tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
And the birders continue to come in small manageable numbers every evening to catch a glimpse of the HENSLOW'S SPARROW in the Prince Edward County hay field, just south of Belleville. The one bird in particular has developed a set pattern and all one has to to is wait at the end of the path for it to appear at one's feet. What could be more convenient? But how long will it last? Saturday night was the first time since June 11th when the bird failed to appear, and five very disappointed birders from Toronto, Whitby and Minden returned home. We are hoping that the reason for the bird's failed appearance was due only to high winds and persisent rain. However, two of the birders got as far as Belleville, decided to find motel rooms, and returned to the Henslow's site at around 6:00 this morning. The bird was singing beautifully on an exposed stalk of brome grass!
Good news though on the future of the hay field. It seems quite certain that the field will be spared from harvesting, at least, for this year. Our thanks to all who made this possible.
Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area, south of Picton is a 200-acre wetland which is productive at almost any time of the year. On Monday evening, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, VIRGINIA RAIL, GREAT BLUE HERON, GREEN-BACKED HERON (3), OSPREY, BELTED KINGFISHER, WOOD THRUSH and WOOD PEWEE were all seen. Also present were PIED-BILLED GREBE (1 pair), COMMON MOORHEN (one pair) and BLACK TERN (3 pair) - all three species with young.
Two NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS were reported on Tuesday - one near the village of Milford, and another on Middle Road, between South Bay and Prince Edward Point.
Sandbanks Provincial Park on Tuesday contained its usual compliment of RING-BILLED GULLS, as well as a SPOTTED SANDPIPER and a PINE WARBLER. A BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHER was seen Friday in the dunes area of the park, and on Saturday a fully mature male ORCHARD ORIOLE was singing near West Point.
And that is all the birding news from Prince Edward County for this week.
This report will be updated Sunday, July 07. Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Terry Sprague
tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Possible sighting of above at lakefront promenade park, Mississauga (between Lakeview generating station and Port Credit Yacht Club). One only seen, possibly hybridized with Canada Goose. Seen June 23, 1996, will attempt to view again on June 30/July 1 and get back to you. Would appreciate finding out if anyone else has made similar sighting.
dansuess@terraport.net
Birders have been driving from as far away as London and Waterloo to catch a fleeting glimpse of the two HENSLOW'S SPARROWS that showed up in a hay field behind our house June 11th on Big Island, some 15 km north of Picton. To date, no one has gone home disappointed. Birders still interested in adding this species to their year's or life list would do well to plan on doing so soon, as this field of hay, comprising brome grass, alfalfa and timothy is scheduled to be cut within a week or two. The owners have been notified, and are cooperating by leaving the field as long as they can before they move in with haying machinery. Best to call 613-968-3434 (week day work number) or 613-476-5072 (home) before setting out.
Take Highway 62 from Belleville south into Prince Edward County for about 15 kilometres until you reach the"Grumpies" Shell Station. Turn left onto Demorestville Road and follow for about 10 kilometres until you reach the Stop sign at the village of Demorestville. Turn left onto County Road 5 and follow north until the highway begins to take a sharp curve to the east (about 1.5 km). At this point turn left and follow the causeway across the Big Island Marsh to Big Island. At Big Island, turn right and follow the township road east for about 2 km until you come to the crossroad. We live right on the corner - yellow buildings, large yard, flag flying. You have to drive up the crossroad a bit to reach our driveway. Feel free to park in the driveway, but please park off to the side to allow room for others. There is an opening to the hay field at the far end of our driveway; it is therefore not necessary to climb over our rail fence. The birds may be found in the hay field at the end of our driveway. Look for the wooden stake marked with flagging tape and follow the path. Please stay on the path as this is NOT our field.
A late report in from Sandbanks Provincial Park. A HOODED WARBLER was observed there June 5th, our latest record ever for Prince Edward County.
The Harry Smith Conservation Area in the village of Ameliasburgh Wednesday evening contained WOOD THRUSH, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, RED-EYED VIREO, WOOD PEWEE and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.
Meanwhile, at the Belleville Marsh on the shore of the Bay of Quinte Monday evening, there were COMMON MOORHEN, GREAT BLUE HERON, MALLARD, and plenty of WARBLING VIREOS. This area is well worth a visit sometime if you are in the Belleville area. Take Farley Avenue at the east end of Belleville and park at J & B Marine. Follow the roadway from the end of Farley, across the railway tracks to the shore of the bay. The trail extends east and west and follows the old Grand Trunk Railway bed.
And that's it from Prince Edward County are area for this week.
This report will be updated Sunday, June 30.
Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
"Take A Hike"
Nature hikes throughout the month of June in Picton, Napanee and
Belleville area.
Bring the spouse, bring the kids and bring the family dog!
6:30 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday evening.
NEXT HIKE: June 24th, Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area,
Meet at the conservation area parking lot, County Road 11, south of Picton
Join us if you can!
(Sponsored by the Quinte Conservation Services Alliance)
Terry Sprague
limestone.kosone.com!tsprague
As soon as we hung the hummingbird feeder in April, hummers appeared along with "Dickie and Deedee" our resident downy woodpeckers. Through the month of May, a northern oriole was a regular as well.
Now, the woodpeckers still come many times a day to sip the nectar - far more than the hummingbirds. What's going on?!
Janet Duval
jduval@bramnet.com
I say a Snowy Egret today for 1 1/2 hours in the southernmost of two ponds just east of Eastport Boulevard, just south of the QEW bridge over the entrance to Hamilton harbour. This is known as the Eastport Development where I am working observing a raft full of nesting Caspian Terns. Breeding plumes still on back and breast! Hope this is interesting to someone.
Bill McMartin
mcmartin@larva.forestry.utoronto.ca
I would like to report my sighting of a Great Grey Owl on Hwy #6 north of Wiarton, Ontario. It was about 7p.m. and the weather was clear and the owl was sitting on a telephone wire. We were travelling north and are always on the look-out for hawks, vultures and other birds that abound on the peninsula. The children and I were very surprised to see such a large bird and we observed the owl for about 15 minutes.
Linda Lamothe
llamothe@hurontel.on.ca
Some good stuff around the Quinte area this past week.
HENSLOW'S SPARROWS turned out to be the bird of the week. Two were heard singing in a hay field directly behind our house on Big Island, of all places, about 15 km north of Picton at 9:15 p.m., June 11th. Birders have been arriving nightly to get a look, albeit a fleeting glimpse, at the elusive duo which begin singing at approximately 8:30 p.m., and continue throughout the night. As of Saturday, the birds were still present, and local birders are having no problem ticking this one on their check lists.
The infamous GREAT GRAY OWL reported last week, is still hanging around the Milford area, south of Picton, spending much of its time perched atop a fence post near the highway. Why it is still here is anyone's guess.
Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, on the outskirts of Picton was alive with song on Monday evening. Noted were WARBLING VIREO, OVENBIRD, WOOD THRUSH, BALTIMORE ORIOLE, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, RED-EYED VIREO, WOOD PEWEE, LEAST FLYCATCHER and HOUSE WREN.
The alvar at the Menzel Nature Research north of Deseronto on Wednesday evening produced RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE, BROWN THRASHER, FIELD SPARROW, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, CEDAR WAXWINGS, EASTERN MEADOWLARK AND BOBOLINK. This 700 acre nature reserve containing an alvar, fens, provincially significant wetland, forest and a shallow lake is well worth a visit if you happen to be in the Quinte area. Take the Deseronto Road exchange from 401 and head north through the community of Kingsford and continue north for another six km. The road deteriorates and narrows and eventually heads east for one more km to the nature Reserve sign and gate.
Two South Bay residents got quite a surprise this week when they head a noise against their window and discovered a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO laying on its back with its feet up in the air. The bird was revived and eventually flew off apparently none the worse for the experience.
And that's it for this week.
This report will be updated Sunday, June 23. Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
"Take A Hike"
Nature hikes throughout the month of June in Picton, Napanee and
Belleville area
Bring the spouse, bring the kids and bring the family dog!
6:30 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday evening
NEXT HIKE: June 19th, Harry Smith Conservation Area,
Meet at the conservation area parking lot, in the village of
Ameliasburgh
Terry Sprague
limestone.kosone.com!tsprague
From the observation deck.....
3 Green Herons
1 Great Egret
1 Black Tern
2 Baltimore Orioles
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Blue Winged Teal (this one's question-marked)
Several Male, Female & nesting Red winged black birds.
Jay Morrison
jmorrison@neocom.ca
A flock of 5 great egrets flying north o'er head.
Bobolink
Male & Female Brown-headed cowbirds.
Brewer's blackbirds
Common Grackle
Great Blue Heron
Water Pipit....with a question mark.
and....one very hungry downy woodpecker.
When the birds come to depend on our seed...we must make sure to keep the feeders full.
Jay Morrison
jmorrison@neocom.ca
A GREAT GRAY OWL on June 03 at Milford is the latest sighting to date for this typically northern species which seem to be doing a lot of hanging around in southern Ontario this spring for reasons best known to themselves. The Milford owl was also seen on May 22nd, as was another individual at Big Island, just north of the village of Demorestville.
The first year male ORCHARD ORIOLE seen on May 16th on the old Bakelite property east of Belleville, was still present in almost the same tree on Thursday of this week. The Bakelite property currently undergoing rehabilitation is closed to the public although regular bird monitoring is carried out by staff of the Moira River Conservation Authority in Belleville. Also seen there on Thursday were ALDER FLYCATCHER (7), GREAT BLUE HERON (3), and swarms of YELLOW WARBLERS and WARBLING VIREOS.
CHIMNEY SWIFTS, TREE SWALLOWS and ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS were present in good numbers on Wednesday swooping for insects over the Napanee River in Napanee.
At the Quinte Conservation Area in Belleville on Monday were EASTERN KINGBIRD, WOOD PEWEE, EASTERN PHOEBE and GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. A pair of the latter species is nesting in a bird house on Pitt Street in Picton.
And at West Lake in Prince Edward County last week a "large" flock of CANADA GEESE was observed flying south.
Still some ice in the north???
This report will be updated Sunday, June 16. Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Take a Hike:
Next Hike: June 10th, Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, Picton.
Take Union St. at tip of the Bay Motel & follow C.R. # 8 to
conservation area.
Join us if you can!
Terry Sprague
tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Today I went for a quick walk at the base of the Leslie Street Spit just before 5PM and was treated to an adult White Pelican flying directly over me. It was close enough to see the "centerboard" on the ridge of its bill. It was being harrassed by a gull, which looked tiny compared to this bird. It was flying west - but banked north and possibly east. I took my eyes off it while trying to get the attention of another birder in the area, and lost sight of it. It could be staying in the Ashbridges Bay area - at the foot of Coxwell in the east end of Toronto. There has been a White Pelican seen recently in Whitby, so I checked the lake at the foot of Halls Road and could not find it there tonight - so there is a chance that it is the same bird.
Gord Gallant
gallantg@interlog.com
http://www.interlog.com/~gallantg/ontario.html
Ontario Birdwatching Home Page
Steve LaForest, Park Naturalist, Presqu'ile Provincial Park, has just released his Bird Summary Report for April 1 - May 31, 1996. What an exciting two months of birdwatching!
Among the highlights was the park's first ever scissor-tailed flycatcher- an adult male seen on May 23rd by Bill Stone at Chatterton Point. Bill has seen "1,000's" of fork-tailed flycatchers and "many" scissor-tails in the south. A king rail was found on May 17th by Doug McRae, and seen by many observers the next day.
There have been a number of peregrine falcon sightings in the park. We wonder if it is a single bird or a number of birds. One was seen on May 26th capturing a dunlin.
A wild turkey observed in the park on April 7th is the first record ever for the park. They were re-introduced to the Trenton area a number of years ago.
A sandhill crane was seen flying over the park by Steve Laforest on May 5th.
Presqu'ile is one of the best spots in southern Ontario to observe migrating shorebirds. Highlights included an unusual number of willet sightings, flocks of wimbrel (max. 50), red knot (max. 50), and white rumped sandpiper. Last May, prior to a storm, and on two occasions, large numbers of shorebirds (one flock estimated at 10,000) landed on the park beaches. Among this mass of birds was 3 purple sandpipers.
Noteworthy gull species observed included little gull, iceland gull, Forster's tern. High Bluff and Gull Island are one of the largest colonial waterbird nesting sites on the Great Lakes, and one of the few spots on the Great Lakes where the great black-backed gull nests.
The last great gray owl seen in the park - after the noteworthy invasion of southern Ontario this year - was May 4th - although individuals continued to be seen just outside of the park gates as late as May 2nd.
We continue to have many sightings of red-bellied and red-headed woodpeckers. Doug McRae observed what he believed to be a hybrid red-belled woodpecker X northern flicker. Don Shanahan observed a northern flicker on April 28th, showing red shafts in the tail, and the rest of the plumage was typical of "yellow-shafted flicker".
Noteworthy wren species discovered included Carolina wren and sedge wren.
Birdwatchers take particular pleasure in observing warbler species in the park - particularly if they come across a "wave" moving through the park. Doug McRae reported that on May 18th, thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - of warblers were moving through the park. From the lighthouse and up Paxton Drive, Doug identified 7 golden-winged warblers, 2 blue-winged, 1 "Brewster's", 12 northern parula, 8 yellow-throated vireos, 8 philadelphia vireos, 1 red-headed woodpecker and 2 red-bellied woodpeckers over a period of 4 hours! There were reports of hooded warblers in the park prior to this reporting period. Two pairs of cerulean warblers were also reported in May.
There were a number of orchard oriole sightings. For the second year in a row - and for only the second time ever, orchard orioles are attempting to nest in the park.
A common redpoll seen by Mike Cadman on May 19th is the latest ever by 16 days. Peter Whelan also reported late redpolls in the Kingston area in his Globe and Mail column. An evening grosbeak was reported on May 18th.
Noteworthy bird sightings from outside of the park include a great egret seen at nearby Barcovan Beach Road at the LaForest Residence, a white pelican at Cobourg, 1500 brant at Prince Edward Point (Presqu'ile had 400 flying over the beach on May 23rd, plus other sightings), purple sandpiper at Cobourg, 16 black terns at the Brighton Sewage Lagoons, worm-eating warbler at Sandbanks Provincial Park, possible blue grosbeak in Prince Edward County (photographed).
Brian Morin of Cornwall has produced a new newsletter about birds and birders entitled, "ONTARIO BIRDING NEWS". Features include a summary of bird sightings across the province, field notes, birder profiles, information on backyard bird feeding, articles submitted by noted Ontario birdwatchers on various topics, articles on specific bird species, tales from birding trips, and so on.
The Friends of Presqu'ile Park have a limited supply of Volume 1, Issue 1 for sale at their Nature Shop, now located in the park store at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. You may also receive a copy of this 12-page first issue at the special price of $2.80 (includes GST and Postage) by sending your cheque to:
Catherine Clark Chorney
Executive Coordinator
The Friends of Presqu'ile Park
Box 1442
Brighton, ON
K0K 1H0
Catherine also has a number of new book titles and an entire new line of fashion items for sale. The Nature Shop will be open seven days of the week as of the Dominion Day Weekend. For further information, contact Catherine at (613) 475-1688.
Donald Davis
Donald_Davis@stubbs.woodsworth.utoronto.ca
As luck would have it, moments after last week's report was submitted, the BLUE GROSBEAK made another appearance east of Lake-on-the-Mountain last Sunday, then disappeared and hasn't turned up again. Birders have been trying their luck at locating the elusive bird which seems to have no schedule, but few have seen it.
Bird bander Eric Machell wrapped up his banding activities at Prince Edward Point on Friday with a final figure of 2,500 birds banded last month, compared to 1,700 last year at this time.
Highlights last week at Prince Edward point included a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH on Sunday and Thursday, 13 OLD SQUAW still present on Monday, and a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER still hanging around on Thursday.
Judging from reports received all this past month, and from our own observations at our bird feeders, Prince Edward County seems to have enjoyed a bumper spring for both AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and INDIGO BUNTINGS. The former is present at most summer feeders in droves, and INDIGO BUNTINGS have appeared at no fewer than a dozen feeders this spring.
Some nesting birds are doing okay too if I may use our four Nature House aluminum PURPLE MARTIN houses as examples. Few vacancies are available in the four we have up. Compare their success to that of an AMERICAN ROBIN who has built a nest above a light fixture beside our kitchen door. The bird is a nervous wreck and with every minute disturbance or movement, the bird flushes from the nest kicking out eggs as she goes!
And that's about it from the Quinte area, except for a BLACK BEAR sighting at Fenwood Gardens in Prince Edward County, just a couple of kilometres south of Belleville, that caused a bit of excitement this past week.
This report will be updated Sunday, June 09. Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Nature hikes throughout the month of June in Picton, Napanee and
Belleville area:
Bring the spouse, bring the kids and bring the family dog!
6:30 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday evening.
NEXT HIKE: June 3rd, Quinte Conservation Area,
corner of Hwy2/Wallbridge-Loyalist Road, Belleville.
Join us if you can!
(Sponsored by the Quinte Conservation Services Alliance)
Terry Sprague
tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
We identified positively two peregrine falcons at Bloor & Islington on the Shipp Centre (sorry that's the old name, it's the second building to the west on the north-west corner) on the ledges on the south and west sides. One was definitely a male. We saw them through binoculars and heard their call. We are not certain if there is a nest there or not.
Michael and Nancy van der Poorten (416) 466-9013.
nmg.vanderpoorten@sympatico.ca