.
Aviculture is about to be banned in Toronto, and subsequently in the surrounding area. The final hearing to stop this from happening is December 1. A lot of people who have chosen to devote their lives to the study of wild birds did so because of their exposure first hand to birds when they were young. I submit to you that if aviculture is banned in Toronto, that the wild birds we also enjoy so much will take a hit. If the children of Toronto are barred from interacting on a first hand basis with birds that are otherwise legal to interact with elsewhere in Canada, I predict there will be far fewer new ornithologists coming out of that area of the country for years to come. To learn how you can help to stop the ban, please contact the following persons: CHRISTOPHER HOLOBOFF
Suite 500, 27 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 2M6 M9R 2N8
(416) 868-0878
(416) 362-5013 (fax)
choloboff@aol.com BRIAN EDDY
91 Waterford Drive
Etobicoke, Ontario
(416) 244-6976
(416) 244-2154
briane@pathcom.com Complete information is available at the following web site:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5470/ Sincerely, Jonathan Higbee
In Reply to: Merlin? In Etobicoke posted by Dave Nelson on November 02, 1998 at 21:50:00:
Am quite sure I saw one here in the spruce tree in our backyard several weeks ago, possibly late summer. We live in Georgetown, and back onto a ravine.
In Reply to: gull site posted by C.McLauchlan on November 26, 1998 at 15:28:16:
Craig Thanks for the link. There is a lot of information in there to mull over. I just wanted to point out that your link only works with a www at the front. http://www.west.net/~dj/gulls.htm Mark
In Reply to: Vaga Herring gull ?? posted by Craig Mclauchlan on November 24, 1998 at 07:37:35:
hear is a great site for gulls including the vegae http://www.west.net/~dj/gulls.htm
CRAIG
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by Andy on November 25, 1998 at 13:33:00:
It is always frustrating to see an interesting
bird while driving. The description two
observers have given me of the bird at Sunnyside
sound like that of a 2nd year Northern Gannet not
a juvenile. Thus, still quite dark dorsally but
becoming quite light (though not white) ventrally. You will probably never know for sure what you
saw, but undoubtedly will be more prepared to
consider oddities like Northern Gannet next time.
In any event it sounds like keeping the car on
the road was a better option than a better look
at the bird.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by C.McLauchlan on November 25, 1998 at 09:02:35:
I disagree that it is strange that there have not
been many multi-observer sightings of inland
Northern Gannet in Ontario. Although I do not
dispute that inland sightings are possible (in
fact the record I referred to attests to this), I
do contend that they are almost certainly about as
frequent in s. Ontario as snow in June - that is
to say a very rare phenomenon indeed. Apart from colonial activity, which itself is
coastal, an average Northern Gannet's life history
is decidedly pelagic - this is indisputable. Stand
at the Cape May sea watch in fall and face away
from the ocean. Have an observer beside you face
the ocean. I would venture to say the ratio of
Northern Gannet sightings the ocean-facing
observer tallies will be decidedly higher. Better
still, carry the same exercise out in the Gulf of
Mexico, only this time have the ocean-facing
observer go out in a boat. The ratio of sightings
from the boat will be even more decidedly higher
than the observer facing inland. Inland occurrence is a definite aberration from
the life of an average Northern Gannet and thus
merits withstanding greater scrutiny. This only
seems reasonable.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by Glenn Coady on November 24, 1998 at 17:58:50:
I'm afraid my description won't be of great use. It
was a glimpse I got as I momentarily glanced up
at a "gull" as I was driving. My initial reaction
was that the head and neck seemed out of proportion
to the body. Looked very "chunky" and heavy. All I can say
for sure is that it was very light, but not white, very
large head and heavy neck. It was more of an impression
rather than a real observation. But, if I had been
elsewhere, "Gannet" would have registered in the
data banks. Sorry, but I saw too little, too
briefly, to say confidently anything other than I saw
a gull-like, light-coloured bird that resembled,
in shape, a Gannet. Too bad I wasn't aware of
the reported sighting. Had I been, I would have
made an effort to pursue the beast and get it
in my binoculars. I'll be sure to do so if I see
a similar odd bird again.
In Reply to: Re: Gannet? posted by Glenn Coady on November 24, 1998 at 17:58:50:
All though inland Gannet sightings are rare I fell that it is jist a myth that they do not fly inland. A number of years ago I had a sighting of one west of Kingston along the 401 all though the lake was in sight it was still 2 to 3 km. away and the bird was heading in land (this report was rejected by the o.r.b.c only do to bill collier not do to inland sightings).
All though Gannet is a pelagic bird it is a bird and as we have all seen before birds do what ever they want, and are always finding new ways to keep us on our toes. I must agree though it is strange that their hasn't bin many multi-observer sightings my car co driver was a sleep at the time of my sighting. I also fell that the over land sightings are as rare as seeing a gannet in Ontario, this may be the answer for I am sheer that they fly over land in the Maritimes. CRAIG
In Reply to: Vaga Herring gull ?? posted by Craig Mclauchlan on November 24, 1998 at 07:37:35:
You may have already consulted Peter Harrison's Seabirds,
but in case you haven't, I found some information.
On page 338, there is only a vague description
of the Vegae race (breeds former USSR, Laptev Sea
East to Bering Strait) - "Legs pink or yellow. Grey
underparts and upperwings considerably darker than Argenteus.
In the text on the Herring Gull, all races are compared
to Argenteus race (Scandinavia East to White Sea, former
USSR). Unfortunately, there isn't a colour plate
on the Vegae race on page 58, all that is shown is an
adult-non breeding of the Argenteus race with a small
comparison to Vegae. What isn't clear on this page
is whether both races share the same red eye ring
and darker patch below the eye in this plumage.
I hope this helps.
In Reply to: The Northern Shrike posted by Ram Nambiar on November 24, 1998 at 09:09:36:
This bird is also common in Kenya and Tanzania!!!
But I have yet to see it here. Black-crowned night herons are also found there.
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, on Sunday I was birding along the shoreline hoping for the
Gannet, but no luck. However at Bronte Harbour there was a
Coot and the pair of Red-Necked Grebes with one offspring. At
South Shell Park there were 2 adult Red-Necked Grebes, alomg
with another at Sioux Lookout. There were also about 1000
Scaup offshore, along with Red-Breasted Merganser, Goldeneye,
and Bufflehead. At Venture Inn there was a Hooded Merganser
following a Red-Breasted Merganser. And at LaSalle there was
60 Coots, along with a Cormorant, also present were the Trumpeter
Swans, Bufflehead and Scaup. Mike
In Reply to: Gannet? posted by Andy on November 20, 1998 at 12:01:01:
Inland Northern Gannet sightings are extremely
rare indeed and I know of no multi-observer
sightings. I do vaguely recall that Ron Scovell
may have seen one in Rexdale while coaching a
high school football game many years ago. I'm sure that occasionally Northern Gannets that
get trapped in southern James Bay (similarly to
Northern Fulmars) in late fall probably fatally
venture inland. Overwhelmingly Northern Gannet is a pelagic bird
though. It IS interesting that it is not being seen along
the lake now though. A bird that was seen many
places along western Lake Ontario several years
ago was later found along the Niagara River near
the Adam Beck generating station. It is not
inconceivable that one might move inland along
the Don River but I would certainly consider it
improbable. A description of the bird you saw might rule out
this remote possibility.
Monday,23rd Nov,1998 THE NORTHERN SHRIKE The highlight of my trip to Humber Bay Park East this morning was the sighting of a Northern Shrike(Lanius excubitor). Its hunting area was the eastern most edge of the park along the sparse naked tree line facing the Lake. I spent nearly half an hour watching the hunting methods of this 'butcher bird'. It made few fast droppings on some thing on the ground among the dry grass and sticks, definetely not on an avian prey, but most likely some grasshopers. Within seconds it went back to its observation towers of the lower branches. I got a close up view later when it flew to a near tree. The underside showed fine bars. It is surprising this species exists in South East Asia also. Couple of months ago I have had the opportunity to watch this Shrike in the southern State of India called Kerala. There they call it Grey Shrike but the same bird. The specific name is still Lanius excubitor. Good Birding, Ram Nambiar,
Mississauga.ONT birder.echo-on.net
Vaga gull has any one heard any thing ells regarding this gull seen at Suneyside Park last weekend. Is their any good id book with a full reference on this sub species of the herring gull?that gives eye ring coller,and other id hints. CRAIG
In Reply to: Re: Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park posted by Ray Mitchell on November 23, 1998 at 09:28:05:
Nearest intersection is Leslie and Eglinton East. The main entrance is on the west side of Leslie just a stones throw north of Eglinton. Right across Leslie St. from the old Inn on the Park, now a Holiday Inn hotel. The park's entrance road splits into two directions...take the main road to the right to find the birds. Sunnybrook Park is attached to Serena Gundy Park, and Taylor Creek Park further south. You can walk a long way...even connects to the Don River trail down to the lakeshore! You can also enter the walking trail system from Edwards Gardens at the north end (Lawrence E. & Leslie). Hope you find the Pileated! Barbara
In Reply to: Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park posted by Barbara Taylor on November 21, 1998 at 14:48:30:
Where is Sunnybrook park?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 22
This afternoon at Wellington Harbour there was a good collection of birds, including hundreds of RING-BILLED GULLS and quite a few BONAPARTE'S GULLS with the odd
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. Other birds present were MALLARD, GADWALL, AMERICAN COOT, COMMON MERGANSER, AMERICAN WIGEON, CANADA GOOSE and a lone KILLDEER. There was an immature THAYER'S GULL and an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the Napanee dump today. Trenton area birders, Nick Quickert and Nels Banting had a pretty fair day's birding in Prince Edward County on Saturday, chalking up 4 TUNDRA SWANS and an adult BALD EAGLE at Weller's Bay. There was a COMMON SNIPE at Wellington, where the duo also found 1 LITTLE GULL. The mouth of the Outlet River at Sandbanks Provincial Park produced an additional 4 LITTLE GULLS. Don Craighead on Wednesday had a bit better luck at Outlet with 15 LITTLE GULLS, in addition to some 30 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, 10 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 2 HERRING GULLS. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS seen this past week included 12 at Point Petre yesterday, and four at the entrance to the Girl Guide Camp at the end of Helyer Road, north from Telephone Road in the Trenton area. There were also four in the East Lake area at the beginning of the week. On Saturday, there were at least 50 WHIT-WINGED SCOTERS, some MALLARDS and AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS at West Point. Don Craighead also stopped at East Zwicks Island where a large flock of CANADA GEESE (100+) were near the mouth of the Moira River. Other species with them included MALLARDS, AMERICAN BLACK, BUFFLEHEAD, 2 OLDSQUAW, 2 COMMON MERGANSERS, and 1 AMERICAN COOT. There were 100 AMERICAN COOTS at Trenton on Tuesday. A CANADA GOOSE with a target arrow through its wing is still on the Moira River at West Riverside Park where it has been for several weeks. Efforts by Quinte Conservation staff and others to capture the bird have been unsuccessful, as despite the protruding arrow, the bird flies quite well, although at low altitude. It looks like a favourable year for ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS with numbers of these birds being seen and reported almost daily. A dark phase was along the S-turns of County Road 12 at Sandbanks, and another dark phase was seen at Bethel Road today, and one at Wellington yesterday. NORTHERN SHRIKES have been seen this past week at Napanee, Point Petre and north of Wellington. A total of 83 Napanee area residents turned out for the second annual birdfeeding seminar at the town's Flip Side Entertainment Centre yesterday. For Belleville area residents this coming weekend there is the fourth annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 29th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Foster Ward Community Centre. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation, Thrasher Feeds, and Backyard Birds of Quinte.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 29th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
I've seen a Pileated several times now near the large parking lot on right hand side of main road (where the concrete steps lead way up to the playing fields). He lets you get pretty close so you can have a good look. Someone has been feeding the chickadees in the park! I was divebombed by three of them when I stopped walking along the creek bank. I put out my hand and bang...one came right to me! Lots of cardinals and robins around too.
In Reply to: Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:17:59:
Driving on Bloor St. over the Don Valley this morning,
I glanced up at an odd-looking gull. Hmm, I must
need glasses, I thought to myself. That bird looked
like a Gannet... Maybe I wasn't seeing things?
In Reply to: Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Mark Cranford on November 19, 1998 at 16:01:27:
The exact scenario you are describing occurs daily
off the Humber River mouth and indeed both Bob
Yukich and I in conversation on Sunday speculated
that the Northern Gannet might be seen at this
location which duly happened when Bob found it
there late in the afternoon on Tuesday. Wouldn't it be delightful if an alcid would join
the festivities amongst one of these active
feeding flocks?
In Reply to: Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:17:59:
Pay attention to where the Great Black-backed Gull are heading to feed. Last Sunday I saw the Northern Gannet well off shore at Van Wagners beach in Hamilton. It and many Black-backed Gulls were circling and exploiting a feeding frenzy of Merganser (Red-breasted). Oldsquaw may have been in on the action but the distances were a bit long for my 20 power scope. I have heard that a Gannet was also seen off Thickson Woods, Whitby. It's likely the same bird and I'll bet that if you see a feeding free-for-all the Gannet will evently see it also. The bird can motor, so stick around.
In Reply to: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 19, 1998 at 14:52:03:
On November 15th in the afternoon I saw 362 Great
Black-backed Gulls at Sunnyside (mostly 1st winter
birds)- which is TRIPLE the highest number I have
ever seen at a single locality in the Toronto
region. Even more impressive though were the eight
Lesser Black-backed Gulls (4 - 1st winter; 2 - 3rd
winter; 2 adults) I found there. All birds were
seen simultaneously so I know there was no
duplication. It likely represents an all-time peak
for the Toronto region. I also had a Black-legged
Kittiwake there that afternoon as well. Even more noteworthy was the immature Northern
Gannet seen by Bob Yukich in this same area late
in the afternoon on November 17th. It should be
watched for to return to this area again in the
next few days.
In Reply to: Humber Bay - Nov. 13 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 14, 1998 at 11:03:46:
Three of the four Franklin's Gulls seen in the
mouth of Mimico Creek on November 12th by Bob
Yukich were still present at 8:15 a.m. on November
13th. The three that I saw were all adults.
In Reply to: Humber Bay - Nov. 13 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 14, 1998 at 11:03:46:
Three of the four Franklin's Gulls seen in the
mouth of Mimico Creek on November 12th by Bob
Yukich were still present at 8:15 a.m. on November
13th. The three that I saw were all adults.
This morning there were 34 Common Mergansers on Grenadier Pond, but no other waterfowl except for a few scattered Mallards near the south end. At Sunnyside, an impressive 134 Greater Black-backed Gulls were present, mostly on the breakwaters. There were also smaller numbers of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, as well as some Bufflehead, Oldsquaw, and Gadwall. At Humber Bay West there were 28 Mute Swans - the largest number I've seen here in quite a while - maybe numbers are building for the winter? 4 Redheads were at the east end of the north bay, while small numbers of Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and Oldsquaw were out near the west end of the bay. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 15
A few more signs of winter are beginning to turn up in the Quinte area. SNOW BUNTINGS are being reported quite regularly now across the Quinte area, and three NORTHERN SHRIKES have been spotted by observers this past week - one at Milford, one on Big Island, and another at the corner of Smoke Point Road and Gardenville Road, south of Trenton. A GREAT GRAY OWL was observed at Presqu'ile Provincial Park a week ago today
near Owen Point. A late BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER observed at the lighthouse was also noteworthy. An adult HARRIS`S SPARROW was seen Saturday at a feeder on the outskirts of Brighton. Birders are welcome to look for the bird from the deck overlooking the feeding area. To reach the site, approach Brighton via HW 30 and immediately before the
first lights in town, turn left on Dundas St. proceeding east for 1.2
km. Turn left on Georgina St. and drive north for .9 km. The house is new-looking, has two storeys and grey siding. Visitors are asked to park on the street. Also from the Brighton area this week (Friday) was a convincing report of a MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, seen in
fields opposite the Government dock. There was a CAROLINA WREN singing repeatedly at the corner of Sidney Street and Highway 2 in Belleville early Saturday morning. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen at Big Island on Thursday, but it is not known if the individual spotted at South Bay a week ago is still in that area. However, the 6 TUNDRA SWANS are still on the bay, along with 2500+ GREATER SCAUP and 2 HORNED GREBES. Similar numbers of scaup were reported from Point Traverse on Wednesday, and there were some 5,000 GREATER SCAUP there this weekend, along with 1,000s of scoters, mainly WHITE-WINGED with a few BLACK and SURF SCOTERS. OLDSQUAW numbers were about 10,000. A RED-NECKED GREBE was present just south of the lighthouse. There were 67 HOODED MERGANSERS in the Trenton area on Friday. The Brighton and Presqu'ile Field Naturalists on their field trip into the county this past Thursday had PIED-BILLED GREBE, HORNED GREBE, CANADA GOOSE, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, MALLARD, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, AMERICAN COOT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER(2), all in the Wellington Area. WILD TURKEY (10-12), RED-TAILED HAWK (3), and NORTHERN HARRIER were recorded by the group near the new Woodlands Campground at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and 3 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were checked off at the Milford end of the Old Milford Road. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS have also been seen and/or reported at Prince Edward Point, Consecon, Stinson Block, Demorestville, Stirling, Napanee, Bath, Hartington and Glen Miller. Wolfe Island has added its two cents worth to the plethora of FRANKLIN'S GULL reports this past week across Ontario. There were three seen at Wolfe Island yesterday. A SANDHILL CRANE was seen in flight over Grimshaw Bay. Shorebirds continue to hang in there with some interesting sightings this past week. There was a RED PHALAROPE at Ostrander Point in Prince Edward County last Sunday, and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE at Amherst Island on the same day. Amherst Island also had COMMON SNIPE, 1 PECTORAL SANDPIPER, 100 DUNLIN, 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER , and both GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Along the south shore of the Long Point Peninsula, just west of Prince Edward Point there were both BLACK-BELLIED and AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and GREATER YELLOWLEGS this weekend. Prince Edward Point also had small numbers of NORTHERN HARRIERS, GOSHAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and MERLIN observed this weekend. Numbers of passerines were also said to be down according to the Kingston Field Naturalists Information Hotline. A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen over Amherst Island last week, and a PEREGRINE FALCON was seen at Fawcettville (northern outskirts of Picton) on Wednesday. A total of 112 Picton area residents turned out for the ninth annual birdfeeding seminar at the town's Regent Theatre today. For Napanee area residents this coming weekend there is the second annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 21st, at 2:00 p.m. at the Flipside Entertainment Centre, on Dairy Avenue. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation and O'Neill's Farm Supply.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 22nd. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
At the foot of Fifth Street in Etobicoke this morning there was a female Harlequin Duck swimming with 18 Bufflehead. Over at Colonel Sam Smith there were 5 Hooded Mergansers among the 110 Oldsquaw, 40 Red-breasted Mergansers, and 2 Common Loons (east of the peninsula). There were also a total of 22 Greater Black-backed Gulls there. Up at MacGillivray and Huntington (northwest of Rutherford and Hwy 27) there was a Rough-legged Hawk. I later saw a second one north of Rutherford, east of Islington. In the same area as it were 2 Song Sparrows, 4 Goldfinches, and a male Kingfisher. In Kortright Conservation Area there were additional Song Sparrows and at least 6 White-breasted Nuthatches. A Pileated Woodpecker was on a tree just beside the visitor's centre. Marcel
I visited Humber Bay East and West Friday morning, but there were few birds to see. The Franklin's Gulls reported on Thursday did not seem to be around, and most of the waterfowl present a week ago were either absent entirely, or present in much smaller numbers. In the hour I spent there, I saw a grand total of one passerine, but a good one - a Northern Shrike on the south shore of H.B. East. There were still ~200 Oldsquaw off to the south, but few other ducks on that side. Along Mimico Creek there were still a few Green-winged Teal, and close to 20 Bufflehead, many of them actively courting and chasing each other. Marcel
Hi ! This is not a bird report but, I thought the information would be useful or of interest to some of you..... At no time was the entrance into Humber Bay East closed. The entrance is being realigned an there is a new entrance to Humber Bay East. The construction may have caused some confusion but, if you look for the signs directing you, you will see the new entrance. The entrance realignment is not being done as a result of the condominium, it is being done as part of the construction of the new Humber Bay Shores Park and the storm water treatment wetland. Good birding :-) Tamara
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 08
One of the more profitable areas to bird this past week has been in a hay field right behind our own house at the east end of Big Island, north of Demorestville. This is the same field in which 2 Henslow's sparrows were seen for two weeks in June of 1997. This past week there have been up to three SHORT-EARED OWLS coursing to and fro over the field. Today, there were within sight of each other, a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, NORTHERN HARRIER and a NORTHERN SHRIKE hunting in this field. The fence rows on two sides of the field today also contained a RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE, GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLETS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and four EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. EASTERN SCREECH OWLS have also been calling from the woods adjacent to this field. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS this past week have also been reported from Milford, Prince Edward Point, Bethesda, Wellington, Ameliasburgh, and outside of Prince Edward County at Napanee, Lonsdale, Tucker's Corners, Stirling and at Frankford. On Tuesday, Don Craighead was at Sandbanks and saw only 19 species, including many BUFFLEHEAD, 3 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 3 NORTHERN HARRIERS, 1 COOPER'S HAWK, 3 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 1 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 2 CEDAR WAXWINGS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, AND 1 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. A Brighton & Presqu'ile Field Naturalists outing to Prince Edward County on Thursday resulted in COMMON LOON, HORNED GREBE (4), CANADA GOOSE, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, MALLARD, BLUE-WINGED TEAL (3) and CANVASBACK 1, (Wellington) being seen, along with 4,000+ scaup species, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, BUFFLEHEAD and OLDSQUAW. Also picked up were AMERICAN COOT, NORTHERN HARRIER (3), RED-TAILED HAWK (2), ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (1), BLACK-BELLIED PLOPVER (4), AMERICAN PIPIT, CEDAR WAXWING (57), YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. A week ago Thursday, one member of the Kingston Field Natuiralists chalked up an impressive list of raptors at Prince Edward Point during a strong hawk flight brought on by good northwest winds. Seen were an incredible 11 GOLDEN EAGLES, and hundreds of RED-TAILED HAWKS and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, with smaller numbers of RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, COOPER'S HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTRELS and MERLINS. Last Sunday, there was a very late GREAT EGRET and a GOLDEN PLOVER on the south shore of Hay Bay, east of Sillsville. The TUNDRA SWANS and NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD are still present at South Bay, according to observers there. For Picton area residents this coming weekend there is the ninth annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 15th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Regent Theatre in downtown Picton. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation, Picton Farm Supply and Picton Home Hardware.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 15th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Humber Bay update - November 6 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 06, 1998 at 18:06:03:
Hi. This is my first birding report, as I'm rather new to this. However, I wanted to let you know that I was able to get into Humber Bay East this morning -- maybe it's only closed during the week. Anyway, the highlights for me were a Northern Shrike and a male Hooded Merganser that was hanging out with a couple pair of Common Goldeneye. In the small ponds near the washrooms were American Wigeon and Gadwall, while I also way the Green-winged Teal in Mimico Creek. The main excitement for the couple hundred gulls, oldsquaw and the few red-breasted mergs seemed to be several schools of small fish which were sending the gulls into a feeding frenzy. Quite the show. Another note, I was also at Humber Bay West last Sat. and found a small flock of snow buntings, which was a new bird for me.
This morning I visited Humber Bay for the first time in several weeks, and was shocked to find that Humber Bay east has been closed to public access. The sign indicates that it will be closed during the construction of the Humber Bay Shores project (i.e. the condominiums on the north shore). This is kind of ridiculous - why close off the whole park when it's only the first ~50 metres that are part of the construction zone. I can see closing it off to traffic, but access on foot could surely be allowed to bypass the site. Does anybody know how long this situation will last for, and also whether it applies just on weekdays or on weekends as well? Since I couldn't head out to Humber Bay East as planned, I did a thorough walk through Humber Bay West instead, which proved to be fairly productive. On one of the rocky south shores I found two Horned Larks - the first I've ever seen at Humber Bay. Also, I'm happy to report that the Mockingbird has returned for the winter - I saw it on top of a spruce at the south entrance to the marina. Otherwise, passerines were few and far between - the only others worth mentioning were a handful of Song and Tree Sparrows along the Mimico Creek shoreline. Numbers of winter waterfowl are certainly building. West of the gazebo there were 24 Redhead. Scattered throughout the various bays were 18 Bufflehead, as well as all three Merganser species - 2 female Hooded (west of the gazebo), 1 female Common (mouth of Mimico Creek), and 2 female Red-breasted (boat launch bay at the southeast end of HB West). There were at least a couple of hundred Oldsquaw offshore. Looking east from the southeast tip of Humber Bay West, I also saw at least 200 additional ducks off the east shore of Humber Bay East - they would have been easy to identify from there, had there been access, but from where I stood I couldn't identify them (although I suspect they were likely all Oldsquaw). Mallards, Gadwall, and Black Duck were all fairly scarce - less than 20 of each. Along Mimico Creek there were still 6 Green-winged Teal hanging around (incl 3 males), and there was a male Am. Wigeon with the Redheads. Good birding, Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Re: Peregrine Falcon - Whitney Block, Queen's Park posted by Don Peuramaki on November 05, 1998 at 17:53:16:
Yes, I suspect that we are occasionally seeing
either birds from as yet undetected nests or late
lingering tundrius birds. Seems late for the
latter though. I am convinced based on the number of times I am
seeing unbanded birds around Toronto that other
S. Ontario breeders are going undetected.
Hello Friends, 1O.45 am yesterday, several hundred American Crows(Corvus brachyrhynchos)were seen scattered around on two cleared cornfields on either side of Winston Churchill Blvd just south of Royal Windsor Drive, in Oakville. I was able to count up to 3OO on the ground but then it was disrupted by few taking off from the right field to land on the left and visa versa. Most of them were individually looking for something in the field, perhaps sfallen corn. Nearly 25O were perched on 6 tall naked trees. Some of them were cawing. The congregation and a general restlessness especially at this time of the year, gives me the feeling that these corvids are bound for south. Ram Nambiar
Mississauga.ONT
birder@echo-on.net
In Reply to: Peregrine Falcon - Whitney Block, Queen's Park posted by Glenn Coady on November 03, 1998 at 17:03:34:
Interestingly enough, around 4:30 on the same date, Nov. 2, there were two Peregrines circling together over Cherry Beach. Eventually they both flew off towards the Island. There was also a Great Horned Owl in the area being harassed by crows.
In Reply to: Merlin? In Etobicoke posted by Dave Nelson on November 02, 1998 at 21:50:00:
At our High Park raptor watch we have had a season
total since Aug.19 to Nov 1, 1998.
Merlin Total to date = 23 We also have a Raptor station near Whitby along Lake
Ontario. This is Cranberry Marsh. Merlin total= 49
Counted from Aug 28 to Nov.1,1998
Last night, November 2, I saw a Peregrine Falcon being
harassed by two American Kestrels high over the Whitney
Block of Queen's Park (where Peregrines were hacked in
the early 1980's). The Peregrine Falcon eventually shook
the American Kestrels and roosted on the southwest corner of
the highest point of the Whitney Block at dusk. Several visits today failed to turn up any sign of the
Peregrine Falcon though one American Kestrel was still
around.
I have been fortunate enough to have seen what I believe to be a Merlin twice within the past week in our neighbourhood (Royal York & Lawrence). Being nothing more than an enthusiatic novice though, I can't be sure. She was about the same size as the mourning doves which are common around here, if not a bit bigger. Her markings were a ringer for the field guide illustration. On the second occasion, Nov 1st, I saw her take, in flight, a sparrow (I think) and land on top of a telephone pole to eat her lunch. Can anyone comment on whether Merlins are a common sight around the Toronto area at this time of year, and whether she is likely to be around for the winter or was on her way through? If it's not likely to be a Merlin then can anyone suggest what it may have been? Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Tundra Swan migration posted by Tony Lang on March 27, 1998 at 08:21:17:
We went to Alma, Wisconsin to Rieck's Lake park on Sun. 11/1/98 to see how many tundra swans were there on their way back south. This is a stopping place for them. Last year at this time there were thousands, this year's 9:00am count was 102. They were as majestic as ever, and if there were only one it would be worth the trip! Another source of info is www.mwt.net/~swanalma
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 01
CANADA GEESE were very much in evidence during today's guided hike at the Menzel Nature Reserve, 18 km. north of Deseronto. Mud Lake within the reserve which normally contains few species of waterfowl had COMMON MERGANSER, COMMON LOON, BUFFLEHEAD, and MALLARD. Also seen on the hike were CEDAR WAXWING, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, DOWNY WOODPECKER, BLUE JAY, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. On Tuesday, Don Craighead spent five hours at West Point and the Outlet River at Sandbanks Provincial Park, coming up with 25 species of birds, including large numbers of OLDSQUAW and BUFFLEHEAD, about 20 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and 1 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. There were 7 KILLDEERS, 6 DUNLINS and several AMERICAN PIPITS. Two EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were on the wires along the road just east of the wooded area near the main road intersection at West Point. Both West Point and the Amphitheatre area in the Outlet Sector of the Park had CEDAR WAXWINGS. In the Outlet River Campgrounds, CEDAR WAXWINGS were massing and feeding on the cedars. Numbers exceeded 100 birds, mostly first year birds. Four LITTLE GULLS had been photographed at the mouth of the Outlet River a few days earlier by Belleville PhotoNat member, Doug Guay. There were also large numbers of CEDAR WAXWINGS this past week at South Bay where members of the Kingston Field Naturalists also located 5 TUNDRA SWANS and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD. On Thursday, strong northwest winds brought a number of raptors into view including 25 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 100 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 10 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 1 BROAD-WINGED HAWK, 15 NORTHERN HARRIERS, 3 MERLINS and one GOLDEN EAGLE. Approximately 30 TURKEY VULTURES were also seen. There were still HUDSONIAN GODWITS on Monday and Tuesday at Kingston's Elevator Bay and Cataraqui Creek. For those interested in Prince Edward County birding, there is an eight-page feature on the county, its birding history and some essential information on lodging, transportation and tours in this month's issue of "WildBird" magazine, out of California. The article makes reference to the 1999 third annual Prince Edward County Birding Festival, slated for May 15-22. For Madoc area residents this weekend there is the second annual Bird Feeding Seminar being held on November 8th, at 2:00 p.m. at the Trinity United Church Hall. Refreshments and plenty of door prizes. There will be a slide show presentation on ways of attracting wildlife to the backyard, and a discussion on nesting and roosting boxes for bats, birds and butterflies. The program is being presented by Quinte Conservation and Madoc Home Hardware.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 8th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
I was amazed to see a Turkey Vulture circling low around
Dufferin Grove Park and Havelock St. this afternoon at 4pm. This
is beside the Dufferin Mall between Bloor and College. It looked
as though it plans to stay a while. Sandra Eadie
I made a quick trip through Algonquin Park yesterday afternoon. Things were pretty quiet. I heard a Boreal Chickadee at the Spruce Bog Trail and saw a female Spruce Grouse on the old rail bed leading to the back end of the Mizzy Lake Trail.
Hi, We are a club from Terrebonne near Montreal and for our annual getaway
we chose the 1000 islands region. We could use some tips from any club
near that region to know the best spots down there. We went to
Gananoque last week end and we took a look on the Wolf island. It seems
a good place for falcons and shore birds but if there are other places
that we have to know about near Gananoque, we would appreciate your
collaboration.
Hoping to hear from you soon!
Isabelle Ménard
Club d'ornithologie de la région des Moulins
Terrebonne, Québec
domisa@cam.org
ther was at lest one Bohemian Waxwing on the spit to day it was on the rood
down to the salers club,also ther wear up to and probly over 4000 Oldsquaw,5 Canvasback
9 Hooded merganser all and all a good selachon of birds.
Ther was 1 domed monarke buterfly CRAIG
Greater Toronto Raptor Watch, Oct.19 to 25, 1998 Station: Cranberry Marsh
Period: Oct 19 to Oct 25
Station Co-ordiator Doug Lockrey
Counters: Mike Boudreau, Rayfield Pye, Doug Lockrey, Martin Bense, Gord
Gallant, and Tyler Hoar Totals for the past week; TV 360, OS 1, BE 1, NH 19, SS 114, CH 21, NG 8, RS 25, BW 1, RT 183,
RL 11, GE 1, AK 5, ML 6, PG 2, UR 1, UA 0, UB 25, UF 0,
TOTAL 784, HRS 23.5 Season to date:
TV 1308, 121,BE 25, NH 264, SS 2870, CH 84, NG 12, RS 28, BW 7821,
RT 396, RL 15, GE 3, AK 2003, ML 48, PG 15, UB 25, UR 46
TOTAL 15,456 HRS 287 Station: High Park
Period: Oct.19 to Oct.25
Station Co-ordiator: Don Barnett
Counters: Don Barnett, Bob Yukich, Naish McHugh, Hugh Currie, Marcel
Gabhauer,& John Barker Totals for the past week: TV 340, OS 0, BE 2, NH 30, SS 510, CH 13, NG 5, RS 230, BW 0, RT 549,
RL 6, GE 6, AK 9, ML 0, PG 2, UR 9, UA 4, UB 28, UF 0,
TOTAL 1,743, HRS. 43 Season to date: TV 1630, OS 76, BE 42, NH 339, SS 4704, CH 88, NG 5, RS 245, BW 11360,
RT 841, RL 8, GE 8, AK 1284, ML 20, PG 17, UR 86, UA 17, UB 58, UF 5,
Total 20,833, HRS. 385.5
Prepared by: Don Barnett THE GTRW The Greater Toronto Raptor Watch (GTRW) is operated as a committee within
the structure of the Toronto Ornithological Club. Its mandate is to Record,
analyze and distribute information regarding the fall migration of raptors
through the Greater Toronto Region. Education, publicity, research and
conservation are secondary objectives. There are two stations under its
direction. The first station is Cranberry Marsh (CMRW), which is 4.5 km. (3 miles)
southwest of Whitby, Ontario; east of Toronto. This station is within the
Lynde Shores Conservation Area; the conservation area is under the
management of the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA).
The count is conducted from the southwest platform, overlooking a lakeshore
marsh, which is located only about a hundred metres (yards) north of Lake
Ontario. The second station, is located in High Park, just west of Downtown Toronto.
The park is operated by the City of Toronto Parks Department.
This is a large wooded park, dominated by a Black Oak savannah.
The count site (Hawk Hill) is located on a small hill at the north end of
the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. It is located about 1.5 km. (1mile)
north of Lake Ontario, at a elevation of 110 metres (yards) above Lake
Ontario. This station is at the highest point and near the centre of the
park; a steep slope that descends to a large pond is immediately west of
the station. Full-time counts have been recorded here since 1994. Raptor Counts are conducted at both stations between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30,
from 9:00 to 17:00 Standard Time. The best raptor movements occur on days
with northerly winds, usually following passage of a cold front. Other bird
species, Monarch Butterflies, Dragonflies, etc. are also recorded at both
sites. The Lake Ontario shoreline is an important migratory corridor for
all these southbound species; movement is from east to west. The following are partners in our Raptor migration monitoring in the
Greater Toronto Region: City of Toronto Parks and Culture Department,
Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, and Local Naturalists' Clubs. Directions to our stations are accessible from the HMANA website at http://www.hmana.org Click on Watchsites, then on Ontario to find our stations. John Barker, the Chairman of the GTRW, can be reached at: 4101 Westminster Place #55,
Mississauga, ON
CANADA
L4W 4X4
(416) 808 7950 (B)
(905) 281 3073 (H) jbarker@mail.interlog.com Posted by:
Tyler Hoar
Oshawa
thoar@durham.net
In Reply to: Discovery Channel Schedule posted by Don Davis on September 17, 1998 at 16:38:20:
you folks are asome. Please try to present more
astroanmy subjects.
In Reply to: Where the Black-backed gulls hang out posted by Chris Clark on October 27, 1998 at 08:43:00:
I've frequently observed gulls roosting in the same area when looking east from East Point park. Greater Black-backed Gulls certainly are regular there, as are Ring-billed and Herring. I've never seen any other gulls there, although I suspect that they do occur (I have seen both Glaucous and Iceland not far to the west, so it might be worth keeping an eye on this spot during the winter). Marcel
I've seen the occasional Black-backed gull at Leslie Spit. I've recently moved out to Rouge Hill and am now taking the GO train in. Every morning when we go by Highland Creek, there are at least a half-dozen BB gulls. Yesterday I managed to count 13 of them. There are other gulls with them, but I think they're just Herring and Ringed-bill. From the train, I can't tell if there are any other uncommon speices. Saw a Kingfisher on Friday, whhich was a bit of a surprise as I wasn't expecting them to be around this late. Cheers,
Chris
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 25
Karen Hartley of Quinte Conservation had a good day of birding along East Bayshore Park, Belleville, on Tuesday. She found 20 AMERICAN COOTS, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2 COMMON TERNS (rather late) and an unspecified number of BONAPARTE'S GULLS. Meanwhile at Big Island, the EASTERN SCREECH OWL is still calling, along with at least two GREAT HORNED OWLS. Albert Boisvert had a good day in Prince Edward County on Thursday, chalking up PIED-BILLED GREBE, AMERICAN WIGEON, 20 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, AMERICAN COOT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (5), PECTORAL SANDPIPER (3) AND 2 DUNLIN at West Lake. Salmon Point Road produced hundreds of WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, RED-TAILED HAWK (8) and TURKEY VULTURE. There were two COMMON SNIPE at Wellington, and elsewhere in the county he found 5 MUTE SWANS, 1,500 GREATER SCAUP and AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. Yesterday, there were 10 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in the Trenton/Brighton area, along with 5 WILD TURKEYS, and 55 SNOW BUNTINGS. Joanne Dewey also saw SNOW BUNTINGS flying over Lake Ontario on Thursday. AMERICAN COOTS, about 300 so far, have begun to gather in the Bay of Quinte behind the A & P store in Trenton, as they do every year. Their numbers will continue to build to about 1,000 before they leave. In early November they are usually joined by a number of RUDDY DUCKS, so birders in that area should pay this area some close attention in the weeks to come. HOODED MERGANSER have been seen in the Trenton water reservoir and their numbers will likely increase to 80 - 120 before they too disperse later this fall. Depot Lake Conservation Area, near Verona, had both HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKER today during a 7-km guided hike there, along with several RUFFED GROUSE, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, BLUE JAY and a flock of approximately 35 AMERICAN ROBINS between Second and Third Depot Lakes. There was GREAT BLUE HERON in a wetland across from the cemetery east of Deseronto, and 3 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS in a meadow just east of Colebrook. HUDSONIAN GODWITS were present both Wednesday and Thursday at Kingston's Elevator Bay and at Cataraqui Creek. Amherst Island this past week had PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, both GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS and 22 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS. There have also been ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, MERLIN and NORTHERN SHRIKE seen there too. TREES SWALLOWS are still in evidence around the area.
. A recent Kingston Field Naturalists pelagic trip to Main Duck Island was cut short due to rough water; however, all three species of scoters were seen between Main Duck Island and Prince Edward Point. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were also seen in the area. The last hike of the fall season for Quinte Conservation will be taking place this coming Sunday, November 1st at the Menzel Nature Reserve, north of Deseronto at 10:00 a.m. Registration at $5.00 is necessary for this conducted hike, with a maximum of 15 participants permitted. To date there are nine people registered, and four unconfirmed. The 3 km hike features an alvar, shrub fen, deciduous woods and a 150-acre lake. Take Boundary Road (C.R. 10) north from Highway 401 at Deseronto and follow for 13 km due north to the far end of the road. Turn right at the sharp corner and follow east for another km. to entrance. Rubber boots required.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 1st. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Peregrine Falcon Nest at Niagara Falls mid May 1998 posted by Vija on October 24, 1998 at 22:29:08:
The Peregrines in Niagara had a very good season, successfully raising three young. More details are available at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation website's Niagara page, at http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/tops/nitop.html Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
I was in Niagara Falls mid May where there was a Peregrine
Falcon nesting on the edge of the lookout on the Canadian
side...does anyone know how these Falcons made out??
Today at the Leslie Spit I found a total of 50 species over a period of four hours. There was a decent variety of passerines, but most were present in only small numbers. Waterfowl were considerably more abundant. One of the best spots today was Bay D (the first main lookout to the right when walking out). Out on the mudflats at the north end of the island was an immature eagle, which I believe was a Bald Eagle. Although I subsequently saw it again at two different points on Peninsula D, I never had a perfect look at it. However, the one time I did see it in flight, I don't think there was enough white under the wings for it to be a Golden Eagle. Also in Bay D were 105 Bufflehead, 8 Black-bellied Plovers and several Killdeer. Just east of the lookout there were two male Eastern Bluebirds perched, appropriately enough, on top of the bluebird boxes on the east side of the road. Near them was a Phoebe, and several Yellow-rumped Warblers were also in the area (I saw a total of 14 today). In cell 3 (east of the bridge) there were several hundred Scaup, and about 30 Redheads. There were also a few Hooded Mergansers, Green-winged Teal, and Gadwall. Out on the endikement there were 2 Short-eared Owls, 3 Snow Buntings, and 1 Pipit. Offshore there were close to 100 Oldsquaw milling about, and there were 3 Common Mergansers close to shore. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Re: Sandhill crane posted by Craig Mclauchlan on October 13, 1998 at 09:25:12:
There would seem to be very little rationale for
doubt in such a sighting. The identification
should be straightforward. The only reason for
any trepidation might be the possibility that
21 or 23 birds get inadvertently counted as 22. Twenty-two Sandhill Cranes does represent an
all-time high count for the Toronto region, but
Sandhill Cranes are experiencing a very large
rebound in population and such a sighting though
striking is not completely unexpected. In a population of staging Sandhill Cranes
fluctuating from 400+ to 700+ on consecutive days
it would seem impossible to correlate 22 birds
seen in Toronto with movement from Manitoulin
Island.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 18
The Quinte Field Naturalists' field trip to Point Petre yesterday didn't result in a lot of hawks, although some 65 TURKEY VULTURES were spotted, and several RED-TAILED HAWKS, NORTHERN HARRIERS, COOPER'S HAWK and AMERICAN KESTRELS. EASTERN BLUEBIRD (7), RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and WILD TURKEY were also seen. Chris Grooms of the Kingston area did a lot better when he visited Prince Edward Point a week earlier, witnessing what he calls "the best flight of raptors in living memory." Between 2,000 and 3,000 birds of prey as well as vultures were tallied, including three GOLDEN EAGLES. Prince Edward Point, and to a lesser extent, Point Petre, have always been regarded as profitable areas to watch the fall migration of hawks, but these numbers recorded by Chris probably outnumber anything that has occurred there in the past. Weather plays an important role as to the species and numbers of raptors seen at this time of the year. A GOLDEN EAGLE was also seen at the Point on October 1st, along with 5 BALD EAGLES, 1 NORTHERN GOSHAWK and a PEREGRINE FALCON. Walter Frey of Picton was at the Point on Friday, checking off a SAW-WHET OWL in the cedars, and later flushing a GREAT HORNED OWL. Apart from the usual birds, he also tallied 5 LEAST FLYCATCHERS, and 8 WINTER WRENS, which seemed to be all over. Then, a bit later, he observed two immature
RED-TAILED HAWKS harassing a GREAT HORNED OWL sitting in a willow tree beside the harbour. To the north of the Long Point Peninsula was a raft of at least 1500 GREATER SCAUP. Several NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS were also seen this past week at the cemetery near Wallbridge/Loyalist Road and Highway 2. NORTHERN SCREECH OWLS were heard calling again in the Woodlands Campground at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Thursday night, and a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was calling at Big Island last night. There were two MERLIN at Presqu'ile Provincial Park on Monday and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK at Sandbanks yesterday. WATER PIPITS are being reported across the Quinte area, with a large flock now numbering in excess of 150 still present at Sandbanks Provincial Park. PINE SISKINS were present at the Quinte Conservation Area in Quinte West last week, and EVENING GROSBEAKS were heard calling in Napanee today.
A 6-km guided hike scheduled to take place today at Depot Lakes Conservation Area, north of Verona, was cancelled today due to impending strong winds, rain and thunderstorms. It has been rescheduled for next Sunday, the 25th, meeting in the parking lot at 10:00 a.m. Another guided hike, also sponsored by Quinte Conservation will be taking place on November 1st at the Menzel Nature Reserve, north of Deseronto. And on October 31st, Backyard Birds of Quinte will be celebrating their second anniversary at their 250 Front Street location in Belleville. Naturalists, nature photographers and artisans will be on hand to discuss their work at this popular birding equipment outlet. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 25th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
From Don Davis:
___________________________________
PRESQU'ILE BIRD HIGHLIGHTS Over the past two weeks, about 130 bird species have been identified at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. As
the colder weather has settled in, the migrants have scurried south, the leaves on the trees have begun
to turn various shades of red and orange, and the deer rut has begun. During the Thanksgiving Weekend, two Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows were found. The water levels
remain low all around the peninsula. On the southern limestone ledge, 8 black-bellied plovers and 1
dunlin were found yesterday. Other recent sightings include: There have been numerous reports of eastern bluebirds in the area, including 2 discovered near the
park store on October 7th by Barry Kent Mackay. North of Brighton, bluebirds are still being found
along various bluebird trails and in the Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area. Local bluebird enthusiast
Martin Bird of the Presqu'ile-Brighton Naturalist Club reports that record numbers of bluebirds
fledged this year. Don Davis
In Reply to: Ontario Birds Listserver posted by Andy on October 08, 1998 at 12:01:19:
subscribe ontbirds
end
In Reply to: Thanks Ontario Birders posted by Steve Holzman on October 13, 1998 at 10:03:52:
GLAD TO HELP
YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING THAT WE HAD 67 SPECIES ON THAT OUTING.
THEY INCLUDED 31 PHOEBES, 41 HERMIT THRUSHES, 56 AMEICAN PIPITS AND 6 BLUE-
HEADED VIREOS.
IF YOUR UP THIS WAY AGAIN SOMETIME GET IN TOUCH.
NORM
For all that did not hear about this bird on Sat, Oct, 10, 98 I found a fall juvenile western sandpiper at the north end of Frenchman's bay, go in at the day school and it was feeding along the mud flats. I understand that it was seen yesterday Monday Oct 12 98, also there was also a sharp tailed sparrow their and 5 A.Pipit .in that area CRAIG
I'd like to thank the very helpful birders I met on my quick trip
to Ontario. The field trip to Leslie Spit was great, and the
leader Norm was very helpful. I met some very friendly folks
at the hawk watch platform at Cranberry marsh. They convinced
me to go to Algonquin Park and provided maps and tips. I
got two life birds up there (boreal chickadee and spruce grouse).
I saw a male display to a female, just 6 feet (2 metres) from me.
As I was leaving the visitor center a ranger posted a sighting of
a bohemian waxwing at KM 8. I could not locate the bird, but then
again, I could not locate the Ilex bushes the bird was supposed to
be feeding at. Anyway, thanks again. Steve Holzman
Brunswick, Georgia USA
In Reply to: Re: Sandhill crane posted by Tyler Hoar on October 11, 1998 at 21:45:22:
Tyler is there any one that is monitoring this flock that wood have noticed if say 22 of them wood have left.
I am wondering if this is wear the birds that I saw hear in Toronto came from, there are a few that are questing this number of birds being seen in this area. If you or any one ells no of a birder in Manitoulin that might be keeping track I wood love to know. Craig
In Reply to: Re: Sandhill crane posted by C.mclauchlan on October 04, 1998 at 09:25:15:
Well I just have returned from Manitoulin island. I censused Cranes on Oct 10 and 11 to determine the population size there and to also enjoy their antics. All Cranes were seen in a triangle between Providence Bay, 2 miles west of Spring Bay and the southern bay of Mindemoya Lake. On Saturday I found 454 birds feeding in fields. Sunday morning in one field alone just south of Mindemoya lake I counted 493 cranes. The total for sunday was 769 birds.
So hopefully there should be alot more birds coming our way in the near future. Tyler Hoar
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 11
There was plenty of bird activity in Sandbanks Provincial Park from October 3-7. During our stay there on Campsite 613, we were serenaded nightly by no fewer than 3 GREAT HORNED OWLS and 5 NORTHERN SCREECH OWLS. Woodpeckers at or near our campsite included PILEATED, DOWNY, HAIRY and NORTHERN FLICKER. There were at least 100+ HERMIT THRUSHES present in the campground at any one time, and 75+ SWAINSON'S THRUSHES were heard passing over early Sunday morning before light. A flock of 100+ AMERICAN PIPITS was present throughout the period in a number of open meadows adjacent to the campground. 35 WILD TURKEYS were seen on Monday at the far end of the campground complex. There was some evidence of a hawk flight during the week with SHARP-SHINNED, COOPER'S, and RED-TAILED HAWKS being tallied, as well as several NORTHERN HARRIERS. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS were everywhere, and the open campsites rich in ripening ragweed, goldenrod, New England Aster and thistles were seething with sparrows, including WHITE-CROWNED, WHITE-THROATED, SONG, VESPER, SAVANNAH, and DARK-EYED JUNCOS. A total of 52 species was chalked up within the immediate vicinity of the campsite. A delayed, but very interesting, banding record was received during the week concerning a juvenile PEREGRINE FALCON that was found exactly one year ago along the Huff's Island Road. The bird which was found in a desiccated condition had been banded two month's earlier in Fairbanks, Alaska. In addition to YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS being around, there is evidence that a few others are lingering this fall. A female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was banded north of Picton on Friday, a rather late date for this species. A week ago today Joanne Dewey found 120 HORNED GREBES off the West Lake Bar in Lake Ontario (down to 10 in number yesterday) along with a few hundred WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and 1 OLDSQUAW. Today there were 3 BLACK
SCOTERS off the north shore of BIg Island. The family of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS that has been coming to a feeder at Prinyer's Cove, has been joined on the west side of the county now by an adult which is visiting a feeder near Consecon Lake. Visitors to the county last weekend birded 10 km of the old railway bed in the county and found large numbers of BLUE JAYS, several MOURNING DOVES, 2 REDWINGED BLACKBIRDS, flocks of SONG SPARROWS, one WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, a group of DARK-EYED JUNCOS , RED-TAILED HAWK, several SWAMP SPARROWS, a GRAY CATBIRD, 2 DOWNY WOODPECKERS, several BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, and several immature RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. The Quinte Field Naturalists will be hosting a field trip to Point Petre next Saturday on October 17th to look for migrating hawks. Meet at Zwick's Island Park, off Bay Bridge Road, at 9:00 a.m. Quinte Conservation will be hosting a 6-km guided hike at Second Depot Lake the following day, meeting in the parking lot at Depot Lakes Conservation Area, north of Verona, at 10:00 a.m. And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 18th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
From Don Davis: Chris Martin, Senior Natural Heritage Education Leader at Presqu'ile Provincial Park reported that on Monday, October 5th,
there were 60+ black-bellied plovers, 3 American golden plovers and 3 dunlin on the south limestone ledge at the Lake
Ontario shoreline from the lighthouse to Chatteron Point. A pectoral sandpiper also few over. Bald eagles have been regularly
sighted on Gull Island. Those familiar with the park know that Presqu'ile Provincial Park consists of a number of limestone islands, with the largest of
these joined to the mainland by a massive sandbar (tombolo). The magnificent display of Northern Owls in the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre, on loan from the Royal Ontario Museum, will
be leaving the park after this weekend, to replaced by a display of wildlife art created by noted artists Michael Dumas and
Brent Townsend (Brent designed our $2.00 coin, the "Tooney".). This display will be open during Christmas at Presqu'ile and
the artists will be making personal appearances. During this time, admission to the park is free. There will be a number of park events over the Thanksgiving Weekend, including a guided bird walk on Sunday, October 11th
at 10:00 am from the Beach #4 Parking lot. Don Davis
In Reply to: Bird Band posted by Paul on October 08, 1998 at 12:12:52:
For any recoveries in North America call toll-free
1-800-327-BAND (2263). Have information about species,
band number, where found, ready to report. Thanks,
Steve Holzman
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
This morning I found a dead bird on my porch. It had a band around its leg, which I removed. Who do I report this to?
This morning I found a dead bird on my porch. It had a band around its leg, which I removed. Who do I report this to?
Jean Iron, President of Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), is
pleased to announce the launch of ONTBIRDS, an electronic mailing
list service which notifies birders of new Ontario bird sightings
of interest. ONTBIRDS automatically relays an email message
posted to the service to everyone who is subscribed. There is no
charge to subscribers. All Ontario birding hotlines, major birding hotspots and
hawkwatches are being invited to post their regular updates, and
especially rare bird reports, to ONTBIRDS. In addition, hotlines
in cities/areas bordering on our province, which regularly carry
information about sightings in Ontario, have been invited to do
the same. The Hamilton-Wentworth Community Network is providing the
software (Majordomo) and server through which ONTBIRDS operates.
Mike Street, who has looked after the Hamilton Birding hotline
since its inception in 1989, is coordinating ONTBIRDS for OFO. All birders interested in Ontario bird sightings are invited to
subscribe. Any subscriber can post a notice about Ontario bird
sightings, subject to the rules of the service. To subscribe to ONTBIRDS: send an email (be sure to use lower
case letters) to: majordomo@hwcn.org Leave the subject or title of the email blank. In the body of the
email, type: subscribe ontbirds and on the next line type
end Send the email. In a short while you will receive a message
asking you to authenticate your subscription by sending a
specific confirming message back to the server. The
authentication process is in place to prevent misuse of the
service. After confirming, you will receive another email with
information on how to post sightings and other details. PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO BIRDING FRIENDS WHO MAY BE
INTERESTED. THANK YOU. For OFO Membership and other information, contact: ofo@interlog.com Mike Street
Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
mikestreet@hwcn.org
I had another new visitor to my backyard (Bathurst and
Sheppard) on Oct 5. It was a male Eastern Towhee.
All summer I kept hearing a bird call and didn't know what
it was until I read Birders' World and saw the article on
Towhees. The article also gave me a description of the
bird. This one was poking around under my evergreen and
finally popped out to give me a quick look at it. Leslie Kinrys
In Reply to: Re: Toronto Ornithological Club - Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks posted by Steve Holzman on October 06, 1998 at 12:09:45:
Either of these trips would be an excellent choice. Toronto Island offers a greater variety of mature
woodland but the Spit has perhaps better
possibilites for water birds. Both are excellent
migrant traps which are productive in early
October. Both trips will require lots of walking. The Spit
is 5 km. long and Toronto Island is accessed only
by ferry and will involve much walking. The
walking is easy at both sites however. The Toronto Ornithological Club's Toronto Island
outing is aimed at intermediate birders and will
probably have the smaller group of the two
therefore allowing perhaps more individual
attention. The leader is exceptional. The Ontario Field Ornithologists' Leslie St. Spit
outing will probably draw a larger and more
experienced group of birders. This is good for
finding birds but lends itself less well to
individualized attention for the visiting birder.
Likewise, the leader here is excellent and
regularly turns up vagrants at this location Outings by both the Toronto Ornithological Club
and the Ontario Field Ornithologists are both
usually excellent and I would highly recommend
either one. I will probably be in attendance at
one of the two - I haven't decided which one yet. I hope you enjoy your time spent in Toronto.
In Reply to: Toronto Ornithological Club - Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks posted by Glenn Coady on September 15, 1998 at 17:30:22:
If I only have one day in Toronto, should I go on the
Leslie Street Spit Field Trip or the Toronto Islands
Field Trip? Thanks in advance.
Steve Holzman
Brunswick, Georgia USA
In Reply to: Re: J.Audubon at the R.O.M posted by Pat Thomas on October 02, 1998 at 17:27:15:
Hear is the Canada trust emall add. to thank them for saving
this portfolleo and poteing it out on tour vanroestel.jim@canadatrust.ca
Jim will then pass the emall on to all for posting allso ther is a web site
for this show it is www.canadatrust.com/audubon well worth a look at. CRAIG
Yesterday (Oct.3), I had a new visitor to my backyard, an
immature Parula Warbler. It had me poring over my Peterson
bird guide, while trying to watch it through the binoculars
as it flitted around the apple tree. When the guide
described it as the only bluish warbler, I knew what it was.
Lately, there have been many White-Throated Sparrows in our
yard as well. (Bathurst/Sheppard) Leslie Kinrys
In Reply to: Sandhill crane posted by Ian on September 28, 1998 at 19:12:36:
Ian your discripshon sounds good to me and to go a long with your siting on friday afternoon at 3:15 at Young st and Glenforest st hear in Toronto
I saw 22 Sandhill cranes fling over head this is the largist flock that I have seen in Ont.I have seen lager flocks in Manatoba,so the time is right
for you Sandhill.
CRAIG
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 03 Trees and meadows in the Quinte area are alive with birds now as the fall migration enters October. Today at Point Petre, bushes were seething with passerines including DARK-EYED JUNCOS, YELLLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. There were at least 70 HORNED GREBES on Thursday at West Lake, along with 2 BLACK SCOTERS. There are still a few CASPIAN TERNS around with one observed last week at Pleasant Bay diving into the water at great speed. The white domesic goose is still hanging around in Prinyer's Cove according to observers there, where it has been associating with a flock of about 25 CANADA GEESE since spring. Eldewhere in the Quinte area, a few small skeins of CANADA GEESE have been seen migrating. Last week, Presqu'ile Provincial Park had an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, BALD EAGLE and a blue phase SNOW GOOSE. For two days last week there was a RED-TAILED HAWK trapped in the Proctor-Silex warehouse at Picton. The bird had inexplicably entered through the open loading dock doors and with the employee activity below and the lure of skylights in the roof, the bird refused to swoop down to the lower level where it could safely exit. Management was concerned about the hawk activating the motion sensors at night, but were more concerned about not properly securing the building once it had been vacated for the day. In the end the welfare of the hawk received priority, the security syestem was not turned on during the time the hawk was loose in the building and the bird apparently exited on its own once the employee activity had reached a low ebb. Our thanks and appreciation to Proctor-Silex employees for their concern and efforts. The Quinte Field Naturalists will be hosting a field trip to Point Petre on October 17th to look for migrating hawks. Meet at Zwick's Island Park, off Bay Bridge Road, at 9:00 a.m.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 11th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: J.Audubon at the R.O.M posted by C.Mclauchlan on September 30, 1998 at 08:56:38:
Hi Craig,
How do I reach Canada Trust to say Thank You? Is there someone in particular I ought to e-mal?
I am interested in looking for Sharp-tailed Sparrows in Dundas
Marsh in Hamilton this fall, but I would like specific
directions to a good site (or two?). I will not be able to look until
October 10th or so - will that be too late? Thanks for any help
you can give. David Geale
dgeale@tcs.on.ca
http://www.tcs.on.ca/students/dgeale/index.htm
In Reply to: Junco posted by Mike Boyd on September 24, 1998 at 19:38:58:
Yesterday (Sept. 29), I saw a Junco in my backyard
(Bathurst-Sheppard area). It is nice to see them
back, but once they start arriving I know cold
weather is coming soon. Leslie
If you see one art show this year this should be the one. I saw the show last night and was so in preset there is 100 engravings from J.Audubon Birds of America this is from the Toronto reference library and was saved from being sold by Canada Trust which is presenting this show. The show is in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum and is on from Sept.19 in till November 14 1998 then moves on across Canada.
Also one thing that I never do is to get the autogide that goes with the show( I did this time only because a friend specks the part of Audubon ) and I was very happy I did it is full of Canadian on Audubon's time in this country. CRAIG
I'm still a beginning birder but I'm sure I saw a Sandhill Crane today in Wellington County, about 10km Southwest of Guelph. It was the size of a Great Blue Heron but it had dark legs, light grey body, white throat stripe, dark bill and a red crown.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
September 27, 1998 A rather slow week as far as reports go, but still lots of birds migrating through. WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS continue to turn up here and there around Quinte waters with a small group in Big Bay
Tuesday and 6 off the West Lake Bar on Wednesday. SCREECH OWLS are still calling from a deciduous woods at Big Island nearly every morning at 5:00 a.m. At least three different individuals, possibly four, have been counted. Numbers of sparrows have been increasing as October draws near. In particular, CHIPPING SPARROWS and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS have been especially numerous this past week. SAVANNAH, FIELD and VESPER SPARROWS have also been seen in increasing numbers. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS continue to dominate the scene as long as insect food remains in good supply. A flock of about 30 PINE SISKINS was spotted passing over the south-east corner of Big Island on Wednesday. There were good numbers of BLUE-WINGED TEAL and MALLARDS at East Bayshore Park, in Belleville, on Monday. DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, KILLDEER, GREAT BLUE HERON and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS were also tallied by this writer and Karen Hartley of Quinte Conservation. Amherst Island today had a few shorebirds including 3 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, PECTORAL SANDPIPERS as well as several LAPLONG LONGSPURS. Quinte Conservation will be hosting a guided walk of about six kilometres at Depot Lakes Conservation Area on October 18th, meeting at the main parking lot at 10:00 a.m. Registration at $10.00 is required for this trip. Please bring lunch. A 16-km canoe trip on 2nd Depot Lake last Sunday attracted 7 canoeists with bird life seen and heard including GREAT BLUE HERON, HAIRY WOODPECKER, BLUE JAY, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 4th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Re: Humber Bay - Sept 24 posted by Jean-François HIC on September 26, 1998 at 21:45:54:
My best guess is that it was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron. On September 16 I saw one at the southeast end of the second bay east of the parking lot. Of course I can't be sure that this is the same bird you saw, but it and the solitary Great Blue Heron are the only herons I've seen there this month. Marcel
In Reply to: Humber Bay - Sept 24 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on September 24, 1998 at 19:34:39:
Dear Marcel, I am writing to you to thank you for your very interesting reports. I also would like you to help me identify a bird I saw at Humber Bay Park. On the east side where the pond flows into the bay I saw a heron. It is not a great blue heron. Can it be an immature green heron or an immature black-crowned night-heron ??? I saw it on Sunday the 20th in the morning but it wast too foggy for me to be able to identify this bird. Have you seen it ??? What is it ??? I would appreciate any help you can give me. Best regards, Jean-François HIC
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, just thought I would say in Oakville I saw my first Junco
of the fall today, also saw a Snipe flyover a couple of days
ago. Mike
Humber Bay East was incredible this morning - 54 species, even though waterfowl diversity was lower than it has been in many weeks. Highlights in terms of sheer numbers were: 40 Golden-crowned and 12 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 80 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 72 White-throated Sparrows, and 28 White-crowned Sparrows. These were all scattered throughout the park, but particularly good spots included the sumac knoll south of the second bay, the firethorn bushes near the east end of the peninsula, and the pines on the south side of the parking lot. In addition to the many Yellow-rumped Warblers, there were 6 other warbler species present. There were 2 Black-throated Green, 2 Black-throated Blue, and 1 Yellowthroat on the west shore of the first bay east of the parking lot, along with 2 Philadelphia Vireos and a Sapsucker. A Tennessee Warbler was with Juncos in the pines by the washroom. A single Magnolia was at the southwest tip of Humber Bay East, along with 6 Palm Warblers. Other interesting songbirds included 1 Winter Wren, 1 Swainson's and 3 Hermit Thrushes, 1 Water Pipt, a flock of 10 Rusty Blackbirds at the east tip, and 7 Phoebes, also mostly near the east end. The Dunlin have yet to arrive this year, but I was happy to find that a Black-bellied Plover has now joined the half-dozen Killdeer which remain on the mudflats in Mimico Creek, south of the new bridge. The most exotic waterfowl today were a few Shovelers and Wigeons off to the northeast of the park. Surprisingly, the only 'winter' duck present today was the female Bufflehead - the Goldeneyes and Scaup seem to have disappeared. I also discovered a dead and decomposing raptor on the northeast side of the sumac knoll. It looked like an immature Harrier. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
The following was sent to me by John Schmelefske (jschm@interhop.net):
-------------------
There is probably no more important issue for bird conservation in
Ontario at the present time than the Lands for Life process that is
currently under way. The government is in the process of making
critical decisions that could potentially involve giving vast tracts of
crown land over to logging and mining interests. This could have a
devastating impact on bird habitat throughout the province. If you want
to have a voice in this process the time to get involved is now, before
it is too late. If you want to learn more about this check out the
Partnership for Public Lands website at: www.ontarionature.org.
Consider attending the Portage for Wilderness rally at Queens Park on
October 24th, 1998, at 12:00 p.m.
This morning (Sept. 23) at Morningside Park, I saw five species of woodpecker, albeit only one individual of each. The Sapsucker, Flicker, and Downy were all in/around the clearing north of the second parking lot, while a Pileated and a Hairy were on the west side of the apple orchard. On the south side of the orchard were 5 Juncos (3 females and 2 males) - the first I've seen in the Toronto area this fall. Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, as well as White-throated Sparrows were scattered around the park. There was a single White-crowned Sparrow at the southeast corner of the Centenary Hospital parking lot. Warbler numbers have declined noticeably. Along the path north from the west end of the orchard, there were at least six female Black-throated Blue Warblers, moving around more like wrens than warblers. Other than that, I found only a single Yellowthroat and one Nashville. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
September 20, 1998 Wednesday, Soup Harbour had HORNED GREBES, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, GREAT BLUE HERON, CANADA GOOSE, MALLARD, 100+ scaup species and 15 WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. There were 30 of the latter species at Point Traverse along with 3 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, 3 TURKEY VULTURE, 3 NORTHERN HARRIER, 2 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 5 RED-TAILED HAWK, 2 BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, 8 AMERICAN KESTREL, and 1 COMMON MOORHEN There were 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER at Sandbanks Provincial Park. Albert Boisvert, birding in the county, also chalked up GREATER YELLOWLEGS, CASPIAN TERN, BELTED KINGFISHER (2), YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, and GRAY CATBIRD (2). There was a nice flock of 100+ AMERICAN PIPITS along County Road 1, along with CEDAR WAXWINGS, PALM WARBLERS (3) BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, and OVENBIRDalso being found. Also seen during the day on his travels through the county were CHIPPING SPARROW, FIELD SPARROW, SONG SPARROW and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.
There were at least three SCREECH OWLS calling at 4:30 a.m. this morning at Big Island. There is a GREAT HORNED OWL calling at Northport, and the LONG-EARED OWL is still present in the Consecon area. On Thursday, bird bander Joanne Dewey caught a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH in her nets north of Picton
along with a few MAGNOLIA WARBLERS and a BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. On Friday there were YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, 1 BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, and a TENNESSEE WARBLER at Green Point . Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area yesterday had a few things to offer. Observer John Blaney managed to find several GREAT BLUE HERONS, GREEN HERON, NORTHERN
HARRIER, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, TURKEY VULTURE, RUFFED GROUSE, WILD TURKEY (5), BELTED KINGFISHER, NORTHERN FLICKER, EASTERN WOOD PEWEE, RED-EYED VIREO, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, AMERICAN PIPIT, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, and SCARLET TANAGER. Waterfowl were a little scarce. There were three PIED-BILLED GREBES, a couple of BLUE-WINGED TEALS and several WOOD DUCKS. At least eight COMMON SNIPE loafed on logs and stumps. Among the numerous Kingston area sightings reported this past week were HUDSONIAN GODWIT, and 3 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS at Amherst Island, and a RUDDY DUCK at the Amherstview Sewage Lagoons.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 27th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
I've been getting fleeting glimpses of Pileated Woodpeckers at Ratray Marsh since April. Today I had an extended close range look at a female Pileated (black forehead). By coincidence, last week I was chatting with a couple who had just filmed a Pileated out on the shingle bar at Ratray using a VCR with playback monitor. Their bird was a male (red forehead and red mustasche strip). So the question is are these birds paired? Was there any signs of a nesting? Anyone have any ideas?
In Reply to: Update on Bronte's Red-necked Grebe posted by Gavin Edmondstone on September 19, 1998 at 21:21:21:
not earth shattering but we saw American Pipits on the outer harbour breakwall this afternoon. Bronte Grebes were well behaved.
The two young chicks are growing rapidly. The parents are
continuing to incubate one egg. Other grebe news from Shoreacres in Burlington: An Eared
Grebe was found there today amongst 4 Horneed Grebes and
many Red-neckeds.
The Discovery Channel is noted for outstanding nature films and documentaries. The following programs may be of interest
to you. Times given are Ontario times.
Please note that these are only a small sample of the programs that air on the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel
Program Guides are available free of charge and are mailed out on a quarterly basis. Contact the Discovery Channel at
(800) 370-2332, or e-mail: comments@discovery.ca Don Davis
Secretary/Treasurer
The Friends of Presqu'ile Park
-----------------------------------
PRESQU'ILE NEEDS 14 KEEN NATURE LOVERS!!! Help us inaugurate the new Presqu'ile Nature Education and Research Courses On the weekend of October 24-25, 1998, Presqu'ile will offer its first residential work-study course.
These new courses are designed to inform, educate and train participants in the awareness and the
appreciation of the Park's rich biodiversity. For the seasoned for first time visitor to Presqu'ile, these
courses offer the next level of involvement beyond day walks with Park naturalists. These courses will
provide amateur and specialist nature lovers with the facilities, equipment and expert naturalists to
develop areas of nature interest. Participants will also assist in ecology projects being developed by
Park staff. No specialized training is needed to take part; you will meet others with similar interests and become a
resource person for the Park. Your involvement will help Park managers with decisions about
Presqu'ile's future. Our first course will enable you to understand deer biology and population management including the
systems in place to monitor the number of deer in Presqu'ile. You will observe the rutting season and
will help Park staff to prepare deer drive lines for the deer drive that occurs in late November. The
Course will be led by Don Tyerman, Biodiversity Specialist. The program commences Saturday morning, October 24, and concludes Sunday afternoon. All
catered meals, instructors, equipment and literature are provided in the cost. You may choose to stay
in the Park in your tent or camper, or we will arrange bed and breakfast accommodations. The all-inclusive fee will be $140.00 (including campsite fee). Additional charges will apply for bed
and breakfast accommodation. Course size is limited and requires a minimum enrollment. Contact the Park Office for a detailed brochure: (613) 475-4324 Don Davis
Toronto, ON Secretary/Treasurer
The Friends of Presqu'ile Park www.friendsofpresqu'ile.on.ca
This morning at the Humber Marshes I saw a Great Egret. It was in the easternmost of the ponds on the northeast side of the Humber River, near the east shore. Late last week this bird was apparently further south, visible from the Queensway. Interestingly I've seen a single Great Egret at this spot for three years in a row now, always in late August or early September. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
The Toronto Ornithological Club is offering the following
series of Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks. These outings are aimed at the intermediate birder, but
beginners are also welcome. They are free to the public. 1) "Shorebirds & Other Migrants" at the Leslie St. Spit Date: Saturday, September 19, 1998 Time: 8:00 a.m.(all day) Leader: Norm Murr Meet at the foot of Leslie St. Bring a lunch.
2) "Late Migration" at the Toronto Islands Date: Saturday, October 10, 1998 Time: 8:00 a.m. (all day) Leader: Bob Yukich Meet at the Toronto Islands ferry docks at the foot of Bay
St. to catch the 8:15 a.m. ferry to Hanlan's Point. Bring
a lunch.
3) "Waterfowl" at the West Toronto Lakeshore or Beyond Date: Saturday, December 5, 1998 Time: 8:30 a.m. (all day) Leader: Jean Iron Meet in the parking lot at Humber Bay Park east. Bring a
lunch. Car pool if necessary.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
September 13, 1998 Hawks were the feature of this past week in the Quinte area. On Wednesday, Albert Boisvert, Sid Hadlington and Jim Taylor (of Nova Scotia) were birding Prince Edward County and found 8 TURKEY VULTURES, 1 OSPREY, 11 NORTHERN HARRIER, 37 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 9 RED-TAILED HAWKS, and 71 AMERICAN KESTREL . There were 22 kestrels alone on Salmon Pt. Rd. and 16 at Pt. Petre. The majority though were on the west side of the county. There were so many SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS & AMERICAN KESTRELS cruising through the trees at head level that very few other birds were seen. On Thursday, Point Petre had 6 NORTHERN HARRIERS, about 20 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and 10 AMERICAN KESTRELS. The high numbers of AMERICAN KESTRELS seen last week echo similar observations throughout the county by other observers. Point Petre which can be very productive during the fall migration also had on Thursday, SWAINSON THRUSH, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW according to observer David Bree. He also noted between 50-75 MONARCH BUTTERFLIES, not bad for such a down year for them and couple of hundred COMMON GREEN DARNER DRAGONFLIES. Today at Point Petre, Yvette and David Bree tallied an immature BALD EAGLE,
NORTHERN HARRIERS, 3 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS,
2 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER, 1 NASHVILLE WARBLER, 4 PALM WARBLERS, 2 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK, CEDAR WAXWINGS, and FIELD SPARROWS. There were BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER at the corner of Camper's Beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park last week, along with two WHIMBRELS in a field near Dunes Beach on Friday. Today, at Camper's Beach, there were 1 LEAST SANDPIPER,
1 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, 23 SANDERLINGS, 2 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 1 LITTLE GULL, and 8 BONAPARTE'S GULLS. Albert Boisvert and Sid Hadlington had a great day at Presqu'ile Provincial Park on Tuesday with NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WIGEON, REDHEAD, BALD EAGLE(3), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK(10), AMERICAN KESTREL, MERLIN, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, RUDDY TURNSTONE(5), SANDERLING, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET(2), and AMERICAN PIPIT(12), being chalked up. Last weekend, bird bander Joanne Dewey of Picton banded 2 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS, 1 CANADA WARBLER, 4 MAGNOLIA WARBLER, 7 NASHVILLE WARBLER, 1 BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, 3 CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, 2 AMERICAN REDSTARTS, 3 OVENBIRDS, 3 RED-EYED VIREOS 1 SWAINSON'S THRUSH, 1 VEERY, and on the 6th, 2 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS, 7 MAGNOLIA WARBLERS, 3 CANADA WARBLERS, 1 LEAST FLYCATCHER, all in her own backyard! There was an eagle spotted at Northport on Thursday, but its identity was not determined.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 20th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Large Kestrel Migration? posted by Tim Pirk on September 08, 1998 at 12:07:30:
Dear Tim, Yes, it sounds to me like all the birds you
describe were part of a large movement of hawks
taking advantage of Monday's light northwest winds. At the High Park hawk watch yesterday (Monday) 372
American Kestrels were observed which was a
one-day record for this location. On Friday, in
similar conditions, 540 American Ketrels were
observed over the Cranberry Marsh hawk watch, an
all-time single-site high count for the entire
Toronto Region. It would appear American Kestrels may have had an
excellent breeding season this year.
What a great morning of Hawk watching. The birds were flying in large
volumes from sun up till 1pm when then rain set in. A total of 3275 birds
recorded at the Cranberry Hawk watch between 9 am and 1 pm. Raptors
consisted of 1 Turkey Vulture, 5 Ospreys, 4 Bald Eagles ( 2 1st year, 1 2nd
yr. and 1 adult), 18 Northern Harriers, 617 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 15
Cooper's Hawks, 3 unidentified Buteos, 2336 Broad-winged hawks, 25
red-tailed hawks, 207 American Kestrels, 2 Merlins, and 1 immature
Peregrine Falcon. Other species seen there today include 7 Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds, 1 Eastern Kingbird, 2 Common Nighthawks, 3 Common Loons,
Black-bellied Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Northern Shovelers, and Northern
Pintails. Also hundreds of Monarchs were being blown south by the strong
winds. Tyler
On Labour Day Monday, while I was watching the CNE Air Show on the Toronto waterfront, I was amazed by the number of Kestrels flying around. There was rarely a time when at least one of these beautiful falcons was overhead, and often three or four at a time were chasing dragonflies over the crowd. What I would like to know is, were all of these birds migrants (they always seemed to be flying from east to west and at varying heights) or just local birds feeding? I didn't see any eastward return movement.
The only other hawk I saw was a large juvenile Sharp-shinned, which chased a few Starlings around some trees nearby and then circled up to a great height and headed south out across the lake.
As I final note, I first noticed the Kestrel movement during the flight display by the F-16 "Falcon" fighter. A neat coincidence!
September 7, 1998 PLEASE HELP PRESERVE AND PROTECT PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK - YOUR HELP
AND SUPPORT IS REQUESTED Presqu'ile Provincial Park is Ontario's 5th oldest and 6th most heavily used provincial park. It is an
ecological gem. A 920 hectare peninsula consisting of a long sand tombolo joining a limestone island to
the mainland. It is renowned for its biodiversity. Besides its importance for monarch butterflies and
others (over 52 species), over 319 species of birds have been seen here. The two islands - Gull and
High Bluff - are one of the largest colonial waterbird nesting sites on the Great Lakes. In the park are
found provincially and nationally rare plant species. The park also offers outstanding camping and
recreational opportunities and has a remarkable cultural history. The University of Waterloo has a
research station in the park. Since 1979, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has been trying to finalize a management plan,
that would preserve and protect the park, establish what activities are appropriate in the park and
establish a 20 year plan for the protection of the park. However, the plan has started and stopped over
many years because the politicians are reluctant about making a decision about the annual waterfowl
hunt - a most unpopular park activity and politically-sensitive issue. As for my part, I have been campaigning for the past 6 years for the plan to be completed. The
current Ontario government deserves credit for finally getting the process on track, for hiring a
planning consultant, holding public consultation meetings AND SPENDING TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF DOLLARS to get the process completed. NOW..... THE PROCESS IS STALLED AND IN
DANGER OF BEING ABANDONED! Anonymous informants tell me that this is a very real
possibility and may happen shortly. Again, as in 1986, we are at the crossroads. In December 1997, the Ministry of Natural Resources indicated by letter that the plan would be
completed "early in the new year". In April 1998, the Minister told this writer that the plan would be
"ready soon". I AM NOT PREPARED TO LET THIS HAPPEN! I know I have the support of the local,
provincial, national and international environmental community. I recall back in 1992 the late Dr.
Roger Tory Peterson telling me just how important Presqu'ile was for the butterfly and bird migration,
as well as for it's nesting habitats (third highest species total in the province). For Presqu'ile is also an
ecological island, surrounded on all fronts by civilization and development. At the moment, international designations pending for the park include Reserve Site (International
Network of Monarch Butterfly Reserves, Important Bird Area, Ramsar Site (internationally important
for waterfowl, and Regional Site (Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network). I respectfully request your support in the form of a letter - no matter how long or short - urging the
completion of the park management plan for Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Quite literally, the draft plan
is sitting on the desk of the Minister of Natural Resources - to be released when he decides to do so.
There is no further need for consultation. The Ontario Parks Board of Directors was consulted about
the duck hunting issue, and Chair Frank Miller submitted his recommendations to the Minister a long
time ago. So please send your letter, with a copy to this writer, to the following persons: Honourable John C. Snobelen, Minister of Natural Resources: john_snobelen@ontla.ola.org
or telephone (416) 314-2301 Dr. Doug Galt, Member of Parliament, Northumberland Riding - douggalt@eagle.ca
(or telephone 1-800-263-3980, or (905) 372-400 (Cobourg) or (416) 314-6835 (Toronto) Given the urgency of the situation, I would ask that you let your friends and colleagues know about
the present situation and ask them to contact Mr. Snobelen and Dr. Galt. Decribe your experiences in
the park and what this remarkable ecosystem means to you. Thank you, in advance, for your support. Over the next few days, copies of this letter will be sent to
thousands of individuals and organizations across North American and abroad. Your letter will make a
difference! Don Davis
Toronto, ON P.S. Fourteen shorebird species were seen in the park this past weekend, including buff-breasted and
Bairds. A black-backed woodpecker was reported in late August. Also, a major monarch butterfly
movement was reported yesterday through the park.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
September 06, 1998 The bird migration in Prince Edward County and the Quinte area continues with a number of interesting sightings being tallied. This past week, various observers at Prince Edward Point recorded NASHVILLE WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, PINE WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER and MOURNING WARBLER. Albert Boisvert birding in the same area on Tuesday also found 10 RED-NECKED GREBES. There were 20 HORNED GREBES, 40 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, AND 7 COMMON MERGANSERS in Soup Harbour. West Lake had 2 PIED-BILLED GREBE. Also while birding in the county, he found EASTERN WOOD PEWEE, LEAST FLYCATCHER, EASTERN PHOEBE, EASTERN KINGBIRD and 5 RED-EYED VIREO. (There were 3 WARBLING VIREOS in full song at the Quinte Conservation Area all last week) Albert Boisvert's trip also chalked up NORTHERN HARRIER, COOPER'S HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK and 14 AMERICAN KESTRELS. These hawks were also seen at Prince Edward Point last week along with SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, MERLIN and OSPREY. Prince Edward Point last week also had LITTLE GULLS and a single OLDSQUAW. There was a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at Cobourg last week, along with LESSER YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, COMMON SNIPE, and BAIRD'S SANDPIPER. Birding at the Amherstview Sewage Lagoons is declining with only 10 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 6 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS and two LESSER YELLOWLEGS present with the more common KILLDEER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER. In Frankford, a single OSPREY was perched
on a high branch on a tree near the water on the west side of the river near the bridge (close to the old nesting platform). A few minutes later as observer Cheryl Mound approached this year's nesting site at the back of the INVAR plant, two ospreys left the nesting platform, the smaller one giving the alarm call and five minutes later one was seen working about 20 feet over the water just north of the high tension hydro waters. She also reported an early female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER along the first trail leading from Paxton Road at Presqu'ile Park on August 23rd. According to Birds of Presqu'ile, the previous earliest ever date was September 14, and Sept. 18 for Kingston. At this time of the year there are plenty of good spots for observing fall birds. In Belleville, the East Bayshore Trail produced
GREAT BLUE HERON, 10 CORMORANTS, COMMON
TERNS, KILLDEER, MALLARDS, CANADA GEESE, SONG SPARROWS and other birds for Belleville area resident Cheryl Mound. She also found a good spot at Kingston's Ambassador Hotel where the marsh there produced 14 species including NORTHERN HARRIER, MALLARDS, CANADA GEESE, and an immature GREAT BLUE HERON. RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS are still being seen in the area and are expected to remain for at least another month. Residents at Ivanhoe had six at their feeder a short time ago. So don't take the feeder down too soon. The remaining females and young of the year will appreciate the extra food preparatory to their journey south. SCREECH OWLS are still being heard in a woods at Big Island, and a resident at Consecon Lake had a LONG-EARED OWL calling one evening last week.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 13th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Yet another Red-necked Grebe hatched posted by Gavin Edmondstone on September 02, 1998 at 20:15:49:
There are now at least two very young chicks.
Rattray Marsh has MUD !!! and shorebirds for the first time almost three years. The blockage at the outlet broke sometime in the last two weeks dropping water levels by maybe two feet. I now have something to scope during lunch hour. I need Broad-billed for my Rattray list. Today without scope I saw 6 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher, and 1 Pectoral Sandpiper. A Merlin was finishing its lunch as I arrived and preceded to buzz 3 phalaropes and maybe a Spotted Sandpiper about 100 yards off shore. The Merlin perched on one of the dead poplar along the shingle beach dropped down to about 3 feet off the water surface to make its attack. A phalarope avoided the Merlin by dipping below the surface. Another took flight and was chased by the Merlin but managed to dodge the predator - Real life drama. This was happening at a distance but my guess as to species is Red-necked and likely juvenile (rufous tones) but we are talking eight power and 100 yards. I noticed the Spotted in the midst of the free for all and am wondering if it was on the water in an attempt to avoid the Merlin. Time to read AC Bent. BTW The Pileated Woodpecker was seen again this morning along the boardwalk behind the knoll at Rattray. (not by me)
Humber Bay East this morning had a great variety of species - 47 in total. Shorebird numbers have declined slightly, but the common species were still there: Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser & Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, and Pectoral Sandpiper. All of these were on the east side of the Mimico delta, just south of where the new footbridge is being installed. In the same area were six species of ducks: Mallard, Black, Gadwall, Am. Wigeon, Shoveler, and Green-winged Teal. The female C. Goldeneye was in the 'Feeding Bay' as usual, but for once the male Scaup was not with her. A female Bufflehead was in the second bay east of the parking lot. Over that bay and the entire east end of the peninsula was a whirling flock of swallows and swifts - at least 50 Barn Swallows and 8 Chimney Swifts, plus a few Bank and Rough-winged Swallows. Also in this area was a Gnatcatcher - the first I have seen at Humber Bay. Along the southwest shore of the first bay east of the parking lot, there were 3 Palm, 2 Wilson's, and 1 Magnolia Warbler, as well as a Phoebe and 2 Kingbirds. A Sharp-shinned Hawk also flew overhead. On the south shore of the second bay I found an odd sparrow with a rather strong buffy tone - especially over the head and breast. It was extremely reclusive and I had a hard time getting a good look at it. What I was able to observe was that it had a dark stripe behind the eye, with a pale grayish-buff supercilium above it. The crown was streaked with several shades of brown. The breast was fairly strongly streaked on the sides, but I never saw the bird from the front, so I don't know whether it was streaked there, and if so whether it had a breast spot or not. The primaries were rust-tinged. In size it was slightly smaller than a Song Sparrow. After consulting J.D. Rising's "Sparrows of the United States and Canada" I've tentatively identified it as a juvenile Savannah Sparrow, but I'm not yet convinced - I've seen many Savannah Sparrows and none have looked anything like this. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has seen this bird, or has any suggestions as to what it might be. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
We just returned from a quick walk to Bronte Harbour to
visit the grebes. An adult sitting on the tire nest
had at least one very young chick. All three of the
older chicks have left.
A birding friend tells me there were warblers massing in Algonquin
Park this past weekend on Lake of 2 Rivers Trail. Warblers in every
bush and tree.
The Toronto Ornithological Club (T.O.C.) is pleased to
announce a special meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 1998.
Admission is free and all interested persons are welcome
to attend. Alvaro Jaramillo (a long-time T.O.C. member) will be back in
Toronto from California to give a lecture on the Birds of
Chile. Fulfilling a life-long dream, Alvaro is currently
working on a field guide to the birds of Chile in
conjunction with Ontario artists Peter Burke and David
Beadle. Alvaro & Peter have also recently finished their
field guide to the Icterinae (New World Blackbirds) as part
of the Helm series of field guides. The lecture will be in Room 432 of the Ramsay Wright
Zoological Building (southwest corner of St. George St. &
Harbord St.) on Tuesday, September 8, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. Those who would like to have a sneak preview of both of
Alvaro's books can do so at his excellent web site which
can be found at: http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro Alvaro was born in Chile and has done extensive field work
and tour leading there. This should be an extraordinary
evening presentation - hope to see you there!
In Reply to: Second and Cranberry marsh August 31 1998 posted by Tyler Hoar on August 31, 1998 at 15:01:57:
Dear Tyler, Sounds like you had a wonderful day at Oshawa 2nd
Marsh. I was wondering if maybe you might have a more
precise count of Blue-winged Teal in your day's
notes. The reason I ask is that after checking
many pertinent references and the Toronto
Ornithological Club's database it would appear
that anything close to 500 Blue-winged Teal would
represent an all-time single location peak count
for the entire Toronto checklist area (Halton,
Peel, Toronto R.M., York, Durham). Due to the significance of the numbers you found
staging it would be desirable to have as precise
a figure as can be provided.
The past week has been very exciting in Northumberland County,
with many migrating passerines and shorebirds. I have seen
21 species of warblers, including NORTHERN PARULA, MOURNING,
PALM, BLACKPOLL, WILSON'S and CANADA. The best place, as
usual, has been Presqu'ile. The shorebirds at Presqu'ile have
also been good, with WILSON PHALAROPE, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER being the highlights. A MERLIN was
scaring the shorebirds on Sunday. An early COMMON GOLDENEYE was
offshore in Port Hope last Friday (Aug. 28). On Saturday at dusk,
at least 8 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were flying over Cobourg Harbour. Good Birding.
In Reply to: Godwits at Cootes Paradise posted by Graham Nord on August 30, 1998 at 13:30:10:
I have heard that these four godwits have
subsequently all been identified as Hudsonian
Godwits and were not present the following day.
Well after having a quiet morning at Bonniebrae point, with just Greater Black-backed gulls migrating west I decided to check out the second marsh. Just off the mouth of the Marsh there was the local Red-throated Loon that has been inhabiting the Bonniebrae pt to Darlington Provincial park area for the last while. As I was counting shorebirds, they exploded up from the mudflats. My eyes looked up to see an immature Tundrius peregrine Falcon diving down on a flock of shorebirds. I watched this bird chase flocks around the marsh then over to Darlington and back at least three times. During a period of peregrine absence I found a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on a mudflat in the north central part of the marsh. It and all shorebirds in the marsh where still moving around and very nervous with the Peregrine around. Other shorebirds seen were: Killdeer 1, Semi-palmated Plover 6, Spotted sandpiper 2, Pectorals 19, Least 16, Solitary 1, Semipalmated sandpipers 32, Lesser Yellowlegs 9, Greater Yellowlegs 1. I was also amazed at the 2000+ ducks on the marsh. They consisted of 700+ mallards, 500+ Blue-winged Teal, 86 Green-winged teal, 33 northern Shovelers, 7 Wood Ducks, 65 Black Ducks, 15 American Widgeon, 87 Gadwalls, and 3 Ring-necked Ducks. I also noticed small numbers of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Sharp-shinned hawks, and American kestrels. I showed up at Cranberry Marsh at 11:30 and joined the hawk watchers. In the two hours I was there, we saw 8 Northern Harriers, 75 kestrels, 47 Sharp-shinned, 1 Coopers, 2 Osprey, 2 Red-tailed hawks and 2 Common Nighthawks. Also at Cranberry where American widgeon 3, Ruddy Duck 1, Northern Shoveler 39 among the common waterfowl. Tyler Hoar
thoar@durham.net
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
August 30, 1998 Walter Frey says one of the better places in Prince Edward County to find birds is right in his own backyard overlooking the Marsh Creek Valley of Picton. Late last Sunday afternoon, he
watched 4 NORTHERN FLICKERS noisily chase a HAIRY WOODPECKER. And then suddenly the woods were alive with birdlife including, 10 NORTHERN ORIOLE, 8 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, 6 CEDAR WAXWINGS, 2 SCARLET TANAGER, 2 RED-EYED VIREO, 1 WARBLING VIREO, 2 EASTERN PHOEBE and 1 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. But the highlight, he said, turned out to be the warblers: 2 BLACK AND WHITE, 4 CHESTNUT-SIDED, 1 MAGNOLIA, 5 BLACKBURNIAN, 2 BLACK-THROATED GREEN, 1 TENNESSEE and 2 NASHVILLE. There were lots of warblers about too at Prince Edward Point last Sunday when 17 species were recorded by members of the Kingston Field Naturalists, including MOURNING, CANADA, WILSON'S, BAY-BREASTED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS. A LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and MERLINS were also recorded. There was a SCREECH OWL calling at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning on Big Island. Albert Boisvert was at Presqu'ile Provincial Park last Sunday and tallied 1 RED KNOT, 2 RUDDY TURNSTONES, 10 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SANDERLING, LEAST SANDPIPER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. He also found 2 AMERICAN REDSTARTS, 1 MAGNOLIA WARBLER and one YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, along with GRAY CATBIRD and BALTIMORE ORIOLE. By mid-week there were still good numbers of BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and an AMERICAN AVOCET on Tuesday. A BALD EAGLE and a PEREGRINE FALCON had also been seen there during the week. The Amherstview Sewage Lagoons had a WESTERN SANDPIPER on August 22nd. Also present there were 20 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 40 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, 20 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, as well as BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER and KILLDEER. It was quiet as far as bird song goes at Prince Edward Point on Wednesday, but sharp eyes from observers picked up 3 COMMON LOONS, 1 HORNED GREBE and 5 RED-NECKED GREBE, all seen a few miles west of Point Traverse in Prince Edward Bay. Also seen were NORTHERN HARRIER (2), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (2), RED-TAILED HAWK, and AMERICAN KESTREL (3). Also seen at Prince Edward Point were EASTERN WOOD PEWEE (2), GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, GRAY CATBIRD, CEDAR WAXWING, RED-EYED VIREO (5), YELLOW WARBLER (2) CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER (3), MAGNOLIA WARBLER (10+) , BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER (1), BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER (2), PALM WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (8), AMERICAN REDSTART (6), and OVENBIRD. Lori and Doug Newfield, avid birders and frequent visitors to the HR Frink Centre north of Belleville came across a dead AMERICAN BITTERN on Tuesday while crossing the Wetland Ecology Boardwalk. The bird was dangling from a weather crack in one of the uprights that support the railing. It is unknown how the bird got its leg hopelessly wedged in the crack but is believed to be related in part to a severe series of thunderstorms and wind that passed through the Quinte area late Monday afternoon. During that storm a large area of mammatus clouds hung suspended over the Quinte area for two hours, a phenomenon usually associated with turbulent weather and tornados, and a cloud formation never before seen in eastern Ontario.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 6th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
I visited Cootes Paradise in Hamilton on Sat. morning,
Aug. 29 to see the Phalaropes. They may have still been
there however I did not see them. I did see 3 Marbled Godwits
with one Hudsonian Godwit. They were visible from the viewing
platform on the marsh boardwalk. To get there, use the RBG
entrance on Old Guelph Rd. and enter the Captain Coote trail
at the small orchard by the nature interpretive centre. Follow the trail
past Bulls Point and watch for the sign for the Marsh Boardwalk.
It's a long walk and I found it to be not very well marked
in some areas, but a map obtained from the main entrance
will help those not familiar with the area.
The Spit was incredibly quiet today - in fact except for the hot sun and the leaves on the trees, it felt more like mid-October than late August. Warblers and shorebirds were very scarce - just 2 Yellowthroats along the causeway, and a few Killdeer with a Semipalmated Plover and a Lesser Yellowlegs north of Peninsula B. The most surprising finds of the day were 4 Canvasbacks (1 male, 3 females) at the north end of the ponds east of the road, and 2 Oldsquaw east of the causeway. One Bonaparte's Gull flew over the causeway, and 2 Common and 3 Caspian Terns were still lingering. Closer to the base there was an immature Harrier, and a female Kestrel, while out near the bridge there was a female Sharp-shinned Hawk.
I go away to Point Pelee and because of the biting flies I
stay out of the woods, so I don't see any birds. However on
the way home, I saw five Turkey Vultures heading in that
direction. Then, I come home to Toronto and see a female
Ruby-throated Hummingbird in my own backyard on Aug. 29
(Finch-Bathurst area). As they say, "the grass is always
greener..." Also on the 29th, my yard was full of Cardinals,
Goldfinches, Chickadees, a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker,
and our little red squirrel. Leslie Kinrys
In Reply to: Large flight of Common Nighthawks - Keele & Bloor - 25 Aug./98 posted by Glenn Coady on August 26, 1998 at 16:38:19:
Last evening numbers of Common Nighthawks over
High Park (this time I monitored from the very
open area between the two baseball diamonds in
the park) were much lower (as on Monday night)
with 42 birds observed. Just south of the larger baseball diamond I
flushed a Black-billed Cuckoo from a tree.
For the first time today I visited the Mountsberg Conservation Area, and was highly impressed by the park, as well as the staff and facilities. In fact, I regret having waited so long to come here. In the reservoir, there were both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, as well as Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, and Least Sandpiper. The mudflats actually look very inviting, and I would be very surprised if more species don't turn up here. Among the hundreds of ducks there were a handful of American Wigeon and Blue-winged Teal, plus a couple of Pied-billed Grebes. A pair of Ospreys nested on a platform in the reservoir this summer, but did not raise any young (eggs presumed to be infertile) and are only seen sporadically now - I missed them yesterday. I didn't have time to walk any of the longer trails to check for warblers, but was told that several species have been seen in recent days, including Golden-winged. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
August 25 1998
The heavy surf has all but washed away all the algae on the beach. Just some spotted Sandpipers and 2 Sanderlings. With lack of shorebirds I decided to go hunt for warblers in the creek valley and the Siberian Elms near the park store. 14 species of Warblers observed: Blue-winged-1, American Redstart-13, Chestnut-sided 5, magnolia 8, Black and White 3, Bay-breasted 3, Blackpoll 1, Black-throated Blue 3, Wilson's 1, Canada 3, Blackburnian 1, Yellow-rumped 1, Connecticut 1.Tennessee 2. Vireos: Red-eyed 13, Philadelphia 1. Also seen 2 Green Herons, 1 Scarlet Tanager, and 18 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The Merlin continues to be seen every eveing around after 7/7:30 pm on the park office antenna. Tyler Hoar
thoar@durham.net
Last night, Aug. 25, 1998, I witnessed quite an impressive
flight of 737 Common Nighthawks over the intersection of
Keele St.& Bloor St. W. between 5:20 & 8:50 p.m. The flight included one three minute stretch (6:26 - 6:29)
in which 106 birds passed, and at 6:59 a brief period when
65 birds were overhead simultaneously. Fewer than 100 birds
appeared to be doing any feeding, the vast majority just
flying through quickly from northeast to southwest. I did counts as ten minute intervals as follows: e.g. 1720-1730 = 5:20 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. 1720-1730 - 18; 1730-1740 - 21; 1740-1750 - 14; 1750-1800
- 29; 1800-1810 - 30; 1810-1820 - 44; 1820-1830 - 192 (!);
1830-1840 - 61; 1840-1850 - 42; 1850-1900 - 174; 1900-1910
- 33; 1910-1920 - 19; 1920-1930 - 14; 1930-1940 - 13; 1940-
1950 - 10; 1950-2000 - 12; 2000-2010 - 4; 2010-2020 - 6;
2020-2030 - 1 (last bird @ 2028); 2030-2040 - 0; 2040-2050
- 0 The Toronto Ornithological Club's database contains a record
of a flight of 800 birds one August 26th and there is
reference in the literature by of a flight of upwards of
1000 birds on August 30, 1817. Dates of peak fights can vary
by up two two weeks from year to year but peak flights such
as this tend to occur in clusters each year using data from
Toronto. Experience has taught me that peak flights often occur on
consecutive evenings if conditions are right so I shall
head out now to count this evening.
Monday evening I went to Hawk Hill and Grenadier Pond to
try to observe any Common Nighthawk migration. As a bank of
storm clouds moved in over the park, numbers of Common
Nighthawks were low at 33. Despite low numbers of nighthawks there were 52 Chimney
Swifts, 18 Purple Martins (which surprised me - most having
already left), 2 Soras, 3 Virginia Rails, and I saw a flock
of about 20 Blue Jays mobbing an Eastern Screech-Owl near
the north end of Grenadier Pond at dusk.
In Reply to: Where are Tollgate Ponds? posted by John Kormendy on August 25, 1998 at 18:38:58:
The Tollgate Ponds are at the east end of the Burlington Bay (Hamilton harbour) south of the Burlington skyway bridge.. They can be viewed from the service road that runs between the bay and the QE.
The name comes from the fact that the tollgates for the bridge when it was a toll bridge use to be situated at this location on the QE.
This morning at Humber Bay I saw 10 species of shorebird. These were: Killdeer (14), Least Sandpiper (6), Semipalmated Sandpiper (3), Spotted Sandpiper (1), Lesser Yellowlegs (2), Greater Yellowlegs (3), Stilt Sandpiper (1), Short-billed Dowitcher (1), Pectoral Sandpiper (4), and Semipalmated Plover (3). The Stilt Sandpiper and Dowticher are species I have never before seen at Humber Bay. Also in the area this morning were 6 Shovelers (all female), 2 Wigeons (also female), and the usual two odd ducks (female Goldeneye and male Scaup) in the feeding bay. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
I would be very grateful if someone would post directions to
Tollgate Ponds. Many thanks, John Kormendy
I just read a report of a SPOTTED REDSHANK in Ottawa last
Friday, Aug. 21. It was apparently not found on Saturday.
I was wondering if anyone had heard a recent report of its
presence or absence.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
August 23, 1998 Signs of the fall season are becoming even more pronounced as numbers of TREE SWALLOWS increase on the utility wires, and other species increase in population as well. The mysterious "flocks of ducks" reported last week from the western end of the Bay of Quinte, have turned out to be massive numbers of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS which are being observed daily flying toward Carrying Place and over Weller's Bay. One was found late this afternoon in Weller's Bay near Blakely's Road with its leg hopelessly anchored on to something below the surface of the water. Efforts by a local resident were to take place this evening to free the bird. Cheryl Mound found the Frink Centre, near Plainfield rather quiet yesterday, but managed to find an AMERICAN BITTERN, immature VIRGINIA RAIL, and a flock of well over 2000 TREE SWALLOWS in wetlands off the marsh boardwalk. Later in the
day at Marble Point in Crowe Valley near Marmora a mature and
immature BROWN THRASHER and 9 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS flying high at dusk were found. Over a week ago, she found an immature YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER in her rose bushes and YELLOW WARBLERS seen or heard frequently in wetlands and woods near HWY 62 about 10 miles north of 401. A follow-up to the OSPREY report of last week, they are reported to have nested and immature birds seen frequently
in Frankford area this year along the railway trail behind the shoe factory. BALD EAGLES continue to be reported in the Quinte area. The latest report involved a sighting of an immature bird at South Bay last weekend. Even a plowing match and farm show can't stop a hawk from hunting over its chosen territory. A NORTHERN HARRIER quite oblivious to more than 11,000 people attending the Hastings Plowing Match and Farm Show at Springbrook, north of Stirling, continued to hunt for prey over what used to be a hay field on Wednesday. The bird was seen coming in from the south end of the tented complex, nonchalantly cruising down one of the long "streets" between the displays of farm machinery on one side and a mixture of farm feed dealers on the other side. It flew past the Quinte Conservation "Wetlands and Waterways" tent, and we would like to think it had something to do with the small fully equipped wetland and pond we created at the tent's entrance, complete with animals and birds, running water, fence and shrubs.
The field was returned to the resident hawk by Friday.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30th. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
Before the rain this morning on the beach at Darlington Provincial park there were Sandpipers: 43 least, 5 semipalmated, 2 bairds, 14 spotted, 6 semipalmated plovers, 7 sanderlings. Raptors: 1 osprey (female), 1 northern harrier ( immature), 1 cooper's hawk 9 immature). Also 1 red-breasted merganser, 1 green heron. Last night again the ever reliable merlin was sitting on the office antenna at 7:30pm. Between rains I went to the Second marsh. Shorebirds: 14 short-billed dowitchers, 2 greater yellowlegs, 19 lesser yellowlegs, 9 solitary, 29 least, 17 semipalmated sandpipers, and 1 semipalmated plover.Waterfowl 9 mute swans,25 canada geese, 250+ mallards, 57 blue-winged teal, 8 green-winged teal, 11 blacks, 1 american widgeon, 7 gadwall and 2 northern shovelers Other species seen were 1 merlin, 5 moorhens, 1 green heron 1 bonapartes gull and approximately 500 cormorants. Tyler Hoar
thoar@durham.net
Mississauga
Common Nighthawk(Chordeiles minor) A dark cloudy morning today in Mississauga and all indication was towards a storm. Only 7 am and unusually dark, I thought those tough kids overslept. For a change it was pretty silent and serene around here. Then came this pleasant surprise. Hard to believe my eyes first but a Nighthawk was sleeping lengthwise on our backyard wooden fence about 4m away from the patio door. My wife would have taken it as part of the fence. I Brought my bino from car and moved back into the living room so as to focus on this goatsucker It was under obsevation for one full hour. There was no meaningful activity from this perhaps a first time visitor except looking at its doppy eyes slightly opening and closing. First I thought it was one of its two Poorwill cousins that come this far north from South America to breed . But no bristles on the sides of the mouth like them and the wings only slightly forked. The absence of white throat band and the presence of white margins at the wing tips, however, made me believe that it is this years product. Compared to other houses in this neighbourhood my backyard has more veggies and the ground is usually moist thus attracting a large number of mosqetoes and moths on which this youngster must have been perhaps feeding all nightlong. Not satisfied with this bird's inactivity I silently opened the patio door to know what this seeminly lifeless bird might do next. Sure enough, it took off against the dark sky. It is amazing how a small caprimulgid like this can have such a long jet aircraft like angled wings. Equally amazing is its ability to stay concealed. Good Birding, Ram Nambiar Mississauga.ONT
birder@echo-on.net
http://www.echo-on.net/~birder
The Starling with the Whimbrel bill has been seen again at the U of T
downtown campus. A number of us saw him yesterday along the
north-west side of the Sidney Smith building. It hadn't been
seen for many weeks, so we assumed it died, but he is back,
weird but healthy.
Humber Bay this morning had a wider variety of shorebirds than I've ever seen there before, with a total of 7 species. These were Killdeer (12), Spotted Sandpiper (3), Lesser & Greater Yellowlegs (2 each), Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper (2 each), and Pectoral Sandpiper (1). All of these birds were in the mud flats and shallow water just south of where the new footbridge is being built, and east of the islands that have been constructed between H.B. East and H.B. West. (I hope that makes sense...). Also in this area were 3 Green-winged Teal. Despite the construction going on all around them, the male Scaup and female Common Goldeneye are still in the Feeding Bay. I'm really amazed that the construction has not driven away more birds (although it's far from done - it will be interesting to observe changes in wintering duck populations here in comparison to past years). Over at Sam Smith, it was surprisingly quiet. There was a single Magnolia Warbler mixed in with the chickadees and robins in the northeast part of the park, but otherwise little of note with respect to passerines. In the marina bay, where certain areas were specially designed to attract shorebirds, there wasn't a single shorebird to be found - I suspect largely because water levels appear to be quite high here. The construction here has progressed more rapidly than that at Humber Bay. A large part of the road leading down to the parking lot has been moved - i.e. the old road has been dug up and a new one has been built. I'm not sure why this was necessary (other than to build the bus loop), but at least it looks like they've made an effort to preserve as many mature trees as possible. A month or two ago I reported that the south end of the creek, including the small wetland just north of the bike path, had been bulldozed. Fortunately, there was a reason behind these actions. The area has been redesigned so that the creek is dammed, forming a deep pool. Below that are two or three shallower cells, with scattered cattails and other wetland plants (and a surprising amount of purple loosestrife - I would have thought they would have taken this out when building this site). It of course looks a bit bare now, but I think it holds promise. Already today there was a Solitary Sandpiper near the east end of it. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
Hybrid Geese Purple Martin House Monday, 19th August, '98 Some of you must have encountered these two sibling hybrid geese somewhere along Toronto watersides. Yesterday they were grazing with the Canada close to the train stop No: 8, and the Purple Martin House along the 'Discovery Walk' of High Park's Grenadier Pond. By size,sound,colour and behaviour they were that close to the honkers. In the past I had photographed hybrids geese in Toronto whose origin I roughly figured out as, Canada X Snow G,
Canada X Swan G,
Canada X White Domestic G But I am not sure about these two siblings' parentage. One of the hybrids had white face(not the white chin straps of the honkers), white frontal patch , black bill with a trace of pink near the nostril, dark brown neck,thin white eye ring, pink legs. The other one had jet black bill and light yellow legs and no white frontal patch. The latter seems to be slightly smaller(an immature) in size than its sibling. I returned to High Park this morning and the flock I saw yesterday was nowhere to be seen. If any of you have ideas of these peculiar hybrids and made out their possible origin, please let me know. About Purple Martin House. I have been so fascinated by this house for few years now. Of the 24 rooms 13 were forcefully occupied by these streamlined beauties this year so as to raise their family. 11 were lost to the House sparrows. The sign placed on the tall post by Toronto Field Naturalists says that 'the Puple Martins return to this house from Brazil on 1st of April and start back on the 1Oth of August'. From what I have seen in the past, the Naturalists' dates were pretty accurate, + or - one or two days. Standing near the post and looking up at the 24 empty rooms yesterday I realized that I got to this location late this year. These large swallows had left 9 days ago for South America. Good Birding, Ram Nambiar
3368 Hargrove Rd
Mississauga. ONT birder@echo-on.net
http://www.echo-on.net/~birder
Sorry for the previous message - I left my computer "unattended"
for a moment and my younger brother thought it would be
funny to put that up. Flame away if you want.
fdjasf;lkasdhg;klaslgjna;
Today (19 Aug.) at the Gage's Creek mouth in Port Hope, there
was a WESTERN SANDPIPER in with the many SEMIPALMATED and
LEAST SANDPIPERS. Also present was a GREEN HERON.
For the first time in a few weeks, I wasn't able to find any Yellowlegs at Grenadier Pond this morning. There were however 8 Least Sandpipers, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, and 1 Solitary Sandpiper, in addition to the resident Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeers. Other birds in the area this morning included a Green-backed Heron and Great Blue Heron on the far shore, and two Caspian Terns patrolling the north end of Grenadier Pond.
Birding at Presqu'ile last Sunday (Aug. 16) was great, with
at least 12 shorebird species and many migrating passerines.
Highlights among the shorebirds included 3 RUDDY TURNSTONES,
a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER and a COMMON SNIPE along with many
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, LEAST,SEMIPAL and SPOTTED SANDPIPERS,
SEMIPAL and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS and a few SANDERLINGS. Some
of the passerine highlights were 2 BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHERS and
a BAY-BREASTED WARBLER at the lighthouse and a pair of female
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS near Beach 4.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
August 16, 1998 Quinte Conservation Area is still abuzz with birds if one takes the time to wander the two kilometres to the far north end of the property. There were EASTERN TOWHEES calling on Tuesday, along with WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and plenty of AMERICAN ROBINS, BLUE JAYS and CEDAR WAXWINGS. Birders from Baltimore, Maryland were in Prince Edward County recently and noted CEDAR WAXWINGS everywhere, a frequent comment from birders this summer. They also noted an abundance of YELLOW WARBLERS and SONG SPARROWS and several AMERICAN KESTREL and GREAT BLUE HERON.
The Waupoos marina breakwater had CASPIAN and COMMON TERNS, HERRING and RING-BILLED GULLS, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and a female COMMON MERGANSER. There was an immature BALD EAGLE on Monday, about 10 miles north of Belleville. Another was seen a week ago today over Bald Head Point in Weller's Bay. A solitary female OLDSQUAW was seen swimming in the channel between Bald Head Point and Barcovan Beach, obviously a non-breeding bird, as they have been seen before at Presqu'ile Park. Peter Vandenburgh at Prinyer's Cove has had a pair of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS coming to his feeder through most of the summer, and last week were seen with two young, also feeding at the feeder. There was an OSPREY sighted flying over the Quinte Skyway Bridge on Thursday. A report from Frankford revealed that the traditional pair of OSPREYS that has nested on the artificial platform beside the bridge failed to nest this year, although they were seen investigating the site earlier in the season. Meanwhile, the new platform at the Mueler residence off Massasauga Road in Prince Edward County was successful this summer. Several phone calls have come in to Quinte Conservation reporting "thousands of ducks and geese" congregating and flying over the western end of the Bay of Quinte near Carrying Place. Identity of these waterfowl has not been determined yet. A check there late this afternoon revealed nothing, but these waterfowl come and go constantly according to reports. As one e-mailer commented, "any way that they could have been northern migrants, or just more weird stuff in a weird year?" There is an Albino RED -TAILED HAWK ( all white including the tail) northeast of Campbellford, east of Petheridge Road. Swallows continue to gather in increasing numbers in the Quinte area preparatory to migrating. Meanwhile BARN SWALLOWS were still actively nesting today under the Moira River Bridge on Highway 37, north of Belleville. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER and BAIRD'S SANDPIPER were among the shorebirds seen this week at the Amherstview Sewage Lagoons. Others included 30 LEAST, 4 SEMIPALMATED, and 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 20 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and KILDEER. Amherst Island has BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, LEAST SANDPIPERS and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23rd. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
While visiting a cottage on Caledon Lake, a private lake
near Orangeville, I observed an adult bald eagle. I was in
a canoe late Saturday August 15,when it flew in around 6:30 pm.
It circled the lake and sat in a large pine tree for the
rest of the evening. I raced back to the cottage and set
up my scope so everyone could have a look. We had a terrific
view of the bird as it sat on an exposed branch It really
was an awsome sight, especially for some of my friends who
have never seen a bald eagle before. It was gone the next
morning. I wonder if this bird is an early migrant or
perhaps is local to the area.
Aug. 15,1998 It pays to have a 35-year-old apple tree in our backyard
Bathurst/Finch area). The Chickadees try to hide in holes
in the tree, as do the red squirrels. It also attracts
woodpeckers. This morning there was a Downy Woodpecker
(male)on the tree. Late in the afternoon, a male Hairy
Woodpecker showed up. He spent about 15 minutes pounding
away, sending pieces of bark flying. Yesterday, four American Golfinches were in my evergreen
eating the seeds out of the pinecones.
Leslie
While shorebirding in Hamilton this morning I got a tip
from a Hamilton birder about a possible immature Red-necked
Grebe at Shoracres (a.k.a. McNichol Estate) in Burlington.
That motivated me to stop for a look on the way home.
Sure enough in among the 30 Red-necked Grebes was a
juvenile still sporting a striped face. No doubt this is
the missing bird from the Bronte nest. A breeding plumaged
Horned Grebe was also present. Back at Bronte Harbour
incubation continues with the other two juveniles remaing
close to the nest.
Yesterday (Aug 13) I had several obvious migrants in High
Park including 7 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 18 Red-tailed Hawks,
1 Osprey, 1 Field Sparrow, 1 Hooded Merganser and a Black
Tern over Grenadier Pond (a species I seldom see in High
Park in recent years). I saw two of the juvenile Virginia Rails at the north end
of the pond. Two Eastern Screech-Owls were right off Ellis
Pk. Rd. just east on Wendigo Way north of the sediment pond.
In Reply to: Odd woodpecker behaviour posted by Andy on May 21, 1998 at 08:31:40:
My wife and I are avid birders and live on a canyon lot in San Diego , CA. We have lots of interesting birds stop by our feeders but for the first time in 7 years we have a flock of Acorn Woodpeckers eating peanuts (shell on) from a Scrub Jay feeder. They take the shell and fly away then return minutes later. I was told that they don't actually eat the nuts but stash them in places that would attract bugs? this has been going on since the El Nino rains.
In Reply to: Presqu-ile Shorebirds posted by Don on August 06, 1998 at 09:36:07:
On Monday, Aug. 10, there were at least 6 Stilt
Sandpipers, 10 Short-billed Dowitchers, 1 Red Knot
and 1 Northern Shoveler between Beach 4 and Owen's
Point at Presqu'ile. Also present were good numbers
of Lesser Yellowlegs, Least and Semipalmated
Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers.
Again this morning there were 7 shorebird species at the north end of Grenadier Pond. Of these, six were the same as on my last visit ten days ago: Lesser & Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, and Killdeer. The only newcomer today was a single Semipalmated Plover, while the Semipalmated Sandpiper I saw last time did not appear to be around today. In the trees along the shoreline I heard two Baltimore Orioles singing - quite unusual for this time of year. Blackbirds were flocking in the bushes along the shoreline, and Goldfinches were everywhere. The swallows seem to be mostly gone already. Only 2 Purple Martins remained near the south end of Grenadier Pond, and there were a handful of Barn Swallows scattered around. Over at Humber Bay one of the male Scaup was still in the feeding bay, but there were hardly any other ducks there. A Warbling Vireo was singing at the west end of this bay. Between Humber Bay East and West there were several Greater Black-backed and Herring Gulls mixed in with the 100+ Ring-billed Gulls. There were also 8 Caspian Terns - a much lower number than earlier this summer. Marcel Gahbauer
gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Bronte Red-necked Grebes posted by Gavin Edmondstone on August 08, 1998 at 15:49:25:
I was able to see two eggs in the nest on Sunday
morning. One of the older chicks seems to have
gone off on its own.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
August 09, 1998 Not much of interest on the Prince Edward County scene this past week. Sandbanks Provincial Park's West Lake Sector had two GREATER YELLOWLEGS yesterday, along with a single RUDDY TURNSTONE . There was also RUDDY TURNSTONE at Amherst Island this past week. Other shorebirds showing up with the receding water levels are both GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, LEAST SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS and SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS. The Amherstview Sewage Lagoons have LEAST and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, and PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Meanwhile to the west of Prince Edward County, Presqu'ile Provincial Park on Friday had approximately 250 shorebirds representing 14 species, among them, 7 STILT SANDPIPERS. The RED KNOT was still there. One Brighton Bay resident has noted large numbers of CANADA GEESE in flight in the evening, as well as during mid- afternoon. While it is doubtful if this represents any kind of a migration this early in the season, there are other birds that are certainly moving about, namely BOBOLINKS, TREE SWALLOWS, and of course, the shorebirds which have been turning up in prime shorebird watching areas for the past two weeks. There was an EASTERN SCREECH-OWL calling at Big Island this morning, and a GREAT HORNED OWL has been seen on several occasions just off Old Milford Road, across from the township dump. The Scuttle Holes at Latta today had ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, MALLARD, EASTERN KINGBIRD, HOUSE WREN and YELLOW WARBLER. A backyard naturalization project in Tweed produced YELLOW WARBLER, CEDAR WAXWING, EASTERN KINGBIRD, CHIPPING SPARROW, SONG SPARROW, HOUSE FINCH, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, and MOURNING DOVE. This person's five acres of yard has been extensively planted in native seed and berry producing shrubs and trees, and he has also allowed a portion of that property to seed itself down to native wildflowers and milkweeds. Certainly an inspiration and an excellent example for anyone attempting to attract wildlife to their premises.
This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
In Reply to: Great Egret at Long Point posted by Chris Clark on August 05, 1998 at 12:30:07:
Local birders are reporting 2 Great Egrets at this location this week.
The family of Red-necked Grebes in Bronte Harbour are still
doing well. This morning one of the young birds was just
outside the harbour fishing on its own. The other two
young birds were near the tire nest being fed a steady
diet of fresh fish. The most interesting thing is that
fresh material has been piled on the nest and one adult
was sitting on it. I was unable to see if there were any
eggs.
I received a report from Martha Robinson at Presqu'ile Provincial Park tonight. There were 13 shorebird species at
Presqu'ile today, including a red knot and black-bellied plover. On Sunday, August 2nd, a whimbrel was spotted. Don Davis
Toronto, ON
In Reply to: Re: Ruff at Nonquon posted by Glenn Coady on August 05, 1998 at 18:10:12:
I confused the page number for photos of
breeding-plumaged Reeve in my prior post. In Rosair & Cottridge's 1995 "Photographic Guide
to the Shorebirds of the World" breeding plumaged
Reeve is shown on page 165, figures H & K. In Chandler's 1989 "Facts On File Field Guide to
North Atlantic Shorebirds" breeding plumaged
Reeve is shown on the top photo on page 130. Hope this has been helpful.
In Reply to: Re: Ruff at Nonquon posted by Glenn Coady on August 04, 1998 at 17:13:23:
I reviewed my copy of the Facts on File book I
mentioned yesterday. The title is The Photographic Guide to the
Shorebirds of the World, by David Rosair & David
Cottridge. 1995 Facts on File Publishing. It does indeed have a photo of a similarly
plumaged Reeve on the top photo on page 130.
Another little gem that Facts on File published
is Richard J. Chandler's 1989 "The Facts on File
Field Guide to North Atlantic Shorebirds". This
tiny, lightweight book is crammed full of
excellent shorebird information and good
photographs, gram for gram one of the best
shorebird books one could possess.
On Monday (the Civic Holiday) my wife and I went to Long Point with the express purpose of trying to see some Sandhill Cranes. We stopped at the dyke hike (Big Creek, I think) along the causeway. Walking to the lookout tower first, we didn't see anything worth noting. Continueing past the lookout tower (to the area off limits in the spring but open now) we spotted several killdear and a few semi-palmated plovers. We were about to give up when we noticed some flapping way off towards the mainland.
We're not sure of the numbers, but there seemed to be roughly a half dozen Great Blue Herons flying around from spot to spot. While watching these, we noticed a heron-like bird of relatively the same size that was pure white. Although we're not 100% sure of the identity, given the size and shape we're certain it was a Great Egret. (We observed it standing with a few feet of a Great Blue and they looked very similar except for the one bird being all white.)
As this is a lifer for my wife (i've seen Egrets in Paolo Alto) we were wondering if anyone else has seen this bird this summer? Given the range, we're assuming that it isn't a white-phase Great Blue. (The Peterson guide says they are south florida only.) Thanks,
Chris C. P.S. While watching the egret we saw other movement to the left and spotted at least six Sandhill Cranes. Our trip was a success! :)
Dear Fellow Birders Hi, I was to Rattray Marsh on Monday, and the best birds were
at least 44 Red-Necked Grebes at the west end of the marsh,
last summer I had seen about 20 near the end of August, but
I would think this is a little early for this many birds. There
was also a Black-and-White Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Philadelphia,
Warbling, and Red-Eyed Vireos, all presumebly fall migrants.
Also seen was a female Hooded Merganser, Pileated Woodpecker,
and a Spotted Sandpiper. Also of note today at Burnanthorpe and
Glen Erin Rd. in Mississauga there was a Osprey flying overhead,
also I would assume a early migrant. Mike
Last Thursday (Aug. 2), I watched a flock of seven very large birds pass over Oakville harbour. Six flew in a staggard line; the seventh flew ahead and slightly to the left of the group. They were flying too high for me to identify; but I suspect they were sandhill cranes. Did anyone get a better look at them? They overflew sixteen-mile creek at about 9:00 a.m.
In Reply to: Escaped Black Swan? posted by Ram Nambiar on June 06, 1998 at 09:03:50:
I saw the black swan land lake Ontario at the entrance to Oakville harbour, perhaps two weeks ago. It joined a group of Canada geese; and swam along the lakeshore towards Bronte (Westwards).
In Reply to: Grenadier Pond - July 29 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on July 30, 1998 at 20:02:40:
On Saturday in the early evening I got a chance to
see both adult Virginia Rails and 4 young
simultaneously. Don Barnett, wo was also there told
me of meeting someone who saw 6 young through the
week. The same seven shorebird species were still
present. In the silt settlement basin north of the pond
there were two Hooded Mergansers. At the south end of the pond I found 92 Purple
Martins. I think this likely represents more
birds than is possible from the martin house on
the pond alone. I suspect many of these birds were
early staging migrants (too many adult males).
This is a very large number of Purple Martins from
a single locality in the Toronto area - other
similar flocks should be watched for over the next
two weeks. Perhaps El Nino has been very good to
Purple Martins this year.
In Reply to: Re: Ruff at Nonquon posted by Jim Heffernan on August 03, 1998 at 16:34:13:
I spent monday moring looking at this reeve (a female
ruff)and the only good book out of the 5 that I went threw
was the Shorebirds ,an identification guide,by Peter Hayman
John Marchant and Tony Prater this will give you the best over all
lock at the bird you saw on page 208 and plat #210b. this was a
female adult jist start to come out of breeding plumes wich is why the
breast wasint as dark as this drawing shows.one other vear good book is
Bird,s of Europe by Lars Jonsson you will find the reeve on page 232.
It is to bad the leg colour was not esely seen for you wood have had
a esye time with orange-red it relly stoode out. CRAIG
pleas excuse the spelling for I am dyslexic
In Reply to: Re: Ruff at Nonquon posted by Jim Heffernan on August 03, 1998 at 16:34:13:
Dear Jim, Hopefully one or all of the following will be
helpful to you. The book Shorebirds: An Identification Guide
by Peter Hayman, John Marchant & Tony Prater
Houghton Mifflin 1986 will be most helpful from
the point of view of illustrations. This bird is
a big Reeve largely still in breeding plumage.
A very similar plumage is illustrated in this
book on Plate 86, figure 210b. Others books similarly useful from the point of
view of illustrations and text would be: the
Handbook of the Birds of the Western Palearctic &
Lars Jonnson's Birds of Europe. Also very useful for its text is Dennis Paulson's
Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest. Very nice
silhouette diagram presented for comparing Ruff
versus the two yellowlegs species.
There are many useful photos in Johan G. van
Rhijn's monograph The Ruff published in 1991 by
T & AD Poyser. Also a good summary of the Ruff's
yearly moult cycle on page 139. Facts on File has published a photographic guide
to the world's shorebirds in the last couple of
years but as I recall it was skimpy on photos of
Ruff other than breeding males and juveniles. If your level of interest is beginning to reach
this far and you plan to repeatedly visit the
Nonquon sewage lagoons, then I concur that a scope
purchase would be most useful. Good Luck
In Reply to: Re: Ruff at Nonquon posted by David Geale on August 04, 1998 at 11:33:44:
Directions to this and many other good
out-of-the-way birding locations can be found in
Clive Goodwin's excellent Birdfinding Guide to
Ontario. I highly recommend it. The Nonquon (Port Perry) sewage lagoons are one of
the best set of lagoon in Ontario. Assuming you are coming from the south, proceed
north of Whitby on Hwy 12 toward Port Perry.
After the stoplight in Manchester look for the
third road that runs easterly from Hwy 12. This
will be the Scugog 8th Line (NOT the Durham 8th
Line which is one road to the south!). Take the
Scugog 8th Line 3.1 km to the east. Here you will
find the gate to the lagoons. Good Luck You are looking for a large breeding plumaged
Reeve.
In Reply to: Ruff at Nonquon posted by Tyler Hoar on August 02, 1998 at 19:21:42:
I am interested in looking for the Ruff reported at Nonquon
but have no idea where Nonquon or the sewage ponds there are.
Could someone please send directions?
Thanks,
David Geale
In Reply to: Ruff at Nonquon posted by Tyler Hoar on August 02, 1998 at 19:21:42:
I was also at Nonquon on August 2 and had a brief discussion with a gentleman who pointed out the Ruff. He was kind enough to let me have a look through his scope. However, both he and I rely upon the Peterson guide which does not show the plumage I noted (i.e. the dark breast). I'm assuming that the Peterson guide will not have all variations given the relative rarity of the bird. It would still be nice to know what guide shows the Ruff in the plumage I saw on Sunday. Can you help me? It would sure be nice to confirm my sighting with a guide. I'm always hesitant to add a bird to my life list because someone tells it's something I haven't seen before. There's always the chance I was looking at the wrong bird. My list of sightings is not as long as yours. Every time I go to Nonquon I end up leaving thinking that I really must go out and buy a scope some day soon. There is only so much you can see with 8 power binoculars. Thanks in advance, Jim Heffernan
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday,
August 02, 1998 Walter Frey of Picton had a pretty good day Monday, travelling to Point Petre and along the Army Reserve Road, with a couple of side trips to the south shore. There were lots of CEDAR WAXWINGS, AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, and about a dozen TURKEY VULTURES. At the south end of Charwell Point Road (on Gull Pond behind Gull Bar) there were 6 LESSER YELLOWLEGS and about 10 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, as well as 3 BLACK TERN and about 10 CASPIAN TERN fishing. He also saw one BONAPARTE'S GULL, 4 GREAT BLUE HERON and an AMERICAN BITTERN. On the way back he added a family of four EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and two BROWN THRASHERS. For an area that is often likened to a desert, the West Lake dunes area at Sandbanks Provincial Park did very well during a guided hike on Thursday. A total of 26 species of birds was tallied, including CEDAR WAXWING, NORTHERN ORIOLE, BANK SWALLOW, COMMON SNIPE, BELTED KINGFISHER, CASPIAN TERN, ALDER FLYCATCHER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, FIELD SPARROW, YELLOW WARBLER and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. A brief visit to Prince Edward Point today produced CASPIAN TERN, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, COMMON LOON, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, CEDAR WAXWING, ALDER FLYCATCHER, ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, CLIFF SWALLOW, HOUSE WREN and NORTHERN FLICKER. Royal Road had several BROWN THRASHERS, there were FIELD SPARROW and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW singing at Little Bluff Conservation Area, and Macaulay Mountain had its usual complement of WOOD THRUSH, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, RED-EYED VIREO and CEDAR WAXWING. A GREEN HERON was found at Macaulay Pond, and Whattam's Memorial Walkway produced ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Although certainly well outside the Quinte area, Albert Boisvert reports that a RUFF was found yesterday afternoon at the Port Perry ( Nonquon ) sewage lagoons. This report has been brought to you by Quinte Conservation, and will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 09. Our thanks to contributors who make this report possible. Please e-mail your sightings to tsprague@limestone.kosone.com .
August 2 1998
Last night at Nonquon Sewage lagoons a nonbreeding plumage Ruff was located
in the west lagoon. This afternoon the bird was still present among the
250-300 shorebirds. Other shorebirds seen including Wilson's Phalarope,
Short-billed Dowitcher, Sandpipers: Baird's, Stilt, Least, Semipalmated,
Spotted, Solitary, Pectoral, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Common Snipe,
Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover. other species of interest: Black Tern 5 Bonaparte's gulls 400+
Pied-billed grebes 2 Ring-necked Duck 1
Common Moorhen 7 Ruddy Duck 3
American Coot 2 American Black Duck 2 Tyler Hoar
thoar@durham.net
Re: Gannet
Posted by Chris Clark on December 05, 1998 at 00:20:45:Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 20:48:30:Re: Sunnybrook Pileated Woodpecker
Posted by Barbara Taylor on December 04, 1998 at 19:36:04:Gannet
Posted by Mike Boyd on December 04, 1998 at 11:42:02:Franklins Gulls
Posted by Eleanor Kee Wellman on December 04, 1998 at 10:04:37:Sunnybrook Park - December 3
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 04, 1998 at 07:13:45:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture (long)
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on December 02, 1998 at 21:01:51:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Norm Murr on November 30, 1998 at 21:46:08:FON trip program
Posted by John Miles on November 30, 1998 at 15:02:50:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Craig McLauchlan on November 30, 1998 at 12:38:37:Re: Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 30, 1998 at 11:38:30:European Goldfinch
Posted by K. Adams on November 29, 1998 at 21:38:38:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 29/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 29, 1998 at 20:02:58:vegae/Herring gull
Posted by craig M clauchlan on November 28, 1998 at 21:19:17:Re: Leslie St. Spit sightings
Posted by craig Mclauchlan on November 28, 1998 at 21:13:18:Leslie St. Spit sightings
Posted by Barbara Taylor on November 28, 1998 at 18:07:32:Sighting: RIP Aviculture, Toronto, Ontario, December, 1998
Posted by Jonathan Higbee on November 28, 1998 at 11:21:28:Re: Merlin? In Etobicoke
Posted by Janet Duval on November 27, 1998 at 15:33:31:Re: gull site
Posted by Mark Cranford on November 26, 1998 at 20:49:12:gull site
Posted by C.McLauchlan on November 26, 1998 at 15:28:16:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 25, 1998 at 17:53:18:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 25, 1998 at 17:39:28:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Andy on November 25, 1998 at 13:33:00:Re: Gannet?
Posted by C.McLauchlan on November 25, 1998 at 09:02:35:Re: Vaga Herring gull ??
Posted by Graham Nord on November 25, 1998 at 07:33:52:Re: The Northern Shrike
Posted by Sandra Eadie on November 24, 1998 at 23:30:25:Burlington Shoreline
Posted by Mike Boyd on November 24, 1998 at 20:16:13:Re: Gannet?
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 24, 1998 at 17:58:50:The Northern Shrike
Posted by Ram Nambiar on November 24, 1998 at 09:09:36:Vaga Herring gull ??
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on November 24, 1998 at 07:37:35:Re: Pileated - location of Sunnybrook Park
Posted by Barbara Taylor on November 23, 1998 at 14:12:24:Re: Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park
Posted by Ray Mitchell on November 23, 1998 at 09:28:05:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 22/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 22, 1998 at 21:05:29:Pileated Woodpecker - Sunnybrook Park
Posted by Barbara Taylor on November 21, 1998 at 14:48:30:Gannet?
Posted by Andy on November 20, 1998 at 12:01:01:Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 18:43:10:Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Mark Cranford on November 19, 1998 at 16:01:27:Re: West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:17:59:Re: Humber Bay - Nov. 13
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:06:19:Re: Humber Bay - Nov. 13
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 19, 1998 at 15:06:14:West end gulls and ducks - Nov 19
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 19, 1998 at 14:52:03:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 15/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 15, 1998 at 21:08:18:Col. Sam to Kortright, Nov. 15
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 15, 1998 at 16:58:36:Humber Bay - Nov. 13
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 14, 1998 at 11:03:46:Humber Bay East
Posted by Tamara Chipperfield on November 10, 1998 at 14:57:54:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 08/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 08, 1998 at 20:35:09:Re: Humber Bay update - November 6
Posted by Sue Schultz on November 07, 1998 at 13:41:10:Humber Bay update - November 6
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on November 06, 1998 at 18:06:03:Re: Peregrine Falcon - Whitney Block, Queen's Park
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 06, 1998 at 17:36:16:Several Hundred Crows
Posted by Ram Nambiar on November 05, 1998 at 18:15:22:Re: Peregrine Falcon - Whitney Block, Queen's Park
Posted by Don Peuramaki on November 05, 1998 at 17:53:16:Re: Merlin? In Etobicoke
Posted by John Barker,GTRW Chair on November 03, 1998 at 18:11:17:Peregrine Falcon - Whitney Block, Queen's Park
Posted by Glenn Coady on November 03, 1998 at 17:03:34:Merlin? In Etobicoke
Posted by Dave Nelson on November 02, 1998 at 21:50:00:Re: Tundra Swan migration
Posted by jean on November 02, 1998 at 11:40:30:Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 01/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on November 01, 1998 at 20:54:15:Turkey Vulture
Posted by Sandra Eadie on November 01, 1998 at 16:35:44:Algonquin Park
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on October 31, 1998 at 22:01:49:birding in 1000 islands region
Posted by Isabelle Menard on October 31, 1998 at 21:14:27:Bohemian Waxwing:Leslie st Spit
Posted by C.Mclauchlan on October 31, 1998 at 19:11:23:Greater Toronto Raptor Watch, Oct.19 to 25, 1998
Posted by Tyler Hoar on October 29, 1998 at 21:59:51:Re: Discovery Channel Schedule
Posted by Ashraf Benjamin on October 29, 1998 at 01:14:40:Re: Where the Black-backed gulls hang out
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on October 27, 1998 at 21:11:22:Where the Black-backed gulls hang out
Posted by Chris Clark on October 27, 1998 at 08:43:00:Quinte Area Bird Report - Oct. 25/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on October 25, 1998 at 19:54:52:Re: Peregrine Falcon Nest at Niagara Falls mid May 1998
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on October 25, 1998 at 18:18:35:Peregrine Falcon Nest at Niagara Falls mid May 1998
Posted by Vija on October 24, 1998 at 22:29:08:Leslie Spit - October 24
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on October 24, 1998 at 15:12:05:Re: Sandhill crane
Posted by Glenn Coady on October 23, 1998 at 10:34:59:Quinte Area Bird Report - Oct. 18/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on October 18, 1998 at 19:54:09:Presqu'ile Highlights
Posted by Andy on October 16, 1998 at 09:02:11:
Oct. 12 merlin (2)
Oct. 11 rough-legged hawk
white-rumped sandpiper
pectoral sandpiper
black-bellied plover (20)
northern harrier
snow bunting
Oct. 10 mourning warbler
white-rumped sandpiper (3)
Oct. 9 orange-crowned warbler
indigo bunting (female)
Toronto, ON
Ontario Birds Listserver
Posted by Alfred Raab on October 14, 1998 at 21:20:50:Re: Thanks Ontario Birders
Posted by NORM MURR on October 14, 1998 at 19:08:45:western sandpiper
Posted by C.Mclauchlan on October 13, 1998 at 10:23:37:Thanks Ontario Birders
Posted by Steve Holzman on October 13, 1998 at 10:03:52:Re: Sandhill crane
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on October 13, 1998 at 09:25:12:Re: Sandhill crane
Posted by Tyler Hoar on October 11, 1998 at 21:45:22:Quinte Area Bird Report - Oct. 11/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on October 11, 1998 at 20:20:48:Presqu'ile Sightings
Posted by Andy on October 08, 1998 at 13:37:08:
Toronto,
Re: Bird Band
Posted by Steve Holzman on October 08, 1998 at 13:07:56:Bird Band
Posted by Paul on October 08, 1998 at 12:12:52:Bird Band
Posted by Paul on October 08, 1998 at 12:12:19:Ontario Birds Listserver
Posted by Andy on October 08, 1998 at 12:01:19:Towhee sighting
Posted by Leslie Kinrys on October 06, 1998 at 21:53:08:Re: Toronto Ornithological Club - Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks
Posted by Glenn Coady on October 06, 1998 at 18:25:17:Re: Toronto Ornithological Club - Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks
Posted by Steve Holzman on October 06, 1998 at 12:09:45:Re: J.Audubon at the R.O.M
Posted by Craig Mclauchlan on October 05, 1998 at 10:24:55:Parula Warbler
Posted by Leslie Kinrys on October 04, 1998 at 15:45:25:Re: Sandhill crane
Posted by C.mclauchlan on October 04, 1998 at 09:25:15:Quinte Area Bird Report - Oct. 03/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on October 03, 1998 at 12:03:29:Re: J.Audubon at the R.O.M
Posted by Pat Thomas on October 02, 1998 at 17:27:15:RFI Sharp-tailed Sparrows in Hamilton
Posted by David Geale on October 02, 1998 at 12:17:21:Re: Junco
Posted by Leslie Kinrys on September 30, 1998 at 22:16:11:J.Audubon at the R.O.M
Posted by C.Mclauchlan on September 30, 1998 at 08:56:38:Sandhill crane
Posted by Ian on September 28, 1998 at 19:12:36:Quinte Area Bird Report - Sept. 27/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on September 27, 1998 at 21:06:21:Re: Humber Bay - Sept 24
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on September 27, 1998 at 20:06:50:Re: Humber Bay - Sept 24
Posted by Jean-François HIC on September 26, 1998 at 21:45:54:Junco
Posted by Mike Boyd on September 24, 1998 at 19:38:58:Humber Bay - Sept 24
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on September 24, 1998 at 19:34:39:Lands For Life
Posted by Andy on September 24, 1998 at 16:15:26:Juncos and woodpeckers
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on September 23, 1998 at 21:16:39:Quinte Area Bird Report - Sept. 20/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on September 20, 1998 at 21:02:44:Pileated Woodpeckers at Ratray
Posted by Mark Cranford on September 20, 1998 at 17:16:40:Re: Update on Bronte's Red-necked Grebe
Posted by Mark Cranford on September 19, 1998 at 21:57:59:Update on Bronte's Red-necked Grebe
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on September 19, 1998 at 21:21:21:Discovery Channel Schedule
Posted by Don Davis on September 17, 1998 at 16:38:20:
Sept. 21 - Wild Discovery - "Wolf Man - 8 pm; also Sept. 22 - 12 am, 3 am; Sept. 28 - 2 pm
Sept. 22 - Birds - Ultimate Guide: Birds of Prey - 10 pm; also Sept. 23 - 2 am, 5 am
Sept. 22 - Birds - Goshawk: Phantom of the Forest - 8 pm, also Sept. 23 - 12 am, 3 am; Sept. 29 - 2 pm
Sept. 23 - Birds - Voices in the Forest - 10 pm; also Sept. 24, 2 am, 5 am
Sept. 29 - Africa Week - Jewelled Wings (Butterflies - 10 pm; also Oct. 1- 2 am, 5 am
Oct. 8 - Wild Discovery - Camera in the Wilderness - 8 pm; also Oct. 8 - 12 am, Oct. 7 - 3 am; Oct. 11 - 9 am; Oct. 14
- 2 pm
Oct. 19 - Wild Discovery - "Beastly Babies" - 8 pm; also Oct. 20 - 3 am,; Oct. 26 - 2 pm
Oct. 26 - Wild Discovery - "Eagle" (golden eagle) - 8 pm; also Oct. 27 - 12 am, 3 am; Nov. 2 - 2 pm
Oct. 28 - Wild Discovery - Animal Aliens - 8 pm; also Oct. 29 - 12 am, 3 pm; Nov. 1 - 9 am; Nov. 4 - 2 pm
Oct. 30 - Wild Discovery - The Antler Show (moose) - 8 pm; also Oct. 31 - 12 am 3 am; Nov. 6 - 2 pm
Nov. 4 - Wild Discovery - Bear Attack - 8 pm; also Nov. 5 - 12 am, 3 am; Nov. 8 - 9 am, Nov. 11 - 2 pm
Nov. 6 - Wild Discovery - Mating Grounds (Gulf of St. Lawrence nesting sites) - 8 pm; also Nov. 7 - 12 am, 3 am; Nov.
13 - 2 pm
Nov. 11 - Wild Discovery - Camouflage - 8 pm, also Nov. 12 - 12 am, 3 am, Nov. 15 - 9 am; Nov. 18 - 2 pm
Nov. 13 - Wild Discovery - Nature of the Message (Animal Communication - 8 pm; also Nov. 14 - 12 am, 3 am; Nov.
20 - 2 pm
Nov. 17 - Wild Discovery - The Most Dangerous Game (wildlife photography) - 8 pm; also Nov. 18 - 12 am, 3 am; Nov.
24 - 2 pm
Nov. 25 - Wild Discovery - Beauties and the Beasties - 8 pm; also Nov. 26 - 12 am, 3 am; Nov. 29 - 9 am; Dec. 2 - 2
pm
Nov. 29 - Sunday Showcase - "Microcosmos" (insect film) - 8 pm; also Nov. 30 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 6 - 4 pm
Nov. 29 - Sunday Showcase - Alien Empire: Replicators (insects) - 9 pm; also Nov. 30 - 1:30 am, 4:30 am; Dec. 6 -
5:30 pm
Dec. 2 - Wild Discovery - Nature in Close-up - 8 pm; also Dec. 3 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 6 - 9 am, Dec. 9 - 2 pm
Dec. 7 - Wild Discovery - Brother Wolf - 8 pm; also Dec. 8 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 14 - 2 pm
Dec. 8 - Wild Discovery - Flight of the Snow Geese - 8 pm; also Dec. 9 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 15 - 2 pm
Dec. 9 - Wild Discovery - In Search of the Hawk - 8 pm; also Dec. 10 - 12 am 3 am; Dec. 13 - 9 am; Dec. 16 - 2 pm
Dec. 11 - Wild Discovery - Prince of the Arctic (snowy owl) - 8 pm; also Dec. 12 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 18 - 2 pm
Dec. 20 - Sunday Showcase - Baby Animals - 8 pm; also Dec. 21 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 27 - 4 pm
Dec. 20 - Sunday Showcase - Wolves at Our Door - 9 pm; also Dec. 21 - 1 am, 4 am; Dec. 27 - 5 pm
Dec. 23 - Wild Discovery - The Man Who Love Birds(John Bax) - 8 pm; also Dec. 24 - 12 am, 3 am; Dec. 27 - 9 am;
Dec. 30 - 2 pm
Dec. 25 - Wild Discovery - On the Wing (about wings) - 8 pm; also Dec. 26 - 12 am, 3 am; Jan. 1 - 2 pm
Jan. 1 - Wild Discovery - Birds in Winter - 8 pm; also Jan. 2 - 12 am, 3 pm
Naturalists Wanted
Posted by Don Davis on September 17, 1998 at 08:40:46:Great Egret at Humber Marsh
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on September 15, 1998 at 22:01:48:Toronto Ornithological Club - Jim Baillie Memorial Bird Walks
Posted by Glenn Coady on September 15, 1998 at 17:30:22:Quinte Area Bird Report - Sept. 13/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on September 13, 1998 at 20:36:44:Re: Large Kestrel Migration?
Posted by Glenn Coady on September 08, 1998 at 16:27:31:Cranberry Marsh September 8
Posted by Tyler Hoar on September 08, 1998 at 14:01:47:Large Kestrel Migration?
Posted by Tim Pirk on September 08, 1998 at 12:07:30:Save Presqu'ile
Posted by Donald Davis on September 08, 1998 at 11:11:53:Quinte Area Birding Report - Sept. 06/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on September 06, 1998 at 21:16:30:One more hatched
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on September 06, 1998 at 21:01:44:Rejoice - MUD at Rattray Marsh
Posted by Mark Cranford on September 04, 1998 at 19:28:59:Humber Bay - September 3
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on September 03, 1998 at 20:18:19:Yet another Red-necked Grebe hatched
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on September 02, 1998 at 20:15:49:Warblers at Algonquin
Posted by Sandra Eadie on September 02, 1998 at 12:20:50:MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT - Sept, 8, 1998 - Everyone welcome
Posted by Glenn Coady on September 01, 1998 at 18:53:04:Re: Second and Cranberry marsh August 31 1998
Posted by Glenn Coady on September 01, 1998 at 17:59:12:Northumberland County migration
Posted by David Geale on September 01, 1998 at 12:53:50:Re: Godwits at Cootes Paradise
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 31, 1998 at 18:59:41:Second and Cranberry marsh August 31 1998
Posted by Tyler Hoar on August 31, 1998 at 15:01:57:Quinte Area Bird Report, Aug. 30/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on August 30, 1998 at 20:49:20:Godwits at Cootes Paradise
Posted by Graham Nord on August 30, 1998 at 13:30:10:Leslie Spit - August 29
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on August 30, 1998 at 10:16:43:Hummingbird
Posted by Leslie Kinrys on August 30, 1998 at 00:12:08:Re: Large flight of Common Nighthawks - Keele & Bloor - 25 Aug./98
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 27, 1998 at 08:37:21:Mountsberg Conservation Area
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on August 27, 1998 at 07:46:54:Warblers at Darlington Provincial park
Posted by Tyler Hoar on August 26, 1998 at 19:45:45:Large flight of Common Nighthawks - Keele & Bloor - 25 Aug./98
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 26, 1998 at 16:38:19:Grenadier Pond - Aug. 24/98
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 26, 1998 at 16:08:20:Re: Where are Tollgate Ponds?
Posted by John Miles on August 25, 1998 at 21:31:03:Shorebirds at Humber Bay - August 25
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on August 25, 1998 at 21:05:13:Where are Tollgate Ponds?
Posted by John Kormendy on August 25, 1998 at 18:38:58:SPOTTED REDSHANK in Ottawa
Posted by David Geale on August 24, 1998 at 15:36:21:Quinte Area Bird Report - Aug. 23/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on August 23, 1998 at 19:44:55:Darlington P.P. and 2nd Marsh
Posted by Tyler Hoar on August 23, 1998 at 15:32:19:Common Nighthawk(Chordeiles minor)
Posted by Ram Nambiar on August 23, 1998 at 12:02:51:Bizarre Starling returns
Posted by Andy on August 20, 1998 at 09:32:00:Humber Bay East & Sam Smith - August 19
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on August 19, 1998 at 21:46:23:(1)Hybrid Geese (2)Puple Martin House
Posted by Ram Nambiar on August 19, 1998 at 16:25:14:Sorry!
Posted by David Geale on August 19, 1998 at 13:59:03:jfsad
Posted by dAVID GeALE on August 19, 1998 at 13:56:27:Western Sandpiper @ Port Hope
Posted by David Geale on August 19, 1998 at 13:53:25:Grenadier Pond - August 18
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on August 18, 1998 at 21:25:10:Presqu'ile Birds
Posted by David Geale on August 18, 1998 at 09:00:05:Quinte Area Bird Report - Aug. 16/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on August 16, 1998 at 20:46:22:Adult Bald Eagle at Caledon Lake
Posted by Graham Nord on August 16, 1998 at 15:51:06:Hairy Woodpecker
Posted by Leslie Kinrys on August 15, 1998 at 22:11:02:Red-necked Grebes in Halton
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on August 15, 1998 at 19:27:32:High Park - 13 Aug. 1998
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 14, 1998 at 10:43:05:Re: Odd woodpecker behaviour
Posted by john on August 12, 1998 at 22:40:38:Re: Presqu-ile Shorebirds
Posted by David Geale on August 11, 1998 at 12:34:55:Grenadier Pond & Humber Bay - August 10
Posted by Marcel Gahbauer on August 10, 1998 at 21:49:09:Re: Bronte Red-necked Grebes
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on August 10, 1998 at 21:05:42:Quinte Area Birding Report - Aug. 09/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on August 09, 1998 at 21:28:53:Re: Great Egret at Long Point
Posted by John Miles on August 08, 1998 at 21:23:24:Bronte Red-necked Grebes
Posted by Gavin Edmondstone on August 08, 1998 at 15:49:25:Presqu-ile Shorebirds
Posted by Don on August 06, 1998 at 09:36:07:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 05, 1998 at 18:17:17:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 05, 1998 at 18:10:12:Great Egret at Long Point
Posted by Chris Clark on August 05, 1998 at 12:30:07:Rattray Marsh
Posted by Mike Boyd on August 05, 1998 at 00:47:43:unidentified flock in flight
Posted by John Kittridge on August 04, 1998 at 21:25:37:Re: Escaped Black Swan?
Posted by John Kittridge on August 04, 1998 at 21:16:42:Re: Grenadier Pond - Aug. 1, 1998
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 04, 1998 at 17:32:11:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by craig mclauchlan on August 04, 1998 at 17:20:28:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 04, 1998 at 17:13:23:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by Glenn Coady on August 04, 1998 at 15:40:31:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by David Geale on August 04, 1998 at 11:33:44:Re: Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by Jim Heffernan on August 03, 1998 at 16:34:13:Quinte Area Bird Report - Aug. 02/98
Posted by Terry Sprague on August 02, 1998 at 20:01:43:Ruff at Nonquon
Posted by Tyler Hoar on August 02, 1998 at 19:21:42: