Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I started out in Humber Bay East today and the best birds there were two Red-Winged Blackbirds calling by the Mockingbird location, the Mockinbird was also there today. In the inner marsh there was 1 male A. Wigeon, and there were two others by the feeding area in the inner bay. Also in that area was a male Hooded Merganser, Black Duck, Mallard, and nearby was a Red-Breasted Merganser. In the river there were the usual Mute Swans and Canada Geese, along with two Domesticated Geese. In Humber Bay West there were two more Red-Winged Blackbirds, both calling, a Coot, Gadwall, about 1,500 Oldsquaw, Redhead, a Ring-Necked Duck, and Scaup. At High Park in the southwest corner there was a Red-Winged Blackbird and a Grackle. In Grenadier Pond there was a Trumpeter Swan #276, and many territorial Mute Swans and Canada Geese.
Mike
Thanks to Mark Cranford, I got a nice, close look at the adult male King Eider at the mouth of the creek at the foot of Winston Churchill in Oakville. Mark let me know that the bird was very close to shore on the 25th at 1:00 pm. I saw it yesterday (the 26th), close to shore shortly after 5:00 pm. I got about 100 m from it on the promenade by the lake. It put on quite a show as it dove and preened itself in the late afternoon sun. Gorgeous bird
Greg: nice to hear from you. What's your email adress?
Tony
Yesterday (Feb. 25/98) I saw the male & female adult Peregrine Falcons from the 18 King St. E. site performing a synchronous low head bowing display several times on a rooftop on Toronto St. This display is used to renew & strengthen the pair bond between the birds. In the next two weeks watch for other displays as well such as: aerial flight displays; food passing (usually male to female); conspicuous plucking displays of prey by the male in the presence of the female; bill touching & mutual preening; andf more low head bowing (particularly at the nest site). Repeated copulation attempts will likely soon follow with egg laying likely to occur early to mid-April.
Both the downtown Toronto and Etobicoke eyries have had new, much improved video cameras installed this week thanks to the efforts of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. Video footage of both nest sites will be available once again on the internet as well as at booths set up at each nest site. Another of these cameras will be installed at the Hamilton nest site next Tuesday.
Also this year some of the young birds may be tracked using satellite telemetry after fledging.
Another Peregrine Falcon has been seen repeatedly again in the area of Square One shopping centre in Mississauga - I would be very interested to know of other sightings from this locality as well as any other new territorial Peregrine Falcons.
Those wishing to report Peregrine behaviour/sightings or those who wish to volunteer to help in the monitoring of the known eyries can contact me at the e-mail address given here.
Looks like another exciting year for urban Peregrine recovery.
In Reply to: Burlington Scoters posted by Anthony Lang on February 24, 1998 at 14:17:44:
Hello Tony! How are you! Hope to be back on the spit and the rest of the lake shore this summer. Store 705329 3939 Home 705 329 4966
Spring is here! At least it looked and sounded like it this morning at Humber Bay. Around the first parking lot at Humber Bay West, there were 2 Grackles, 3 Red-winged Blackbirds, 1 Song Sparrow (singing), and 1 Robin. A Kingfisher flew by overhead. The immature Night Herons seem to have survived the winter - I saw two of them just north of the Lakeshore Blvd bridge, and the third one is probably also still around.
Waterfowl diversity is down somewhat since I was last at Humber Bay. At HBW, there were ~20 Redhead, as well as a few Gadwall, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and Oldsquaw, but the Scaup and Common Mergansers were missing. On the east side, there were several Wigeons and a male Hooded Merganser in the feeding bay with the Mallards and Black Ducks. The Mockingbird was still near the east end of Humber Bay East, and there was a Red-winged Blackbird singing in the same area.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Possible Pacific Loon & White-Winged Crossbills posted by Mike Boyd on November 04, 1997 at 17:49:01:
IN WEST SPRINGFIELD MA. , I SAW FOR THE FIRST TIME A WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL ON MY THISTLE FEEDER ALONG WITH THE GOLD FINCHES AT 8:00 AM THURSDAY MORNING 26 FEBRUARY.
In Reply to: Quinte Area Bird Report - Nov. 30th posted by Terry Sprague on November 30, 1997 at 19:33:46:
I was just wondering if you could sent me some informacen on wagtail birds
Off of Fruitland Road today (early afternoon) there were 72 Surf Scoters and 12 White-winged Scoters. Greater Scaup seemed to be dispersed along the waterfront, unlike the raft of 5,000 I saw a couple of weeks ago off of the McNichol a couple of weeks ago.
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, went down to the Spit on Sunday and the best bird was a Killdeer on the west side of the base in the field behind the portibles. Also seen were about 10 Song Sparrows, including one singing, on Penn C, along with a White-Throated Sparrow. Iceland and Glaucous Gulls were in the inner cells, and large numbers of Ring-Billed Gulls are starting to accumulate near the blue box. Also, in the inner cells were large numbers of Gadwall, many of which were sitting on the ice (unusual behaviour, at least to me), but surprising the Harelquins were missing.
Mike
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 22, 1998
Despite the spring-like weather for much of last week, there was still plenty of activity to remind us that winter is with us yet. A SNOWY OWL continues to hang around the Barcovan Beach area, at Weller's Bay. COMMON REDPOLLS continue to dominate the scene at most feeding stations around the county, and another HOARY REDPOLL was seen early last week just north of Belleville. A crabapple tree near the Quinte Skyway Bridge contained 2 immature male PINE GROSBEAKS recently, and a small flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS was seen passing over Sandbanks Provincial Park on Saturday. Two KING EIDERS were near Timber Island, just off Point Traverse early last week.
Amherst Island had a BARRED OWL last week near the Kingston Field Naturalists property. Other raptors seen on the island were SNOWY OWL, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, 4 NORTHERN SHRIKES, RED-TAILED HAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and both SHORT-EARED and LONG-EARED OWLS.
But there have been a few suggestions of spring too. In addition to the increasing number of HORNED LARKS along all Prince Edward County roadsides, there were 13 male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS at Prince Edward Point last week.
A NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was heard Thursday evening near the community of Albury, just east of Carrying Place. Another was heard calling Friday night at Big Island.
Wellington Harbour on Saturday had COMMON GOLDENEYE and numerous COMMON MERGANSERS, along with one pair of HOODED MERGANSERS. The BELTED KINGFISHERS at both Wellington Harbour and Consecon Creek are still present, along with the half dozen or so MUTE SWANS which seem to alternate between Consecon Lake and Barcovan Beach.
It was moving day Wednesday for an OSPREY'S nest near the junction of County Road 28 and Massassauga Road. The nest which has been on the top of an active hydro pole for five years was moved to a new pole and platform nearby with the help of Quinte Conservation, Ontario Hydro, landowners Dan and Anne Mueller of Sawguin Creek Landing (a retirement home), Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan, Prince Edward County Stewardship Council, and B & J Pole Line Construction. The nest which weighed in at over 100 pounds, is one of five active nests in the Quinte area since a program began four years ago to erect nesting poles.
And that's it for this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home). This report will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 1st. Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Re: Exquisite adult male King Eider in Mississauga posted by craig mclauchlan on February 11, 1998 at 05:06:24:
King Eiders I have seen at Churchill have behaved in much the same manner - both congregating with dabblers & pulling up on shore in the evening - I see no reason to consider this an escaped individual based on either. Common Eiders often act this way as well as in fact last fall's bird in Kempenfeldt Bay in Barrie did and as the male at Sunnyside in the early 1970's did. Common Eiders along the St. Lawrence River commonly behave as such as well
In Reply to: Gyrfalcon in Peterborough? posted by Ellen Smout on February 19, 1998 at 18:14:38:
My understanding is that last weekend this bird was seen again and that it is a gray Gyrfalcon. It was reported to be seen in the vicinity of the city hall on George St. & the armouries a block to the west as reported by Hugh Currie on the Toronto Hotline.
Good Luck to those who go seeking it!
In Reply to: Re: California Gull posted by Craig Mclauchlan on January 31, 1998 at 08:17:29:
Can you also send some information on the California Gull?
1. The general description of the animal 2. Animal habitat 3. What it eats and what eats it.
Please reply ASAP 'cause I need it for a report and I couldn't find any IMPORTANT information on it. Thanks!
I received the following from Donald Davis. Thought it would be of interest:
Witness an Unforgettable Spring Spectacle at the 1998 Presqu’ile Waterfowl Festival
It’s time to join the flock as Presqu’ile Provincial Park’s famous waterfowl return for the Presqu’ile Waterfowl Festival! From 10:00 am until 4:00 PM on March 28, 29 and April 4, 5 expert volunteer naturalists will be on hand to help visitors identify up to twenty-five species of ducks, geese and swans from various stations throughout the park. Back again this year are the popular Duck Truck mobile viewing stations, a waterfowl carving dips[lay, Wonderful Waterfowl Adventure children’s activities and more!
Tens of thousands of waterfowl migrate through Presqu’ile on route to their breeding grounds far to the north and west of Presqu’ile. These birds take advantage of the abundant food supplies in the park’s waters to replenish their energy reserves before heading off on further migration flights. Since most of Presqu’ile’s waterfowl nest in the northern prairies and tundra the species seen on the viewing weekends are rarely seen in Ontario. This opportunity to see a rich variety of waterfowl and huge numbers of birds is truly unique.
A sneak preview of Presqu’ile’s waterfowl migration can be seen on the television series Outdoor Adventure Canada , Life Network, March 19 (8:30 and 11:30 PM) and March 21 (6:00 and 9:30 PM). The sight of thousands of courting and feeding ducks in their brilliant spring plumage is an unforgettable spectacle says Presqu’ile Park’s Biodiversity Specialist, Don Tyerman. He adds, I have visited many famous eastern North America waterfowl locations including Chesapeake Bay (USA), Long Point (southern Ontario) and locations along the Gulf of Mexico - none of these places rival the viewing opportunities at Presqu’ile Park!
During the festival, Presqu’ile’s Lighthouse Interpretive Centre will open its doors featuring the Birds of a Feather carving exhibition. Beautifully detailed carvings of the waterfowl that frequent Presqu’ile will be on display. At the park staffhouse is the Ducks for Kids headquarters where organized activities of a ducky kind are planned for the kids at 11:00 am, 1:00 and 3:00 pm daily.
On March 28 and 29 Bushnell Sports Optics Worldwide will offer their popular Binocular Hospital cleaning service. A complete line of Bushnell binoculars and telescopes will also be available for field testing - hopefully spying out one of the rare species spotted each year!
In all, up to twenty-five different types of waterfowl and tens of thousands of individual ducks, geese and swans will pass through Presqu’ile Park this spring. This sight is one of Ontario’s great natural wonders. The entry fee is five dollars per vehicle and visitors are advised to dress warmly to most fully enjoy their outing. Be sure to join the flock at the Presqu’ile Waterfowl Festival!
For more information please call (613) 475-4324.
Has anyone heard any recent reports of the white phase gyr in Peterborough? Any information esp. directions would be great!
thxs
Ellen
ellen.smout@canada.sun.com
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 15, 1998
And the COMMON REDPOLLS keep increasing...... Most feeding stations are reporting good numbers of redpolls right now with between 50 and 60 coming to our own feeder, along with an increasing number of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. Unfortunately, other bird feeders around the Quinte area have been seeing little patronage by any birds, but overall, visitation by most species has been on the increase. A HOARY REDPOLL was present yesterday just north of the Brighton Dump.
Reports of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS this past week have also kept pace with those from the previous week, with new reports coming in from Milford, Green Point, Massassauga Road, and Carrying Place. Between 9 and 10 were reported this afternoon along the road near the Elks Lodge at Allisonville.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK is still patrolling the area near Mountain View, with another present on Saturday near the junction of Kelly Road and Wellbank's Road, at Soup Harbour. Last week, Amherst Island had SNOWY OWL, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, SHORT-EARED OWL, LONG-EARED OWL, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, BARRED OWL and GREAT HORNED OWL.
The NORTHERN HAWK OWLS north of Kingston and north of Belleville are still around and very dependable for anyone wishing to see them. For most of last week, the individual north of Belleville, was pretty much staying right at the junction of County Road 41 (off Highway 37) and Zion Road.
At Consecon Lake, the 6 MUTE SWANS are still present, and another 6 (or the same ones) were at Barcovan Beach today, along with 3 TUNDRA SWANS and one SNOWY OWL. Wellington Harbour, however, had very little water this past weekend with only an open spot near the government dock, and a few CANADA GEESE providing any kind of bird life at all for local birders.
Two PINE SISKINS are coming to a feeder east of Elmbrook, and a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was present at a Napanee feeder last week. A BROWN THRASHER is still coming to a feeder on Wilson Road, north of Wellington where it has been for much of the winter.
And that's it for this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home). This report will be updated at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 22nd Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
We saw two peregrines today (Feb 15) at Islington and Bloor. My mother saw at least one of them on Feb 12.
In Reply to: Humber Bay developments posted by Marcel Gahbauer on February 11, 1998 at 19:30:56:
I am also quite optimistic about the TRCA's modifications at Humber Bay Park for better wildlife habitat. They may have similar success to the habitat creation in Hamilton Bay near the Centre for Inland Waters near Burlington where tern habitat has been created.
What I am not optimistic about is the recreational pressures 3100 additional very close condominiums will impose - I guess we will see about that soon enough.
Anyway, those wishing to see the existing changes occurring at Humber Bay Park, and ask questions about the finished project can attend a bird hike I am leading this weekend for the Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront (C.C.F.E.W.) - Sunday, Feb. 15, 1998 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Meet at the Humber Bay East parking lot.
Hope to see you there!
I didn't see any eiders or Harlequins off of Burlington over the last couple of days, but viewing was interesting nevertheless. Yesterday, about 3,000 GREATER SCAUP were visible from the foot of Walker's Line. Today was much windier with a west wind. The big flocks of scaup were nower to be seen, but there was a COMMON LOON, (100 m from shore) a PIED-BILLED GREBE, and 3 COOTS at the Venture Inn (the latter 4 birds were even closer).
Over the past year or so, many of us have noticed the construction taking place at Humber Bay Park. Several contributors to this site, myself included, have voiced concerns about the changes that were/are taking place. Last night I attended the annual general meeting of the Citizens Concerned about the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront, where Gord Macpherson of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) spoke about the Humber Bay projects.
I am relieved to be able to report that all of the construction we have witnessed has been carefully planned by the TRCA, and is designed to improve the site for wildlife. The three islands located northeast of the feeding bay are intended to provide shelter for fish and turtles, as well as birds. One has already been partially planted, and the others will be planted later this spring with willows to provide dense cover. The south end of the westernmost island will be left bare, and covered with pea gravel. The TRCA hopes to attract Common Terns to nest here, and will be actively discouraging gulls and cormorants from using this area until the terns have a chance to colonize it.
The major project is the creation of a large wetland in the first bay east of the parking lot. Anyone who has been to the park in the past few months will have noticed that the bay has already been closed off to form a pond. The periphery of this pond will be planted with emergent vegetation, and some other habitat improvements will be made. From a bird perspective, the most interesting feature is the inclusion of a Caspian Tern nesting platform in the north end of the wetland. Much of the design of this area is being modelled after the very successful wetland which was constructed at Colonel Sam Smith Park a few years ago.
The other area where lots of work is being done is in Mimico Creek south of the Lakeshore bridge. The pedestrian footbridge currently under construction is by Metro Works. The TRCA decided to use this opportunity to add additional wetland habitats to the north and south of the bridge, on the east side. What looks like random rubble piles and mudflats now is actually the product of a careful design which will direct water flow and allow emergent vegetation to thrive in the new wetland cells.
All in all, I was very impressed with the plans that were presented. Most of the construction has now been done, and plantings will be done later this spring. The TRCA is anticipating attracting many new species to the area already this summer. For those of us who have been going to Humber Bay Park for many years, it should be interesting to observe how the birds adapt to these changes in the coming months.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Exquisite adult male King Eider in Mississauga posted by Glenn Coady on February 06, 1998 at 16:06:55:
I find it a strang that this Eider is assaicating with mallard.s and black duck,s rather than diving duck,s and I hear that it was flusht from the river bank yesterday my thout,is this a escapy or a zoo duck.I havent seen the eider at this pont but from all reports it dosant sound ill Exquisite is the woord being yoused to dscrib it any thouts?
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to the Spit on Sunday, and the best bird was a Short-Eared Owl at the base of Penn A, other birds seen were Iceland Gull, American Widgeon, Gadwall, G. Scaup, Redheads (unusual because they were on the lake side but close to shore) and a Kestrel. However the Harlequins were not seen.
Mike
In Reply to: Less exquisite King Eiders in Burlington posted by Gavin Edmondstone on February 07, 1998 at 20:43:39:
Yesterday, February 8, there was also a young male Harlequin Duck at Sioux Lookout, looking to be the same individual that was present at Venture Inn the previous Saturday.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 08, 1998
Whether it's a sign of spring, or if these birds have been here all winter is uncertain, but reports of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS this past week seemed to outnumber everything else. There are now four just east of Sprague Road on Big Island. They were flying back and forth across the road today when I went to check on them. Another four were seen Thursday near the South Bay Mariner's Museum, another was seen Friday four miles south of Demorestville along County Road 5, and still another was seen the same day near the junction of County Roads 1 & 2, north of Wellington. The Big Island site also has COMMON REDPOLLS and several CEDAR WAXWINGS.
The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD at Big Island is still around, but no longer as dependable; another at Wilson Road, north of Wellington is a bit more dependable. The Wilson Road site also has a BROWN THRASHER visiting a feeder on a regular basis, and has been since late December.
One Trenton area birder, birding in the county late last week reported encountering numerous flocks of HORNED LARKS, along with 3 NORTHERN SHRIKES, 15 RED-TAILED HAWKS and COMMON REDPOLLS everywhere. Numerous feeding station operators are reporting good success with redpolls, while others have none. John Blaney of Belleville reports that his flock of COMMON REDPOLLS in the yard has grown so large that it seems to intimidate even the MOURNING DOVES. One large flock of redpolls at Welbank's Road, near East Lake had one HOARY REDPOLL in with them today.
At Consecon Lake, there were 6 MUTE SWANS today in the open water where the old railway bridge crosses Consecon Lake, a flock of at least 4 (and probably more) AMERICAN ROBINS in the woods beside the old rail line, a BELTED KINGFISHER along the open water in the creek in Consecon and lots of small groups (5 or fewer) of HORNED LARKS in the fields in the general area. One feeder at Consecon Lake now has fully 50 DARK-EYED JUNCOS coming for feed each day. A corn field just west of the South Bay Mariner's Museum had four WILD TURKEYS in it today.
A SNOWY OWL is at Weller's Bay, and a BARRED OWL was seen just this past Tuesday at the Frink Centre, north of Belleville, where NORTHERN CARDINALS, BLUE JAY, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and DOWNY WOODPECKERS were in good supply at the Education Centre's feeder. Also present were both RED-BREASTED and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.
The NORTHERN HAWK OWL is still present near the corner of County Road 41 and Zion Road in Hastings County, just north of the Frink Centre. I saw it again on Tuesday right at the junction. With it were some 50 - 60 AMERICAN CROWS.
Elsewhere just north of the county, there are still AMERICAN ROBINS to be found at the Quinte Conservation Area. There were four on Thursday, along with numerous COMMON REDPOLLS, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE AND BLUE JAY. In town (Belleville) there were also 2 AMERICAN ROBINS along Bridge Street East last Wednesday.
And that's it for this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home). This report will be updated Sunday, February 15 Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Re: Exquisite adult male King Eider in Mississauga posted by Sandra Eadie on February 08, 1998 at 15:29:35:
We saw him at 2:00 PM at the end of the pier from the end of Arkendo Drive. The light was perfect. By my map the range is 1300 m so bring your scope!
In Reply to: Re: Exquisite adult male King Eider in Mississauga posted by Mike on February 07, 1998 at 18:46:49:
It was still at very end of Cement company pier at 11 on Sunday morning.
There were 2 (young) male King Eiders at Sioux Lookout Park in Burlington this morning. Small numbers of all three scoters were also present.
In Reply to: Exquisite adult male King Eider in Mississauga posted by Glenn Coady on February 06, 1998 at 16:06:55:
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I went down to see the King Eider today, and eventually I found it at the end of the pier on the west side. Also in the area there was a Mockingbird, and at the north end of the Petro Canada plant there was another Mockingbird.
Mike
In Reply to: Exquisite adult male King Eider in Mississauga posted by Glenn Coady on February 06, 1998 at 16:06:55:
What a fantastic bird! We also found it at 11:00 - 11:30 am on feb. 5 at the location described by Glenn Coady. A difficult location to get to. We walked to the lake from the the Avonhead drainage ditch & Lakeshore Rd. I understand that the King Eider had been seen the day before at the mouth of Joshua Creek and actually in the creek itself. When we saw it, it was doing a lot of swimming and very little diving. The flock that it associated with included not only Mallards and Black Ducks but also Wigeon and Gadwall. It left this flock a few times and headed east towards the pier, then swam back again to rejoin the flock of dabblers. There were 2 Mute Swans in the area but the eider never joined the Bufflehead or Goldeneye that were further offshore.
About three days ago the incomparable John Lamey of Mississauga found an exquisite adult male King Eider in Lake Ontario at the foot of Winston Churchill Blvd. It was seen sporadically at this location for the next two days.
Yesterday, despite it having not been seen for > 24 hrs my friend Gerard Binsfeld and I searched for it anyway while birding the Mississauga to Burlington corridor. About 3:20 p.m. Gerry spotted it well off to the east from the foot of Winston Churchill Blvd. just west of the long cement pier. We moved over to the east for a closer look crossing the open field across from the corner of Hazelhurst St. & Lakeshore Rd. just to the west of the large radio towers (directly across the street from Orion Bus Industries).
The bird was found to be associating with Mallards and American Black Ducks rather than the various diving ducks (Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Oldsquaw) in the vicinity. In fact it tended to hug the shoreline if not disturbed allowing views close enough (< 50 ft & from above) to induce hysterical paralysis. :) It later moved a little more out from shore as the dabbling ducks became a little nervous about our presence. This tendency to hug the shoreline of every little inlet explains why it had gone seemingly missing when searched for from a single vantage point.
This duck was so breathtaking we never did get over to see our original quarry which was a hybrid male Canvasback X Redhead found at LaSalle Park on the north shore of Hamilton Bay the day before by Rob Dobos.
Hopefully this post will enable others to go out and see these rare visitors this weekend.
Also seen periodically lately have been a young male King Eider & male Barrow's Goldeneye off Sioux Lookout in Burlington.
All the above locations are referred to in Clive Goodwin's excellent Birdfinding Guide to Ontario if they are not familiar.
Good Birding
BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, February 01, 1998
Feeders in the Quinte area continue to do a booming business, if one may judge from reports this past week. Large numbers of DARK-EYED JUNCOS are visiting feeders, including an estimated 30 at Consecon Lake, and COMMON REDPOLLS are increasing in numbers at many area feeding stations. The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD at Big Island was still visiting an area feeder during the early part of this past week, but failed to show this weekend for visiting birders. A small flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS is coming to a feeder north of Shannonville.
There were five AMERICAN ROBINS at the Quinte Conservation Area on Wednesday, which is probably five more than most of us have seen all winter. Only one was recorded this winter on the Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Census, quite unlike last winter's total of 435, and an estimated 3,000 in the entire county. Quinte Conservation Area seems to be picking up a bit with daily searches revealing plenty of NORTHERN CARDINAL, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE and TREE SPARROW.
There were 2 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS at Big Island on Thursday, seen by a visiting birder from Kingston. RUSTY BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS were seen by this same observer near Black River.
A few of the more interesting observations on the Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Census late in December included close to 32,000 OLD SQUAW, 1 NORTHERN FLICKER, 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, 1 WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and 3 WINTER WRENS. The results which just arrived this week also included an adult BALD EAGLE, 3 EASTERN SCREECH OWLS and 7 BROWN CREEPERS.
An agricultural field south of Milford which is being manured this winter has been offering some good birding. Last week there were large flocks of BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, AMERICAN CROWS and RUSTY BLACKBIRDS.
AMHERST ISLAND on Tuesday had a SNOWY OWL, GREAT BLUE HERON had an EASTERN MEADOWLARK, as well as an AMERICAN COOT on the mainland side of the ferry channel.
The NORTHERN HAWK OWL is still present north of Kingston and the individual north of Belleville is also still present near the corner of Phillipston Road and Zion Road. And even farther out of the county, there was a 1st year ICELAND GULL at Cobourg Harbour today.
And that's it for this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home). This report will be updated Sunday, February 8th. Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Re: California Gull posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 29, 1998 at 11:29:50:
The california gull was seen at 5:05 last night 01.30.98 on the brack wall at the Boulevard Club wich is jist the eastend of sunntside beach at the foot of Roncesvalles ave (at the lake).
CRAIG
In Reply to: Re: Gulls at Sunnyside - California Gull seen yet again on Jan. 28, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on January 28, 1998 at 18:59:43:
I spent an hour this morning searching for the California Gull from west of the Humber River to well east of Colborne Lodge. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it anywhere - the most exotic gull I saw was an Iceland. A male Hooded Merganser and Trumpeter Swan #276 were near the mouth of the Humber. The California Gull could of course easily have been over at Humber Bay (or somewhere else), and may well appear at Sunnyside again.
I went over to High Park afterwards but did not find anything unusual. The nuthatches and creepers are present as usual on the east side of the allotment gardens, and there were a few goldfinches flying around. The robins and waxwings which were so numerous in December were not around today. On the positive side, there were some early signs of spring - the Downy Woodpeckers have started courting, and some of the juncos and chickadees were singing.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Re: Gulls at Sunnyside - California Gull Jan. 26, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on January 27, 1998 at 16:53:12:
Bob Yukich late this afternoon re-found the adult California Gull at Sunnyside near the Sir Casimir Gzowski monument. There should be many people searching for it tomorrow.
In Reply to: Re: Gulls at Sunnyside - January 25, 1998 posted by Hugh Currie on January 27, 1998 at 08:28:42:
To expand on Hugh Currie's post regarding the California Gull here are a few more details:
Yesterday, Jan. 26, 1998 an adult California Gull was found by Bob Yukich (one of Toronto's finest birders IMHO) at Sunnyside on the breakwalls near the foot of Ellis Ave. at about noon. It was subsequently seen by several other observers until around 4:00 p.m. when it was seen to fly off in the direction of Humber Bay Park.
Despite many searchers looking for it today it has not been re-found as of yet but certainly should be looked for among the local gulls in the next few days.
In Reply to: Gulls at Sunnyside - January 25, 1998 posted by Glenn Coady on January 26, 1998 at 19:00:27:
Ad California Gull at foot of Ellis Jan 26 noon
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 25, 1998
Feeders in the Quinte area are showing a bit more promise now since the arrival of snow this past week. COMMON REDPOLLS are turning up en masse at most area feeders, along with increased numbers of MOURNING DOVES, BLUE JAYS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and woodpeckers. TREE SPARROWS, in particular, have increased in numbers, according to reports. Fully 50+ are coming to our feeder on Big Island, north of Demorestville. In Belleville, over 40 COMMON REDPOLLS are coming to one feeder. The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD that has been seen at 23 Sprague Road since late October, is now coming to the feeders, often feeding on suet or on the ground beneath the feeders. A female YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER has been coming to a feeder on Glenora Road (Highway 33), east of Picton since yesterday. This is the fifth known winter record of this species for Prince Edward County.
Marjory Smart of Bayshore Road in Adolphustown, just across the border from Prince Edward County, has also reported good success at her feeders with DARK-EYED JUNCOS, TREE SPARROWS, about 20 BLUE JAYS, 75 COMMON REDPOLLS, 15 GOLDFINCHES, 5 DOWNY WOODPECKERS, and several HAIRY WOODPECKERS, to name only a few of the species she has patronizing her six feeders.
An adult BALD EAGLE was seen Thursday at East Lake, west of Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area. Another turned up early last week at Amherst Island along with SNOWY OWL, SHORT-EARED OWL, RED-TAILED HAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, AMERICAN KESTREL and NORTHERN HARRIER.
The NORTHERN HAWK OWL is still present near the corner of Phillipston Road and Zion Road, north of Belleville. Today, it was just west of there in a yard where the mailbox reads "Balverts". It was sitting in a tree in the front yard. It showed considerable interest in a cat walking west on the road and followed it for about 200 metres. Then it seemed to decide that a cat was just a little too much to handle and returned to the Balverts yard. It's a beautiful bird, says Belleville birder, John Blaney - very distinctly marked.
For people from out of town it's probably easier to go north on Highway 37 about 10 to 12 kilometres until they cross the river and take the first left (Phillipston Road, also County Road 41) after crossing the river. Zion Road crosses the Phillipston Road in about 2 kilometres. It's the first crossroad going both east and west from the Phillipston Road.
And that's it for this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) Even if it's long distance, we ask that you leave a message and your phone number and I will return your call. This report will be updated Sunday, February 1st Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Yesterday I birded the area of the breakwalls from the mouth of the Humber River to Ontario Place. Most of the breakwalls were covered with ice and still continuously being battered by 1 metre waves and therefore not surprisingly revealed very few gulls.
However I did find a relatively new loafing spot which I suspect will always be good in such conditions. The Boulevard Club has recently built a boat dock in the lake behind the club just immediately to the east of the old Palais Royale dance hall. Unfortunately they have also extended their fence out several metres into the lake making unobstructed views difficult.
Yesterday during the high west winds there were about 250 gulls crowded onto the boat dock including 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Glaucous Gull (1st-winter), 3 Iceland Gulls (2 1st-winter, 1 2nd-winter), 18 Great Black-backed Gulls (every age class) and many Herring Gulls & Ring-billed Gulls of all ages.
I think this new dock will be very good at concentrating numbers of gulls in weather that makes the breakwalls themselves a miserable place for them.
Good Birding
Yesterday I finally made it down to the Spit for the first time this winter. Overall, numbers seemed to be somewhat lower than usual, although there were a few good pockets of activity.
The highlight of the day was the Labrador race Great Horned Owl near the tip of Peninsula C. Other interesting land birds included 2 Swamp Sparrows (near the base of the Spit, east of the road), 3 Song Sparrows & 20 Tree Sparrows (Peninsula B), and 8 Common Redpolls (also on Peninsula B).
The ice cover was fairly extensive - all of the ponds east of the road were frozen, and most of the bays on the west were also partially ice covered. As a result, almost all of the ducks were concentrated in the open areas of bay B and (to a lesser extent) bay C. Scaup, Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Redhead, Mallard, and Gadwall were all very common; there were also 10 Black Ducks, a pair of Am. Wigeons, and approx. 20 Mute Swans.
Gulls were surprisingly scarce - fewer than 200 in total. Among these, there was a single Iceland Gull (flying over the causeway) and a handful of Greater Black-backed; all of the others seemed to be Herring or Ring-billed.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
Sunday started out observing teh pair (M&F) of HOODED MERGANSERS that have been hanging around the basin by our building (350 Queen's Quay West). Very good observation point. Saw the female catch a small sunfish that was too big for her to eat. After a good three minutes of trying to eat it, she finally gave up and a gull snatched up the free meal.
Col. Sam Smith Park (Kipling+Lakeshore) Our first outing to this park proved to be very good. Spotted a couple dozen GADWALL, many MALLARDS, a whole flock of BUFFLEHEADS on the open water and scared up five AMERICAN WIGEON. Also spotted a lone COOT. CANADA GEESE were also present.
Humber Bay Park West. In the are between the east and west park (mouth of Mimco creek) where a dozen BLACK DUCK. Further out, towards the lake we were pleasantly surprised to find approx. 9 NORTHERN SHOVERLER. Moving over to the boat launch we found another lone coot along with many mallard and the infamous white duck. On our way to the pavillion and boardwalk we stopped by a stand of evergreens and found HOUSE SPARROWS, a single MOURNING DOVE and a NUTHATCH. Along the boardwalk we got very good views of a pair of male COMMON GOLDENEYE and a dozen or so REDHEADS. The oddly colour goose was there too with some MUTE SWANS.
Humber Bay Park East Didn't see much that we hadn't already seen other than OLDSQUAW on the lake, COMMON MERGANSERS twoards Palace Peir and a half-dozen COMMON REDPOLE by the bridge to the lake. (The Redpole was a lifer, so made a nice conclusion to the day!).
Cheers, Chris
In Reply to: Birdfeeder (In)activity posted by Bob Falconer on January 21, 1998 at 20:25:59:
It seems to me that birdfeeder activity is highly local. Last year around this time, I posted a message about my feeders being nearly abandoned, and got replies from several people that their feeders were fairly active. This year it's the reverse - my feeders have been very busy all season long. On an average day, I see 2-5 Common Redpolls (present since late December), 15-25 Mourning Doves, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a couple of Chickadees and Cardinals, 2-3 Juncos and Starlings, 5-10 House Sparrows, and 15-20 House Finches (although they have been getting more scarce in the past week). I even had a female Red Crossbill come to the feeder for about ten minutes on one day in late December.
I don't have any explanation for why this winter is better for me (I live in the Guildwood area in south Scarborough) and worse in other places. Since snowfall is more or less constant across the city, I don't think that's a very good explanation. I think the cat theory proposed by Jerry might be closer to the truth - cats were frequent visitors to my yard last winter, but I've seen hardly any this winter. One other idea that I have is that bird activity might be inversely proportional to squirrel activity. Although squirrels don't actually come to my feeders (I use only safflower, niger seed and millet, which the squirrels have no interest in), they frequently ran past the feeder (and scared the birds away) last winter because there was a nest nearby; this year the squirrels have moved away and the birds are rarely disturbed while at the feeder.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
In Reply to: Birdfeeder (In)activity posted by Bob Falconer on January 21, 1998 at 20:25:59:
PLEASE EXCUSE THE SPELLING FOR I AM DYSLEXIC....
Hi I live jist north of you at Mount Pleasant and Glenforest rd and all thoue yes i do have cat,s a round still my feader is vouod of bired life from the first of the year to date ,the species list is Dark eyed junco ame.crow,B.C.hickadee,downy woodpecker,House Finch Starling,Mourning Dove,and House Sparrow. This is amazingle poure to think that ther are Hoary and Common Redpoll,s on the L.S.Spit.I think that moust of the bird,s jist havent found our feader,s yeat ..... Maybe with this snow wear having this weekend thell come, Me im going to the Leslie st spit I no that ther ther. CRAIG
In Reply to: Birdfeeder (In)activity posted by Bob Falconer on January 21, 1998 at 20:25:59:
Do you have a new neighbors? With cats on lam? Not next neighbors necessarily. Two or even ten houses down. Cats belong inside the house.
Just a question.
Jerry.
We live in the Mount Pleasant/Eglinton area - quite urban but still lots of trees. We have never had anything very exciting at our feders (Nuthatch, Chickadee, Cardinal, Goldfinch, House Finch, Blue Jay, Junco etc. and in a good year, Pine Siskins and Redpolls.
Point is this - we have had virtually no birds whatsoever this winter. The (squirrel-proofed) seed feeder is almost as full as early December and the suet ball has not been touched.
Anyone else experienced this or know what is going on?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 18, 1998
Just when we thought we had seen the last of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, they are beginning to make a reappearance. Ten were seen earlier this week at the Quinte Conservation Area, just north of the county, and another 20 have been wandering around the Frink Centre (Plainfield Conservation Area) since Friday.
A week ago Sunday, there were 22 CANVASBACKS, 11 REDHEADS, 1 LESSER SCAUP and over 60 MALLARDS at Wellington Harbour, but today everything was frozen over with no waterfowl present at all. The same was true yesterday in Lake Ontario at Sandbanks Provincial Park.
The Wellington area yesterday fared a bit better just north of the village with about 10 LAPLAND LONGSPURS turning up in a group of six HORNED LARKS, all feeding along the roadside along County Road 2, near the McFaul Farms.
Wilson Road in the same area had 50 SNOW BUNTINGS, and another 25 or so were seen yesterday south of Cherry Valley. Wilson Road also produced a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, presumably the same one that has been seen near an area feeder for the past few weeks. Birders interested in seeing this bird are advised to walk softly and carry a big stick as one female neighbour all but chased two local birders off the township road for even daring to raise a pair of binoculars to her feeder.
There is a pretty dependable ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK along Highway 62, near Mountain View, and no fewer that three NORTHERN HARRIERS on Big Island, one of which has to be the most sharply defined adult male ever to be seen.
The best is always left to the last. North of Prince Edward County, there is a NORTHERN HAWK OWL, seen yesterday by Trenton area birder Albert Boisvert. The bird can be seen by taking Highway 62 for about 18 km north of Belleville. Drive east on Moira Road which is just past Rawdon Creek. Go 6 km and turn right at Philipston Road and drive for another 9 km. The bird can be found at the junction of Philipston and Zion Road.
And that's the report this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) Even if it's long distance, we ask that you leave a message and your phone number and I will return your call. This report will be updated Sunday, January 25th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Humber Bay sightings posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 19, 1998 at 21:54:24:
I also led an outing to Humber Bay Park on January 17th for the Citizens Concerned about the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront (CCFEW) as posted here some time ago.
On Saturday we did see 2 juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons at the Lakeshore Rd. bridge over Mimico Creek among the 32 species we encountered. We saw the Northern Mockingbird at Humber Bay West near the eastern entrance to the Promenade behind the Marina del Rey condominium development. Also here we saw both a male and a female Ring-necked Duck. Out at the western tip of Humber Bay West we had a very close flypast by an immature Northern Harrier.
After the outing I headed over to Sunnyside where I saw another male Ring-necked Duck, a male Canvasback and a 2nd-winter Iceland Gull. The Iceland Gull was quite interesting in that it had one iris that was becoming yellow-amber while the other iris was still very brown. When viewed head on so that both irides were visible together the effect reminded me of some Siberian Huskies that sport one brown and one blue eye.
In general, the numbers and diversity of gulls on the breakwalls at Sunnyside has been mostly disappointing this month compared to most winters.
In Reply to: Humber Bay sightings posted by Marcel Gahbauer on January 19, 1998 at 21:54:24:
I just noticed after I posted the last message that I accidentally wrote that the Mockingbird was at HBW. The one I saw was at actually at Humber Bay East (although there is another one which can sometimes be seen at HBW on the east side of the marina).
Yesterday (Jan. 18) I found 25 species at Humber Bay East and West. The best new find was a first year Glaucous Gull, swimming to the southeast of the gazebo at HBW. Also in the area were a male Ring-necked Duck, 18 Redhead, and the three more common gull species. Further to the west there were Common Goldeneyes, Scaup, and Common Mergansers.
Over on the east side, the Ruddy Ducks were not to be seen, but a pair of Hooded Mergansers were in their place (the second bay east of the parking lot). Off of the east shore there were many Oldsquaw as usual. The Mockingbird was in the dense grove of firethorn bushes near the east end of HBW, and was fairly active. Other birds at Humber Bay East included 5 Am. Wigeons (south shore), and 1 Common Redpoll and 1 Song Sparrow (ramp of feeding bay). The female Wood Duck and the Black-crowned Night Herons which have been near the Lakeshore Bridge over Mimico Creek were not there yesterday.
Regarding the hybrid/domestic ducks at Humber Bay: yesterday there were at least four varieties to be seen. The famous white duck was at the feeding ramp with the rest of the Mallards. Near the gazebo on the west side, there were three other hybrid varieties. The most common were Black Duck x Mallards (at least 3 males). As well, there was one duck which looked like such a hybrid (black body and greenish head), but had an entirely white throat. As well, there was a mottled brown/white goose with the Canada Geese.
Marcel Gahbauer gsteve6@ibm.net
I have just received the following invitation to attend the second Open House for the Lynde Shores Management Plan. This area, which includes Cranberry Marsh, Lynde Shores Conservation Area & the magnificent Lynde Creek Marsh system is probably the most productive birding area in the entire Toronto Region bar none. Since all of the surrounding farmland is currently zoned for development and will disappear likely within a generation, it is absolutely essential that birders and naturalists play a strong role in the ongoing protection of this jewel of a watershed for wildlife. This area recently made headlines in the Toronto media because a large subdivision is already being developed immediately to the east with a very paltry buffer zone.
I hope to see as many of you there as possible - many people are likely to attend the Open House & go birding in the area in the morning - perhaps we'll turn up a few nice finds!
Sincerely,
Glenn Coady
Here is the content of the letter from the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority:
-------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: SECOND OPEN HOUSE ~ LYNDE SHORES MANAGEMENT PLAN
Dear Mr. Coady:
I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation for you to attend the second open house in the Lynde Shores Management Plan Process to be held at the Whitby Mental Health Centre, Conference Room D. The scheduled dates and times are Thurs., Jan. 29 from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm & Sat., Jan. 31 from noon to 5:00 pm.
Our first open house held in September to launch the management process was very successful with lots of input from individuals and groups that use the conservation area. The second open house will allow us to share information obtained in September along with new research. Guests will also have an opportunity to sign up for a series of future workshops that will culminate in a draft management plan for Lynde Shores Conservation Area.
Anyone unable to attend either of the two days but who would like to sign up for a workshop and/or have the open house information forwarded to them (including map) are asked to contact the Conservation Authority. For more information concerning the open house please contact Sandra Hanson, Director of Corporate Services, at the Authority office (905)579-0411 or email cloca@speedline.ca
Sincerely,
J.R. Powell Chief Administrative Officer Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority 100 Whiting Avenue Oshawa, ON L1H 3T3 (905)579-0411 (905)579-0994 (fax)
-------------------------------------------------------------
In Reply to: Peregrine Attack posted by Anthony Lang on January 16, 1998 at 09:41:25:
Neat anecdote Tony.
I can just imagine the future Toronto Sun headline if the Peregrine continues this hunting strategy:
"Endangered Falcon causes 10 car pile-up"
Glenn Coady
As I was driving eastbound on the Gardiner Expressway at 07:45 h this morning, I had an exciting view of a PEREGRINE. I saw a flock of about 40 STARLINGS rise up the south side of the expressway not far east of Spadina and head north. As they passed over the north railing of the Gardiner, the flock suddenly went beserk. I saw a PEREGRINE emerge from the flock and bank southwards in pursuit of a portion of the flock. However, evasive manoeuvers by the starlings lost the falcon. The falcon slowed down and headed for the top of the high-rise condos just south of the expressway.
I never tire of watching Peregrines.
For those who didn't know, the Peregrines that have been nesting in downtown Toronto for the last few years, or their offspring, have also been wintering in the city. Apparently they are most often seen along the lakeshore.
Anthony Lang, Ph.D. Ecologist Geomatics International Inc.
In Reply to: All white duck at Humber Bay posted by Chris Clark on December 28, 1997 at 11:43:07:
PLEASE EXCUSE THE SPELLING FOR I AM DYSLEXIC.
ther is a form of yellow hibreed mallard showing up along lake ontario,in Port Hope on dec.22 97 ther wear 5 off thes hibreads ,what ther breding with is beond me so if anny one has a thout i wood lick to no fo corse beingt Port Hope harbour annthing is posaball.I have seen this form from Hamalton to Port Hope.
Several contributors to this forum have commented on the construction projects at Humber Bay Park and the lack of public input or prior notification of construction. For all those of you who use the site for birding or other recreation you will be interested in the information I received by e-mail this week from Beth Jefferson of the Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront (CCFEW).
Beth's message reads as follows:
"Many birders have been alarmed at the construction (destruction?) they have been seeing at Humber Bay East, Mimico Creek & the Motel Strip (now Humber Bay Shores). Gord MacPhearson from the Metro Toronto & Region Conservation Authority (MTRCA - now the TRCA) will be the guest speaker at the annual general meeting of CCFEW (Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront) on Tuesday, February 10, 1998 @ 7:30 p.m. He will be explaining the plans for this area and address questions and comments. Birders with concerns about this habitat are invited to attend. The meeting will be at LAMP, 185 Fifth St., Etobicoke. It is one block north of Lakeshore Blvd."
Here is a perfect opportunity to express your $0.02 regarding the future of Humber Bay Park and its birdlife.
Hope to see some of you there,
Glenn Coady Toronto, ON coady@ftn.net
While covering Toronto Island for the annual Lake Ontario mid-winter waterfowl inventory our group found a Red-necked Grebe off the Centre Island ferry dock (quite a rarity in Toronto in mid-January!) and four Canvasback at the Hanlan's Point ferry dock. Two female Hooded Merganser were still present there as well (one at the farm near Centreville; the other off the north end of Mugg's Island).
Glenn Coady Toronto, ON coady@ftn.net
Glenn Coady
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Glenn Coady on January 08, 1998 at 17:16:33:
Hi Glenn, and all who read this message. There you are. I am co-chair, together with John Carley. The reason I can so freely praise Friends of the Spit is that I became actively involved relatively late after its founding. Therefore, I can appreciate the tireless hard work of the Friends since 1978. The challenges were enormous, but they never lost heart. I would like to salute and thank these "pioneer" Friends. Jacqueline Courval Co-chair, Friends of the Spit
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to Cootes Paradise on Sunday, a cold but sunny day. The best birds were all pretty much on the trail leading down from the Visitor's Center, and the small valley to the left of the trail. They were a pair of Tufted Titmice, a Winter Wren, a couple of Pine Siskins, Cedar Waxwings, both Nuthatches, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Juncos, Blue Jays, Cardinals, plenty of Chickadees, and Red-Tail Hawk swooped down into the valley and had a look around from its perch, but couldn't find any thing and left. There wasn't much else seen except for Common Mergansers seen by Princess Point and at the west end of the marsh.
Mike
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 11, 1998
The disappearance of snow cover and the arrival this past week of relentless rain resulted in little bird activity at most feeding stations in Prince Edward County. Of course, Prince Edward County can be thankful it did not experience the devastating freezing rain that occurred 30 miles east of here, in Kingston, not to mention Ottawa, Montreal and parts of New York State. However, not all bird feeders in the county were dismal failures this past week. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS continue to frequent feeding stations in Consecon and Bloomfield, with an individual now coming to a feeder at 1197 Kelly Road, Point Petre.
While feeding stations these days are less than busy, one operator at Black River has her regulars, along with about 30 WILD TURKEYS.
Point Petre today also had an immature BALD EAGLE, 20 SNOW BUNTINGS and about 50 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, according to Nick Quickert and Nels Banting who birded the area this weekend. They also found a TURKEY VULTURE, presumed to be the same individual that has been floating around the southeastern shores of Prince Edward County, including Prince Edward Point, Cressy and South Bay.
The birding pair also found last week's male BELTED KINGFISHER still huddled but actively fishing at Wellington Harbour. They also found a GREAT BLUE HERON at West Lake, and a lone AMERICAN ROBIN on the second Line of Ameliasburgh.
The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD first seen in late October is still around on Big Island, and the feeder on Wilson Road, near Wellington still has last week's reported BROWN THRASHER.
A seldom encountered dark phase RED-TAILED HAWK, seen by Nick Quickert in November for several days near the 401 exit at Highway 33, Trenton, was rediscovered early this week at Zwick's Island Park, Belleville, by Terry Sprague. The bird was heading toward the Ramada Inn. And that's the report this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) Even if it's long distance, we ask that you leave a message and your phone number and I will return your call. This report will be updated Sunday, January 18th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Great Horned Owls posted by Sandra Eadie on January 03, 1998 at 18:33:07:
Please excuse the spelling for i am dyslexic.
The G.H.owl,s on the spit are 3 diferint bird,s one is of the labredor rass the other 2 ars told apart by ther size one sems to be a young bird maby first year G.H owls are nocturnal but do spook vear esle i try to wach from a fare (thats what the bins are for) ther wear allso 2 long eard owls on the spit that day but ther rosting spot changis quite ofton. CRAIG
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Friends of the Spit on December 24, 1997 at 16:11:30:
I can personally attest that Friends of the Spit have been instrumental in keeping the area an urban wilderness - indeed I am a member and I would encourage membership to any readers of this web page who cherish the Leslie St. Spit as it is.
However, for the purposes of this forum I think it inappropriate to post under the name Friends of the Spit without including the name of the individual doing the posting. One obvious reason is that in future anyone could purport to speak for the Friends without being duly authorized. Another reason is we would all benefit from getting to know anyone obviously dedicated to so valued an organization as FOS.
My $0.02 Cdn
Glenn Coady Toronto, ON coady@ftn.net
In Reply to: Cats at the feeders posted by Andy on January 07, 1998 at 10:09:17:
Domestic cats kill millions of song birds a year in North America. I don't know if there is anything you can do to prevent these particular cats from killing birds but at least tell you neighbours to spay and neuter their cats so this problem doesn't escalate.
In Reply to: Cats at the feeders posted by Andy on January 07, 1998 at 10:09:17:
You could try live trapping them and passing them on to the SPCA.However the SPCA will charge a fee for taking them off your hands.
I need suggestions on dealing with this. Our neighbors had been feeding a couple of stray cats. These had kittens and now there are about 8 of them hanging around our backyards. Other than their foul droppings in all the flower beds, I am sure they are wreaking havoc with the local bird population. Although I have not seen any evidence to confirm birds being killed, my feeders are full of seed and almost devoid of birds. The neighbors have stopped feeding the cats, but they are now permanent residents and I don't know how to get rid of them. Any suggestions?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, January 04, 1998
Artist Dick Kirkley of Wilson Road, five miles north of Wellington, has two special birds in his back yard this winter. Both a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD and a BROWN THRASHER have been at his home five miles north of Wellington since late December. On Monday, the BROWN THRASHER was visiting his feeder.
A report of a TUFTED TITMOUSE was accidentally omitted from the December weekly bird summaries. It was seen on several occasions at a Bloomfield feeder in mid-December.
The campgrounds adjacent to the Outlet River at Sandbanks Provincial Park produced a few good sightings last Monday. In addition to the usual BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BLUE JAYS, there was one sizeable flock of COMMON REDPOLLS. Also seen were RUFFED GROUSE, PILEATED WOODPECKER, BROWN CREEPER and PINE GROSBEAK. West Point had GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, OLDSQUAW and COMMON GOLDENEYE.
The Belleville Christmas Bird Count on Monday, December 27th produced few surpises, but certainly nothing to compare with counts of past winters. Sean Blaney found an AMERICAN ROBIN in the Quinte Conservation Area, and father John managed to locate a NORTHERN SHRIKE in the same area. Not bad going for thje two birding Blaneys. The Massassauga Point Conservation Area produced one YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER for Marc Johnson. White's Road off Highway 2 yielded 48 CEDAR WAXWINGS, with the Blaneys also reporting high numbers of RED-TAILED HAWKS (12), MOURNING DOVES (103), and BROWN CREEPERS (8). There was also a GREAT BLUE HERON at the water filtration plant at Bayside on the 27th, with another seen by Nick Quickert and Nels Banting today (Sunday) near Glenora. These two birders from the Trenton area had a good day today in Prince Edward County coming up with a lingering DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and a BELTED KINGFISHER at Wellington, while the Lake-on-the-Mountain area produced no fewer than 3 adult BALD EAGLES. Both HOODED MERGANSER and REDHEAD were also chalked in West Lake, at Wellington.
The feeders at the Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area's Education Centre, north of Brighton, on Friday had lots of DARK-EYED JUNCOS sampling the menu, along with BLUE JAY, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE and NORTHERN CARDINAL. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were ticked off on the day's checklist on the homeward journey at Wooler, Carrying Place and Ameliasburgh. Another was seen on Monday near Bayside Secondary School, near Trenton.
And that's the report this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) Even if it's long distance, we ask that you leave a message and your phone number and I will return your call.
This report will be updated Sunday, January 11th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
For owl lovers. Today Jan. 3, at Leslie Street Spit, I saw Great Horned Owls. One not so clear, flying, near the yacht club (peninusula D I believe). Then I got clear views of a GHO both on Peninsula C and Peninsula D. I am not sure if they were all the same bird. They seemed awake. The one on D was near the tip and looked a little sleepy. The one C was quite near the road and flew after a few minutes. Not many land birds but lots of ducks.
While up in Toronto this past week, I had a limited chance to do some birding. In High Park on the 27th, I recorded 26 species (not counting that all white duck, which was there too). Best birds: a large flock of Cedar Waxwings seen near the swampy area north of the "duck ponds" (this area was especially birdy) and three Red Crossbills in a pine next to Grenadier Pond. Along the Humber River trail between the lakeshore and Eglinton. some interesting birds on the 29th: 75+ Common Mergansers, one Hooded merganser; Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye. I found a fully-stocked feeder station about one km north of the footbridge over the river which was quite active with run-of-the-mill birds. A Hairy Woodpecker showed up to feast.
There were 9 Trumpeter Swans at Bronte beach yesterday morning. Five young birds are unmarked as are some of the adults. Harry Lumsden told me today that some of the birds have been losing their wing tags and leg bands. They pair formerly known as 100 (aka pigpen) and 206 had 5 cygnets this year which were not captured for banding. 100 still yellow stubs without numbers on her wings.
In Reply to: Re: All white duck at Humber Bay posted by John Miles on December 28, 1997 at 21:40:30:
Yes these feral ex domesticated mallard are quite common in southern ontario around the golden horseshoe. There is a book ( unfortunately I forget it's title) which is like a field guide for domestic waterfowl. It's a great guide to see what type of white farm duck/goose that is sitting in your local harbour with the Mallards and Canada Geese. Exotic waterfowl are also found usually with these species. Some of the exotic waterfowl species I have seen over the last few years have been: Black, and Whooper swans Barnacle, Bar-headed, and Egyptian geese Mandarian duck, Chiloe Wigeon, Common and Ruddy Shelduck.
In Reply to: Re: Owls posted by Chris Clark on December 23, 1997 at 11:52:16:
Actually Snow cover plays a minor part in the movement of Northern Owls to to these areas. The reason which primarily drives these birds down is lack of prey. One must remember that these northern owls have evolved to be able to forage quite efficiently in cold environments with lots of snow. When their desired prey crashes ( lemmings and voles ), the remaining limited numbers of prey can only support a limited number of predators. Thus most owls which can not compete for this now scarce prey must migrate to areas of greater prey or they will starve to death. Northern owl invasions/irruptions into Southern Ontario usually take place once every 4 years. Last year we were blessed with the invasion/irruption lasting an additional year.
In Reply to: Sick Pine Grosbeaks posted by William Miller on December 22, 1997 at 20:58:11:
The symptoms you describe sound a little like the disease "Aspergillus fumigatus". From what I can remember this is a type of fungus. The disease is spread at the feeder by the diarrhea of the infected birds. You may wish to try the following: Check to make sure the feed you are buying does not contain alot of dust(sorry I cant remember why this is important) Clean all your feeders with a disinfectant right away. Make sure your feeders are cleaned periodically every week or so. Allow the birds to eat all the seed in the feeder before refilling, this saves you having alot of excess feed in and around the feeders this seed gets damp and may harbour the fungus. I hope this helps. gw
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 28, 1997
Not too much has changed in the winter finch distribution in the Quinte area this past week. PINE SISKINS, COMMON REDPOLLS and PINE GROSBEAKS continue to show up throughout Prince Edward County, but in low numbers. RED CROSSBILLS have been spotted by several observers at or near Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area, at East Lake, and about a dozen PINE GROSBEAKS can usually be depended on at Sandbanks Provincial Park in the vicinity of the Group Campground.
Numerous PILEATED WOODPECKERS have turned up this winter in the county, a few of them coming to bird feeding stations. Walter Frey of Picton has had one in his backyard for the past three days turning up several times a day, (more often in the afternoon than morning), usually hanging around about 15 minutes, only about 10 yards from the house. Birders wishing to acquire one for their winter list can do so by travelling south on Church Street out of Picton (up the hill) for 1 km from Macauley House. His is the first house on the right: 224 County Road 22.
The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD which has been in a Big Island backyard since late October is still in the area, but showing up less frequently than in the past, often being seen along South Shore Road or frequenting fencerows several fields away. Birders are welcome to try their luck at 23 Sprague Road.
A blue morph SNOW GOOSE was seen Friday at Prinyer's Cove where MALLARDS and about 80 CANADA GEESE have also been hanging out. These have since moved on into deeper water with the recent colder temperatures.
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS are visiting backyards at Fenwood Gardens in the Sawguin Marsh Area, off Highway 62, just south of Belleville. And at Cressy COMMON GRACKLES are sampling the menu at one feeder. This is the same location where a Say's Phoebe turned up a few years ago.
Huff's Island Marsh had a SWAMP SPARROW on the weekend, and a SONG SPARROW was located in the Sawguin Marsh just off the causeway between the island and the mainland at Massassauga. Observers birding Massassauga Point during the week had poor success locating AMERICAN ROBINS, traditionally a dependable spot for wintering individuals, but did come up with a total of three, compared to over 400 seen there last winter at this time. DARK-EYED JUNCOS were also found, along with CEDAR WAXWING, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD and EVENING GROSBEAK.
With the predicted snow for Tuesday, bird feeder operators should start seeing a marked improvement in patronage at their feeders. Keep your eyes peeled for unusual occurrences. And that's the report this week from the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) Even if it's long distance, we ask that you leave a message and your phone number and I will return your call.
This report will be updated Sunday, January 4th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: All white duck at Humber Bay posted by Chris Clark on December 28, 1997 at 11:43:07:
All white ducks found along the waterfront are domestic ducks that have gone wild. They are fairly common in the Hamilton to Oshawa area were the Mallards gather.
My wife and I were at Humber Bay east (Dec. 27) and noticed a duck that looked very much like a mallard in shape and size, but it was completely white except for the orange bill and feet. Because the eyes were black, I'm assuming that this is just an escaped farm duck and not an albino. Has anyone else noticed it? If so, any opinions? (If nothing else, it's rather cute. :)
Also at the Bay were a male Hooded Merganser, female Goldeneye, both sexes of Bufflehead, a couple Gadwal, some Redheads, some Mute Swans and a male Common Merganser preening itself. We were only there about 10 minutes so didn't get to check out anything beyond the "feeding" pond.
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Barb Reid on November 16, 1997 at 18:07:34:
As a follow up to our message of Dec. 24, you are welcome to visit our website at: http://www.interlog.com/~fos
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Seena on December 02, 1997 at 12:51:00:
Hi to all of you. Did you know that the reason you can birdwatch (and walk, cycle, blade, take your children, find 400 species of plants, etc.) in a tranquill, car-free setting is due to the hard work of Friends of the Spit since 1977? Without the dedicated stewardship and advocacy of the 1,200 members of the Friends, the Spit would have been built-up with marinas and other facilities (such as casinos). While the concept of the Spit as a Public Urban Wilderness -- a phrase coined by the Friends -- keeping the Spit that way is an on-going challenge. To get more information about Friends of the Spit, e-mail us at fos@interlog.com, or call 699-3143. Happy Holidays, and Good Birding.
In Reply to: Owls posted by Dave M on December 19, 1997 at 08:52:34:
In my limited experience the occurance of owls (and I think other raptors in general) is related to how much snow is on the ground. Heavy snow cover on the ground means that they have problems finding prey so they will fly south to find more open areas.
Two years ago when there was a very heavy snowfall up north, there was a Great Grey owl at Leslie Street Spit in Toronto. (A landfill area jutting into Lake Ontario just east of the Toronto Islands if you're not familiar with the area.) Last year there were a couple of Snowy owls in the same area.
So, the answer to your question is "it depends". If there is a lot of snow up north and the owls have to fly south to find food, you may be in luck. If the winter continues the way it has been going (mild), odds are you won't see any owls that are out of the ordinary for your habitat.
I am looking for information concerning an illness that is showing up in our local population of Pine Grosbeaks.We are having more of these beautiful birds than usual at our feeders this season but so far I have found two dead females close by and there are more that appear to be headed the same way.The affected birds display a bloated,swollen appearance,to the the extent that their wings are not even able to lay properly against their flanks when at rest.They also seem lethargic,but continue to eat,often staying at the feeders long after the healthy birds have moved on.At first the problem seemed to be restricted to the females,but today I saw a male which had the same symptoms. These birds also have a diarrheal discharge.Does anyone know what could be going on here?Only the Pine Grosbeaks seem to be involved.We also have Evening Grosbeaks,Juncos,Siskins, Chickadees,and a lone Myrtle Warbler,all of which are doing fine.
In Reply to: Nature walks posted by Andy on December 16, 1997 at 14:13:32:
Dear Andy,
I will be leading bird outings on behalf of the Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront (CCFEW) on Saturday January 17, 1998 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & Sunday February 15, 1998 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Both outings meet at the Humber Bay Park East parking lot. Both outings are free and open to the public.
Glenn Coady coady@ftn.net
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 21, 1997
The East Lake area at Sandbanks Provincial Park has always been one of the more dependable areas to see LITTLE GULLS. The best success can usually be had at either the mouth of the Outlet River, or in East Lake itself from the Group Campground. Last week, Albert Boisvert of Trenton found between 25 and 30 flying around out over the lake.
Bob Sachs of Kingston drove the 40 miles or so to look for the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD that's been hanging around a Big Island backyard. He didn't find it, but he did find no fewer than seven SNOWY OWLS on the Bay of Quinte ice just off from the north shore of Big Island. So far, that's better than Wolfe Island!
It was Christmas bird count time in Prince Edward County on Saturday. Results of the Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count haven't been received yet, although results don't look all that bad. Land birds were scarce, but Prince Edward Point enjoyed its usual fine totals of waterfowl, including some 30,000 OLDSQUAW.
Other interesting finds included BROWN CREEPER and COMMON LOON near Lake-on-the-Mountain, 4 GREAT BLUE HERONS and a NORTHERN FLICKER at Cressy, GREAT HORNED OWL at Waupoos and a SCREECH OWL near Prinyer's Cove, as well as a SNOWY OWL on Timber Island, off Point Traverse.
COMMON REDPOLLS, PINE SISKINS and PINE GROSBEAKS were fairly well distributed throughout the area indicating that these species should be around this winter. A SONG SPARROW was found at Cape Vessey. COMMON GRACKLES were found at both Waupoos and Lake-on-the-Mountain.
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were present at Prince Edward Point a week or two ago, and a BELTED KINGFISHER was spotted one day this past week at Consecon.
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are still visiting feeders at two locations in the Bloomfield area, and PILEATED WOODPECKERS have been reported from several locations including Waupoos, Demorestville and Hillier.
And that wraps it up for this week from Prince Edward County. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) Even if it's long distance, we ask that you leave a message and your phone number and I will return your call.
This report will be updated Sunday, December 28th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Hello all
Justa afew questions The Last 2 year I had the oppitunuty of photographing GREAT GREY OWLS in my area of Living, I must of took 30 rolls of film and every day I saw them they would fly over to me, I was wondering if you think that they would return this year as well. I was talking to the local Indian Chef and according to his records these birds should not have been here and that last recorded time they weree was 150 years ago. Incase you are wondering what area I live in its Island Grove Ontario, About 1 and 1/2hr north of Toronto. On Lake Simcoe I have many good Professional shot and would appreciate any reply. By the way you can seee one of these wonderful bird at the CORRTRIGHT CONSERVATION Park for I found one that was hit by a car and they have it on display Thanks DAVE
In Reply to: Nature walks posted by Andy on December 16, 1997 at 14:13:32:
Glancing at the December issue of Toronto Field Naturalist, I notice several upcoming walks with a "birding" component. George Bryant is leading one at Cherry Beach starting 10:30 am on Jan 8, Barbara Kalthoff leads one at 11 at Humber Bay Park on Jan. 14, Louise Orr leads one on Jan. 21 at 10 am at Wilkett Creek, and Ann Gray leads one on Jan. 27 at 10:30 on the Toronto Islands. If you live in the area, you might like to consider joining the Toronto Field Naturalists since they sponsor so many of the local walks and outings. A single membership is $25 per year (less for students and seniors) and this includes 9 issues of their periodical with articles and current activities. Their address is 605-14 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1K2. If you wish details on where to meet for any of the walks mentioned above in this post, let me know and I will be happy to provide them. Hope this helps!
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to the north shores in Cootes Paradise on Sunday. The best bird was a Tufted Titmouse, which was seen on Capt. Cootes Trail going down the hill from the nature center, also at Pinetum and Homestead there was a Mockingbird, and a Sharp-Shinned Hawk was seen on Grey Doe. Other birds on Capt. Cootes were 3 Pine Siskins, both Nuthatches, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings, Amer. Tree Sparrows, and Juncos. On the bay there were 36 Tundra Swans, a female Northern Pintail, Black Ducks, Hooded and Common Mergansers, Mallard, and a Red- Tailed Hawk. On Pinetum there were many Robins, Cardinals, Tree Sparrows, and another Red-Tail. At Spencer Smith the same day there were 3 Coots, Red-Breasted Merganser, C. Goldeneye, and Greater Scaup. And yesterday there was a Mockingbird in the 16 Mile Creek in Oakville near 6th Line and Upper Middle, along with about 100 Robins which have been present for about a month.
Mike
Are there any nature/birding walks/hikes coming up in the next few weeks in the TO area?
In Reply to: Red Shouldered Hawk posted by Gavin Wells on December 15, 1997 at 21:39:37:
The odd ocasional Red-shouldered Hawk may winter in S. Ontario but it is not a species encountered that frequently in the winter. With that said several species of raptors still are migrating south well into December and sometimes into early January. They linger and only work their way south as the snow depth gets to deep. Species often seen migrating/moving further south in late December/early January include, Red-shouldered, Red-tailed, Rough-legged, N. Harrier and even Short-eared Owls.
On Sunday morning I was treated to an exceptional view of a Red Shouldered Hawk. I would greatly appreciate if anyone could answer the following questions. I would like to know how common this species is in the Hamilton Area at this time of year? Is the bird likely to stay in the area for the winter?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 14, 1997
Lots of interesting birds of prey reported this past week in the Quinte area. David Boyd, publisher of Houndstooth & Feathers magazine had a SCREECH OWL outside his home near South Bay early in the week. An adult BALD EAGLE spent Friday morning on the ice in Adolphus Reach just off Green Point. Another adult BALD EAGLE was seen Sunday by Earl Tripp at Consecon. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTRELS, SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and COOPER'S HAWKS continue to be reported almost daily indicating a good population of these this winter in Prince Edward County, along with a surprising number of NORTHERN HARRIERS. And at Amherst Island, SAW-WHET OWL, SNOWY OWL, LONG-EARED OWL and SHORT-EARED OWL have all been recorded this past week, along with SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and NORTHERN GOSHAWK. All three species of Accipiters were seen at Prince Edward Point this week, along with one TURKEY VULTURE.
Prince Edward Point also had WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, BLACK SCOTER and SURF SCOTER this past week. A passing commercial fisherman's boat flushed an estimated 30,000 OLDSQUAW from the open waters just off the Point. Hopefully, all of these birds and their impressive numbers will be around this coming Saturday for the Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count.
The Outlet River Campground at Sandbanks Provincial Park had lots of activity in the dense growths of White Cedar and deciduous trees on Wednesday. Both PINE SISKIN and COMMON REDPOLLS were present, along with several large bands of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, interspersed with both WHITE-BREASTED and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, DOWNY WOODPECKER and BLUE JAY. Several PINE GROSBEAKS were heard in the distance, but never showed themselves.
If Prince Edward County birders want a PILEATED WOODPECKER for their winter list, one was seen early today near the end of King's Road (toward Easterbrook Rd.) just south of Cherry Valley. And birders might also welcome a RING-NECKED PHEASANT as well which has been seen in the Fenwood Gardens area, south of Belleville. The escaped peacock, however, has not been seen since I last saw it scratching in the roadside leaf litter in late November.
According to the Kingston Field Naturalists Information Line, the NORTHERN HAWK OWL is still in the same location off Highway 15 where it has been for the past four weeks. Directions to the sighting may be obtained by calling the hotline at 613-549-8023.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County. Please e-mail your sightings to the address which follows, or phone 613-476-5072 (home) or 613-968-3434 (work). If calling my home number from an older style phone, please be advised that we do not respond to calls if they show up on the display as "unknown number, unknown name," due to the large number of telemarketing calls we receive that also appear as "unknowns." We ask, even if it is long distance, that you leave a message and your phone number and I will happily return your call.
This report will be updated Sunday, December 21st Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: crunch-time for year lists posted by David Geale on December 08, 1997 at 11:27:25:
Today there were 4 Ruddy Ducks at Humber Bay East, northeast of the parking lot. Other birds in the park included Common Redpoll, Kestrel, Bonaparte's Gulls, Redheads, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers and more. There was also an immature Black-crowned Night Heron on the east side of Mimico Creek, on the north side of the Lakeshore Road bridge.
Dear birder
I am a Ph.D student and my major is bird behaviour and acoustic communication in birds in Republic of Korea.
Now, I am swapping world bird photoguides.
I want to exchanging my two korean bird photoguides(1. Migratory birds of Korea, pp. 131, 97species, high quality 110 color photos, 1996, Daewon publ., Moo-Boo Yoon 2. Resident birds of Korea, pp. 108, 58species, 100 color photos, 1996, Daewon publ., Moo-Boo Yoon) with your region bird photoguides.
If you want to exchanging, Please let me know your book information and current address.
I look forward to answering about my suggestion.
Best regards,
Bo-Yeon Hwang Lab. of Ornithology, Dept. of Biology, Kyung-Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea
e-mail; skylark@nuri.net
In Reply to: crunch-time for year lists posted by David Geale on December 08, 1997 at 11:27:25:
Horned Grebes are still in reasonable numbers in the Niagara River. Try below the falls at the Maid of Mist landing and up stream as far as Fort Erie. Also along the north shore of lake Erie west of Fort Erie. 2/3 Thayer's Gulls are regular at the Adam Beck power plant at the moment as well as California Gull. Ruddy Ducks are still in Long Point Bay. At times in early December the Ruddy flocks have reached several hundred birds there or out on Lake Erie.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, December 07, 1997
E-mail problems have resulted in this report being a bit later than usual. Up to 400 COMMON MERGANSERS have been present in the Bay of Quinte this past week. Elsewhere, duck populations have not changed appreciably from last week. Thirteen TUNDRA SWANS were present at South Bay on Thursday, and another 40 were at Wolfe Island this week.
Of particular interest today was a flock of 35 SNOW BUNTINGS in downtown Trenton. A NORTHERN SHRIKE has been present at the corner of Doxee Road and Jericho Road in Prince Edward County. The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD continues to patrol a wide area near a Big Island residence and can be depended on every day. At Mountain View, a flock of about 60 CEDAR WAXWINGS turned up Thursday, and a SWAMP SPARROW was found along Partridge Hollow Road, near Consecon on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the Quinte area, a BOWN CREEPER and an EASTERN BLUEBIRD were found by Albert Boisvert at Kenron Estates, east of Trenton on Thursday, and 2 SNOWY OWLS have been present since Wednesday at the Canadian Forces Base, also at Trenton. Another is at the Anderson Farms Case Dealership in Prince Edward County at Yerexville. Two MERLIN were seen briefly in Belleville on Tuesday. Quinte Conservation, Lower Trent Conservation, Love ‘em Pet Foods and The Birdhouse (Wooler) hosted a bird feeding workshop at the Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area's Education Centre today with 36 people turning up for the two-hour presentation. The seminar, conducted by Terry Sprague, focused on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examined the infinite variety of feeders on the market. This completes the series of workshops that also have been presented by Quinte Conservation at Campbellford, Madoc, Tweed, Picton, Belleville, and Napanee. This report will be updated Sunday, December 14th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: crunch-time for year lists posted by David Geale on December 08, 1997 at 11:27:25:
Well David I hope these possible suggestion help for your list 1) white-winged Crossbill Small numbers have been seen in thickson's woods in Whitby. Red crossbills were seen this weekend in The Ganaraska forest. If reds are there then it should be worth while for a check for White-wings. If not there then a trip to Algonquin park is the best bet. 2) Turkeys in the brighton area north of the 401. They become much easier to see as the winter progresses. 3) Barred Owl woodlots near lake Ontario. If not then listen for them after dark in Shield country. I have had them respond to my poorly imitating calls quite readily well after dark all year round in the bancroft area. 4) Ruddy duck, Thayer's gull, and Horned Grebe. hmm... this is where is tougher try Presquile area. Hamilton/Niagara area. I do a daily lake watch for waterbirds here in Oshawa nad all three have not been seen in several weeks.
I hope this helps
Tyler
It's December, and bird listers around the world are trying to see that elusive bird to bring their totals to some number they've never acheived before. Or something. Anyway, I'm at 497 for the year and am looking for information on finding a few species. Here are my likely possibilities: 1)White-winged Crossbill - any *reliable* places? 2)Wild Turkey 3)Barred Owl 4)Thayer's Gull - status on Niagara River? 5)Ruddy Duck - too late yet? 6)Horned Grebe - too late?
Thanks for any information you have. I live near Port Hope, so the closer the birds are to there the better.
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Glenn Coady on November 21, 1997 at 15:40:26:
I jsut wanted to say thank you to everyone for getting back to my post. It's wonderful to know that so many people will help a newcomer to this such as myself. Thank you! Seena
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 30, 1997
There seem to be eagles about in Prince Edward County, if one may judge from the reports received this past week. In addition to the 2 immature BALD EAGLES and one immature GOLDEN EAGLE see earlier this month on Timber Island, just off Prince Edward Point, another BALD EAGLE, this time an adult was spotted at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Friday by David Bree. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are around in good numbers so far this season, and there have been numerous sightings of AMERICAN KESTRELS, RED-TAILED HAWKS and NORTHERN HARRIERS. A NORTHERN GOSHAWK turned up near Mountain View on Thursday, and a COOPER'S HAWK was seen on Huff's Island Road, earlier in the week. A BROAD-WINGED HAWK seen by Bob Sachs at Prince Edward Point on November 10th was very late.
Waterfowl on West Lake appear scattered this week but in good numbers. The situation will improve as the lake begins to freeze, shoving larger concentrations to the more open waters of Wellington Harbour. On Monday, there were 12 AMERICAN COOTS, CANADA GEESE, AMERICAN WIGEON, LESSER SCAUP and about 150 REDHEADS in West Lake. On Saturday, pretty much the same numbers were present along with large numbers of MALLARDS, and a handful of BUFFLEHEAD and HOODED MERGANSER.
The AMERICAN COOT situation was much better in the Bay of Quinte on Monday with over 200 showing up behind the Trenton A & P store. Also present were 12 RUDDY DUCKS.
The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD in our own yard appears fairly regularly now according to observers who come to see it. I am about the only person who has limited luck as I leave for work in the dark, and don't return home until dark, and am away most weekends. One observer drove from Trenton and had the mockingbird in his binoculars within six minutes after arriving in our driveway. The bird also spends time in a mixture of elderberry bushes and red osier dogwood along the roadside in the Big Island Marsh, directly in front of the property.
It certainly appears to be shaping up as a fine winter for both PINE GROSBEAKS and BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. Small numbers of both species have been reported from virtually all corners of Prince Edward County. EVENING GROSBEAKS are also around and their abundance could be attributed to the excellent crop of Manitoba Maple seeds in the Quinte area this season.
And that's it for the Quinte area this week. If you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary in the Quinte area this week, then keep your eyes peeled in the vicinity of Fenwood Gardens along Highway 62 south of Belleville. There's been a blue peacock roaming the area since late October. Last week it was along the roadside scratching in the leaf litter near the entrance to Fenwood Gardens and has also been seen about a kilometre east along County Road 28 near the causeway over the Sawguin Marsh.
And outside our area, there has been a NORTHERN HAWK OWL in the Kingston area for several days now. Directions to the site can best be obtained by calling the Kingston Field Naturalists Information Hotline at 613-549-8023.
Quinte Conservation and Thrasher Feeds hosted a bird feeding workshop in Napanee today with 31 people turning up for the two-hour presentation. The seminar, conducted by Terry Sprague, focused on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examined the infinite variety of feeders on the market. The next birdfeeding workshop will be taking place at Lower Trent Conservation's Education Centre at Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, north of Brighton on December 7th, at 2:00 p.m. This report will be updated Sunday, December 7th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to the Lestlie Spit on Sunday and the best bird was a female Barrow's Goldeneye, the key identifying feature was it's yellow bill, it was seen in the inner pond. Also seen was a Pectoral Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs between penninsula A & B. Out by the blue dumpster were the male and female Harlequin Ducks, 6 Common Redpolls, 4 Bonapart's Gulls, Short-Eared Owl, and 11 Snow Buntings. Also seen throughout the spit were Common, Red-Breasted, and Hooded Merganers, Oldsquaw, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Scaup, Redhead, American Widgeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Mute Swan, 2 Common Loons, a Cormorant, and several American Kestrels.
Mike
In Reply to: New at this! posted by Seena on November 09, 1997 at 11:45:32:
The Leslie Spit is a great place to see Owls, Harriers, Kestrels as well as waders and shorebirds.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 24, 1997
It's difficult to recall a season in Prince Edward County when as many COMMON REDPOLLS have been about. When they aren't present at feeders, they are flying overhead. Close to 100 flew over our home this morning, and amongst them were several PINE SISKINS.
Other finches from the north are down too. PINE GROSBEAKS are well distributed in Prince Edward County, and some are coming to feeders in the Hillier area. Close to a dozen were seen at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Saturday, along with high numbers of COMMON REDPOLLS and DARK-EYED JUNCOS.
BUFFLEHEADS were also in good supply at Sandbanks, along with OLDSQUAW. Several dozen MALLARDS were in East Lake.
There are now two separate feeders in the Bloomfield area that have RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS coming to feed. The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD is still present at a Big Island backyard, and there is an unofficial report of an EASTERN TOWHEE visiting a feeder in the Carrying Place area. AMERICAN ROBINS are present again this month, but it is still too early to determine if they will be as common as they were last winter when literally thousands wintered over in Prince Edward County, feeding on wild grapes and the berries of red cedar. Both fruits appear to be in short supply this season, although there is a bountiful supply of buckthorn berries upon which robins have been seen feeding this fall.
The winter also looks favourable for ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS with numerous reports of this species coming in. Prince Edward Point this week had both GOLDEN EAGLE and BALD EAGLE, along with numbers of RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, OSPREY and MERLIN. Numbers of EVENING GROSBEAKS, PINE GROSBEAKS and COMMON REDPOLLS were also seen at Prince Edward Point. Quinte Conservation, Thrasher Feeds and Backyard Birds of Quinte hosted a bird feeding workshop in Belleville today with 57 people turning up for the two-hour presentation. The seminar, conducted by Terry Sprague, focused on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examined the infinite variety of feeders on the market. The next birdfeeding workshop will be taking place at the Napanee Region Conservation Authority office (basement) at 25 River Road on November 30th, at 2:00 p.m. This report will be updated Sunday, November 30th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Red Bellied Woodpecker posted by Gavin Wells on November 02, 1997 at 20:19:45:
Red-bellied Woodpeckers have expanded their range in Ontario especially in the last few years. They seem to pernament residents once they arrive and have wintered at least north to Elliot Lake. Some winters in the hickory-oak woods of Haldimand they are almost as common as Hairy Woodpeckers. The 1995 Fisherville CBC recorded 55 Hairy Woodpeckers and 51 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
In Reply to: Red Bellied Woodpecker posted by Gavin Wells on November 02, 1997 at 20:19:45:
Red-bellied Woodpeckers have expanded their range in Ontario especially in the last few years. They seem to pernament residents once they arrive and have wintered at least north to Elliot Lake. Some winters in the hickory-oak woods of Haldimand they are almost as common as Hairy Woodpeckers. The 1995 Fisherville CBC recorded 55 Hairy Woodpeckers and 51 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
In Reply to: Banded House Sparrow? posted by Nick on November 20, 1997 at 07:57:21:
House Sparrows normally are not banded but the occasional one is banded especially at remote stations where they are an oddity. However the tail marker is not normal. Any colour marking bands or otherwise requires special authorization to do it. My impression is that someone is doing a special study possiblly a student at one of the Universities. If the proper authorizations have been obtained to colour mark the Canadian Bird Banding Office should be able to help you out. Call Hull at 1-819-994-6176
Mark Monday, November 24th on your calandars! Ontario Field Ornithologists, Toronto Ornithological Club and Birders Journal are again sponsoring an evening of presentations by exceptional North American birders. A special presentation featuring "Migrant Hotspots of North America" by Paul Lehman will begin at 7 p.m. followed by "Identification of Longspurs" by Jon Dunn.
Paul Lehman was editor of "Birding" until recently. Jon Dunn was a Chief Consultant for the National Geographic "Field Guide to the Birds of North America" and co-author of the new Peterson field guide: "Warblers".
The venue is the Civic Garden Centre, Edwards Gardens, Toronto at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Leslie Street. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door.
Visit the OFO web site: www.interlog.com/~ofo
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by craig mclauchlan on November 20, 1997 at 21:53:55:
I would agree with Craig that the Leslie St. Spit is certainly one of the best migrant traps in the Toronto area. Both it and the Toronto Islands are tremendously underbirded, perhaps as a function of the longer time required to access the areas and cover them thoroughly. The effort though is usually repaid in spades both in terms of rare birds and tranquility from an all too pulsing metropolis. The Leslie St. Spit has been the source of about 30% of the rare birds seen in Toronto the last 20 years and its topology does tend attract birds/butterflies in a similar way as does Point Pelee Nat. Park, if on a slightly less grand scale.
I would also like to congratulate Craig on his courage in participating in this forum which, doubtless, must be daunting for someone with dyslexia - bravo!
Good Birding,
Glenn Coady Toronto, ON coady@ftn.net
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Chris Clark on November 18, 1997 at 13:35:11:
PLEASE EXCUSE THE SPELLING FOR I AM DYSLEXIC.
hi ther tha L.spit is the pont pelee of toronto,ther ar some things to rember thow it being a spit things have a tends to fly over your head and if they do land thay dont stay for long esept the owl,s allthou i hear that the dog walker,s have found the spit and nothing is beeing done, so mush for the owl,s. my persnol count for bird,s on the spit no up to248 for live and 203 for the year so ther is lots to find it jist tacks a long time and pasonts to find it . best of luck hope to see you out ther all year round CRAIG
In Reply to: Northern Harrier, Humber Bay Pk. posted by Kat Cruickshank on October 02, 1997 at 09:00:12:
This wasn't what I was looking for
From the south side of Grenadier Pond this morning, I saw 2 Great Blue Herons, 5 Shovelers, 10 Mallards, 60+ (!) Hooded Mergansers, 1 Ruddy Duck, and numerous Herring & Ring-billed Gulls.
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Seena on November 17, 1997 at 02:53:04:
Getting to the Spit by TTC is rather inconvenient. I've done it a few times, and the best route seems to be to take the Coxwell 22 bus south from Coxwell subway station, and then take the Queen streetcar west to Leslie. From there, just walk straight down Leslie and you'll end up in the park. The walk from Queen to the park entrance takes 10-15 minutes.
I live in Toronto (North York) and it seems that only House Sparrows are attracted to my feeders. The other morning, I saw a House Sparrow with a silver band on it's right leg, and an orange fluorescent marker inserted into it's tail feathers. Does anybody know what's going on? Was I dreaming? Please inform.
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Seena on November 17, 1997 at 02:53:04:
Leslie street intersects with Lakeshore Blvd. Can't recall if there are any turn restrications at the intersection or not... Basically, get onto the Lakeshore, take it to Leslie (there is a large Lawblows visible if you're coming in from Scarborough). If you are coming in along the eastbound Gardiner, there is an off-ramp for Leslie (take the lakeshore when you get to the DVP/Lakeshore split). You want to drive towards the lake on Leslie and stop when you get to the end of the street. There is a parking lot there (watch out, they lock it at 4pm). The park is only open on Sat, Sun and holidays. Since you get the lake breezes, make sure you dress properly or else you'll freeze! If you plan on walking all the way to the end, it can easily take 2 hours if you stop frequently to look at birds.
(And it isn't a "park" in the usual sense. It's a landfill site, so it looks pretty bleak; lots of dumped concrete. But the birds do like it.)
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Barb Reid on November 16, 1997 at 18:07:34:
How di I get to the Leslie Street Spit? I'm in the East end, so I'm looking for TTC and car directions. Thank you!
Highlights of the Hamilton Club's trip to The Niagar River today:
King Eider: immature male at Gray's Road (Stoney Creek) Barrow's Goldeneye: Same place as eider but we missed it Lesser Black-backed Gull: 3 on the river- Beck and near falls Iceland Gull: 3 at Adam Beck Horned Grebe: 3 at the Whirlpool Evening Grosbeak: ~10 in Queenston
Generally gull and duck numbers seemed low. For example there were only about 50 Bonaparte's Gulls at the Queenston boat launch.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 16, 1997
The first major snowfall of the season earlier this week resulted in over six inches of snow being dumped in Prince Edward County. Bird activity at most feeding stations jumped as a result of the ground cover with COMMON REDPOLLS being the species most frequently reported this past week. It looks like a very promising winter for this species, as very rarely have I stepped outside and not heard flocks of redpolls passing overhead. PINE GROSBEAKS are coming to a Hillier area feeder, and PINE SISKINS have been reported at numerous other feeders in the county.
A BELTED KINGFISHER continues to patrol portions of the Outlet River at Sandbanks Provincial Park. A GREAT BLUE HERON was seen flying under the Bay Bridge at the north end of the county on Wednesday. It, or another, was observed by a hiker at the Quinte Conservation area the same day. There were several RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES encountered last week by observers at Sandbanks Provincial Park, along with EVENING GROSBEAKS, PINE SISKINS, AMERICAN ROBINS, and DARK-EYED JUNCOS. EVENING GROSBEAKS appear to be around, but few feeders are enjoying their presence so far this season. In one case, they visited one feeder in the county, emptied its contents and were not seen again.
Near Bloomfield, a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER is coming to a feeder, and in Ameliasburgh a NORTHERN FLICKER is still hanging around the area. The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD is still frequenting our backyard at Big Island, and while it has little interest in the fare offered at the feeder, it seems to have identified the feeder areas as some sort of territory, a habit not uncommon with this species when it tries to protect nearby fruit bearing shrubs that it has found. In our case, the mockingbird seems to be protecting a number of serviceberry shrubs and highbush cranberry. Quinte Conservation and Picton Farm Supply hosted a bird feeding workshop in Picton today with 118 people turning up for the two-hour presentation. The seminar, conducted by Terry Sprague, focused on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examined the infinite variety of feeders on the market. The next birdfeeding workshop will be taking place at the Quinte Conservation office at the corner of Highway 2 and Loyalist/Wallbridge Road, Belleville on November 23rd, at 2:00 p.m. This report will be updated Sunday, November 23rd Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Re: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by John Miles on November 16, 1997 at 07:36:25:
The Leslie Street Spit is a wonderful place to bird if you live in the Toronto area. Below is a list of what you can see there.
SPECIES SEEN 11/15/97 in Tommy Thompson (Leslie Street Spit
BITTERNS and HERONS Great Blue Heron SWANS, GEESE, and DUCKS Mute Swan Canada Goose Mallard Northern Shoveler Gadwall Redhead Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Oldsquaw Common Goldeneye Northern Shoveller Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser CARACARAS and FALCONS American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon SKUAS, GULLS, TERNS, and SKIMMERS Ring-billed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull PIGEONS and DOVES Rock Dove TYPICAL OWLS Great Horned Owl Long-eared Owl WOODPECKERS and ALLIES Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker JAYS, MAGPIES, and CROWS American Crow TITMICE Black-capped Chickadee WRENS Winter Wren TANAGERS, GROSBEAKS, and CARDINALS Northern Cardinal SPARROWS, TOWHEES, JUNCOS, ALLIES American Tree Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco FINCHES and ALLIES Common Redpoll OLD WORLD SPARROWS House Sparrow
Number of species seen: 34
Seen Sunday Nov 9th Horned Grebe Hood Mergansers (2 pairs) Coots (23) American Wigeion Common Pintail Brown Creeper
In Reply to: Withdrawl Symptoms! posted by Seena on November 15, 1997 at 09:15:17:
At this time of the year there is still migration going on which will continue up to late December and some years late lingers will remain until early January especially along the Lake Erie shoreline. The Horned Larks will be north bound by the end of January. The warm fronts of late February will start the movement of waterfowl, Killdeers, Robins, blackbirds north into Ontario. During the winter months many variety of birds covering everything from loons to finches have been found in Ontario, including shorebirds, flycatchers, swallows, thrushes, vireos, warblers, etc. People who keep winter lists, the period from Dec. 1st to Feb. 28th, have accumative lists in excess of 200 species with over 150 species possible in a single winter. Other words just because winter has arrived do not put your bins away you may be missing out on the best birding of the year.
Hello! I just discovered birding this year, and I'm hooked! After a very short season for me, it seems to be at an end. I know there a quite a few birds that remain in my area, (Toronto) and I was just wondering what types of birds (if any,) I might be able to find, and where I might be able to find them. Thank you very much! Also, should I put feed out throughout the winter? What type of feed? What types of birds feed through the winter, if any? Thanks again! Seena
In Reply to: Valley Inn? posted by David Geale on November 14, 1997 at 09:32:01:
"Vallwy Inn" is at the west end of Hamilton Harbour. Exit 403 at 6 go north (that's all you can do) turn right at Plains Rd (1st light) which takes you back south and turn left at the next lights to stay on Plains Rd. Turn right at the RBG Centre. Then turn right at Spring Gardens Rd. This goes by Woodland Cemetary which is often a good birding spot. There is a fine overlook of the Harbour. Spring Gardens goes down into the valley. The Inn is long gone. Look for mud flats. Hope this helps.
The Hamilton Hotline Report this week suggests that the Valley Inn is the best place for birds. I would like to know where this is. Any help would be appretiated, as well any recent updates about the Purple Sandpipers and Hudsonian Godwit that were there last week. Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Possible Pacific Loon looks probable posted by Glenn Coady on November 06, 1997 at 12:37:21:
Yesterday, Nov. 11, several observers saw what I gather was this same loon at closer range than previous observations. Despite searching three times I myself have not been able to find it.
Descriptions tend to agree with many aspects of the Patels description however several observers have thought that the bird's bill is more consistent with Common Loon. In addition it is troublesome that observers who have seen it now at close range still describe the crown and nape as concolor with the back - this is inconsistent for Pacific Loon and while it may be missed at long range (although the Patels did describe it thus) it should be apparent at close range that the nape is paler than the back on Pacific Loon.
In any event, photos have now been taken of the bird. I will continue to try to see this bird on the weekend but it appears likely it may just be a small Common Loon.
In Reply to: Trumpeter Swans posted by Steve Moreland on May 26, 1997 at 19:12:25:
Can you tell me what the difference is between the tundra swan and the trumpeter swan?
I observed a chat on both Sat. and Sun. Nov. 8 and 9 at Petticoat Creek C.A. It is very skittish and on both days I flushed it accidentally, got a few seconds to look at it, and then it disappeared into the underbrush and could not be refound. Both times it was in the brushy area on the west side of the small patch of woods in the southeast corner of the park. Once it flew behind (north of) the small washroom building in that area.
Also saw rough-legged hawk, fox sparrow, c. redpoll. Unable to find white-eyed vireo.
Good luck, Pat Hodgson Toronto, Ontario patrick.hodgson@bain.com
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 09, 1997
Mild weather this past week provided some excellent birding opportunities and produced a number of interesting sightings. It isn't often we see wildflowers blooming happily in November; however, several stunted fringed gentians were in full bloom at Sandbanks Provincial Park on Thursday, along with isolated sprigs of harebell along the shoreline at West Point. At Menzel Nature Reserve, 18 km north of Deseronto, numerous healthy clumps of yarrow were also in full bloom.
Menzel Nature Reserve also had 25 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in the small forest at the edge of Mud Lake, first sightings this fall for the Quinte area. COMMON REDPOLLS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES were also found, along with one lone HERRING GULL on Mud Lake.
The gull situation was much better at Sandbanks on Thursday with the mouth of the Outlet River producing HERRING GULL, RING-BILLED GULL, BONAPARTE'S GULL, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL and one lone LITTLE GULL. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, BELTED KINGFISHER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, HORNED GREBE, CEDAR WAXWINGS, and SNOW BUNTINGS were also found in this area.
There have been numerous sightings this past week of NORTHERN HARRIERS, RED-TAILED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTRELS and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS. The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD continues to frequent a Big Island backyard, near Demorestville.
West Lake on Thursday had a huge raft of ducks comprising mostly REDHEADS, interspersed with both GREATER and LESSER SCAUP, AMERICAN WIGEON, CANVASBACK, RING-NECKED DUCK and MALLARDS. A peek into a cove around one corner of a sand dune at Sandbanks produced eight TUNDRA SWANS.
West Point had several thousand WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and at least three BLACK SCOTERS. Richardson's Campground produced both WHITE-BREASTED and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, EVENING GROSBEAKS, DARK-EYED JUNCO, NORTHERN FLICKER, COMMON REDPOLL, and numerous AMERICAN ROBINS feeding on the berries of buckthorn.
The weed seed crops look very good for this winter, and one weedy field along the lake shore at Sandbanks produced a mixed flock of COMMON REDPOLLS, AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and PINE SISKINS.
Quinte Conservation and Madoc Home Hardware hosted a bird feeding workshop in that village today with 61 people turning up for the two-hour presentation. The seminar, conducted by Terry Sprague, focused on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examined the infinite variety of feeders on the market. The next birdfeeding workshop will be taking place at the Regent Theatre in Picton on November 16th, at 3:30 p.m. This report will be updated Sunday, November 16th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
The Brant was still at Bronte Harbour this morning. No Crossbills in Shell Park at 11:30. There is a Great Horned Owl in Bronte Woods. It's in a tall pine tree on the west side near the pipeline right of way. A trail goes under the bird's perch and traffic does not bother it.
Hello all, I am new at birding this year, and I am looking for a few great tips and places in the Toronto area, or close by to check out. Can anyone help me? You can e-mail me at moreta0@hotmail.com. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you! Seena
There is a Brant with the Canada Geese at Bronte Harbour. It was there at 8 this morning and still there at noon. Also seen were 2 Common Redpolls, 2 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Ruddy Ducks, 1 American Coot, only 1 Common Loon far offshore.
At nearby Shell Park there are about a dozen White-winged Crossbills in the tall spruce trees west of the ball diamond. Also 1 Eastern Bluebird.
Van Wagner's Beach in Hamilton had a Black-legged Kittiwake on the beach for a short time. There was 1 Jaeger (Parasitic?) over the lake.
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to the area between Bronte Harbour and Burloak today. I was not able to find the Pacific Loon though. Most of the good birds were located in Bronte Harbour, the other birds were Bufflehead, Red-Breasted Merganser, Oldsquaw and C. Goldeneye, they were seen all along the shoreline from Bronte to Burloak. In Bronte Harbour there was a C. Loon in the inner harbour, 2 Ruddy Ducks, a female Scaup, 2 Amer. Widgeon, 2 Common Merganser, the 2 adult Grebes, and many Mute Swans, Mallards, and Black Ducks.
Mike
I forgot to mention that while my friend Gerry Binsfeld and I were at the Shell Pier this morning an immature Bald Eagle flew past west to east out over the lake. No loons were present at all. One immature Red-necked Grebe was there among six Horned Grebes. One adult Red-necked Grebe was still present at Bronte Harbour with 2 Ruddy Ducks. Six American Tree Sparrows were also at Bronte Harbour.
Glenn Coady Toronto, ON coady@ftn.net
In Reply to: Possible Pacific Loon & White-Winged Crossbills posted by Mike Boyd on November 04, 1997 at 17:49:01:
Although I was not able to follow up Mike's loon sighting yesterday I did send two friends who live in Oakville, Ebrahim & Karalee Patel, to look for this bird. They were able to find it just before 9:00 a.m. and were fortunate enough to see it with a Common Loon for easy comparison.
They described the bird as:
- small loon, shorter than the Common Loon in both length and height.
- possessed a much thinner and shorter bill than the Common Loon available for comparison. It held its bill parallel to the water surface.
- the head was much more smoothly rounded than the "blocky" head of the Common Loon giving it a "puffy" appearance.
- the head and neck showed a striking colour division in the coronal plane. The ventral half of the neck was whitish and the dorsal half was dark gray. The gray and white areas formed a straight line up through the side of the neck where they met (with no evidence of any indentation). The dark gray area encircled the eye on the head.
- the bird had a prominent "chinstrap" thin in the foreneck but much thicker on the sides where it attached to the dark gray hindneck.
- the bird's back was very dark (in comparison to the Common Loon), but they failed to detect an appreciable difference between back color and hindneck/nape/crown color which is usually visible on winter plumaged Pacific Loon. This was the only feature that they saw which they thought to be inconsistent for Pacific Loon.
Both Ebrahim & Karalee have experience with Pacific Loon having seen them at very close range in breeding plumage with me in Churchill & many birds in winter plumage with me in California.
I think this bird is a probable Pacific Loon but despite searching this morning I could not find it between Bronte Harbour and Shell Pier. I think it should continue to be searched for because it could still be staging in the area.
Glenn Coady Toronto, ON coady@ftn.net
In Reply to: Possible Pacific Loon & White-Winged Crossbills posted by Mike Boyd on November 04, 1997 at 17:49:01:
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi I was down to Shell Park again today. I managed to find the possible Pacific Loon again, this time it was off of Bronte Harbour, but it was well offshore, so it was still too hard to positivly identify it. The White-Winged Crossbills were still present at Shell Park, along with all of the other birds mentioned along with a Cooper's Hawk.
Mike
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to Shell Park area today. The best bird was a possible Pacific Loon at South Shell Park, I saw it just to the east of the park and it was in winter plumage and had a small chinstrap. Also seen there was a Red-Throated Grebe, 4 Red-Breasted Megansers, 2 Oldsquaw, and many Bufflehead. At Shell Park the best find was 30-35 White-Winged Crossbills. They were seen in the west end of the park in the line of tall pines beside the baseball diamond. They were quite noisy and didn't mind me to much, they even stopped for a drink at a puddle less than 10 ft from me. Also seen in the area were large numbers of Red-Breasted Nuthatches, Goldfinches, Juncos, and smaller numbers of White-Throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, and White-Breasted Nuthatches.
Mike
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, November 02, 1997
A year ago, Bill Lishman inspired the movie "Fly Away Home," some of which was filmed at Sandbanks Provincial Park. On Thursday, Bill was in Prince Edward County - this time with 7 SANDHILL CRANES. They flew in with Bill Lishman's Operation Migration program beside an Ultralite. After a few hours on Dave White's beach at West Lake entertained by folks in crane costumes, they departed east at 3:00 pm in escort with three Ultralites for a lake north of Kingston and will eventually work their way south to North Carolina. Next year, if successful, they hope to repeat the program from Manitoba with Whoopers in tow.
Sandhill cranes weren't the only large birds noted in flight last week. On Wednesday, Jim Ives saw 5 TUNDRA SWANS fly over his home on Ridge Road, just south of Picton.
Other birds in flight this past week included several COMMON REDPOLLS at Big Island. Redpolls have also been seen in the Kingston area, along with LAPLAND LONGSPUR, SNOW BUNTINGS, TREE SPARROWS, PINE SISKINS and EVENING GROSBEAKS.
Amherst Island had ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS AND LONG-EARED OWLS last week. Shorebirds including DUNLIN and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS are also present on the island. There is at least one VIRGINIA RAIL in the marsh just west of the gravel bar.
A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD which turned up in our own yard last week, is still around and seems to be settling in for the winter season. It has turned up on almost a daily basis this past week.
A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER has been visiting a Milford area feeder for the past two weeks. Quinte Conservation and Campbellford Farm Supply hosted a bird feeding workshop at the town's Aron Theatre today with 28 people turning up for the two-hour presentation. The seminar, conducted by Terry Sprague, focused on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examined the infinite variety of feeders on the market. The next birdfeeding workshop will be taking place at the Kiwanis Centre in Madoc on November 9th. This report will be updated Sunday, November 9th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Found a male Red Bellied Woodpecker on the south shore trails in Hamilton the bird was eating wild grapes. Will the bird remain through winter? Is the RBW becoming more common in southern Ontario?
Today at 9:30 A.M. I saw an adult Northern Shrike on the abandoned railway line west of Concession 6 in Erin Township. It was very tame, staying in a tree directly above me. The plumage was very fresh and highly contrasted in the eye patch area. Looks like we'll have a great winter!
In Reply to: Humber Bay - Oct. 30 posted by Marcel Gahbauer on October 31, 1997 at 10:36:32:
Dear Marcel,
I would agree with your sentiments that signage outlining how the redevelopment of Humber Bay Park will proceed is always slow to be posted. One group that is vigilant in knowing these details and has kept me well informed is the Citizens Concerned with the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront. They are analogous to the group Friends of the Spit in their advocacy for areas in Etobicoke. I regularly lead outings to Humber Bay Park for this group - if there are those interested I will post the address to contact to receive a copy of their newsletter. Let me know.
BTW, the Forster's Tern record is a very good date for Toronto - what age was it? Might you be able to post a description on line or to my private e-mail.
I haven't seen Humber Bay East this productive since construction began. The highlight was a Forster's Tern, standing on one of the poles which has been installed in the bay/pond north of the parking lot. A male Hooded Merganser, and the usual mixture of Scaup, Bufflehead, and female Goldeneyes were also present in this area. Interestingly, the 5 male Buffleheads were all actively courting the lone female. To the east, in the second bay east of the parking lot, there were 2 Red-necked Grebes close to shore, and a Bonaparte's Gull was fishing.
Passerine activity was also greater than usual. I saw several Yellow-rumped Warblers, 3 Towhees, 1 RB Nuthatch, 1 Pipit, and numerous kinglets and WT Sparrows. Most of these were best seen around the east end of the peninsula.
On the mudflats south of the Lakeshore Rd bridge, there were 7 Dunlin, 1 Pectoral Sandpiper, 4 Killdeer, and 3 Green-winged Teal. By the way, there is now a sign erected in this area, explaining what the goal of the construction is. It appears that a pedestrian bridge is being built to connect HB east and west, and that there will be wetlands on either side of this bridge (i.e. where the mudflats currently are).
In Reply to: Bronte grebes: 1-missing posted by Gavin Edmondstone on October 18, 1997 at 17:23:54:
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to Bronte Harbour today and there, were only two of the grebes left, both adults. Also seen was a female Scaup, and female Ruddy Duck.
Mike
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 26, 1997
A few snow flurries now and then, and much colder temperatures this past week were firm reminders that fall is on the wane and more winter like weather is on the offing. Gradually the autumn migration is winding down, but there are still some impressive numbers of some migrants to be seen.
There were 150 HORNED GREBES at Presqu'ile on Friday. HORNED GREBES were also present at Point Petre the same day, along with WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, OLDSQUAW, scaup, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON MERGANSER, and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. Presqu'ile had 1,000 of the latter species, along with LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, RED-THROATED LOON, and two SNOW BUNTINGS.
SNOW BUNTINGS were also seen last week at Huyck's Point, along with EVENING GROSBEAK, TURKEY VULTURE and plenty of NORTHERN HARRIERS.
The conducted hike at Menzel Nature Reserve on Saturday drew 32 people. Bird life was sparse although there were fair numbers of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE and DARK-EYED JUNCO, with a handful of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS still about.
Our own backyard had a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD late Saturday afternoon which spent several minutes in a white spruce before moving on across the road to the neighbours.
There were COMMON LOONS on Lake Ontario, at Wellington, on Tuesday, and several DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS loafing on some exposed debris closer to the village, in West Lake. A HUDSONIAN GODWIT has been at Presqu'ile since Tuesday. There were no reports of shorebirds from either Sandbanks or Amherst Island this past week.
Don Tyerman will be the guest speaker Tuesday evening at the October meeting of the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, 7:00 p.m., at Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area.
Quinte Conservation and Campbellford Farm Supply will be hosting a bird feeding workshop with Terry Sprague at the town's Aron Theatre this coming Sunday, at 2:00 p.m. The seminar will focus on the "mythconceptions" of bird feeding and examine the infinite variety of feeders on the market. This report will be updated Sunday, November 07 Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
In Reply to: Re: Bronte grebes: 1-missing posted by Nick Avery on October 22, 1997 at 17:22:03:
I went to see the grebes yesterday (Oct. 25), and also found only three of them. They were very close to shore, and although they were all sleeping with their heads buried in their backs, it looked like there were two adults and one immature. There was also a Horned Grebe nearby.
Sorrry, the pipit had white wings and a creamy back not a solid white back and wings. The original spotter was my brother Matt. Sorry for any inconvienence.
On our Walsingham farm near Long Point there was a flock of about 50 pipits. Among them was a pipit with a white back, white outer tail feathers and with a creamy face, breast and inner tail feathers. I could see faint markings on its side. It had a pink bill with a dark tip. Its feet were pinkish. It was definately not a wagtail. Has there been any reports of albonism in pipits? Should I contact anyone? 50 siskins were also at our feeder.
At Turkey Point there was a little gull. The blackbirds are migrating heavily in the area.Saw-whets are occasionally being sited at the Old Cut banding station.
In Reply to: BTG Warbler posted by Adam Timpf on October 25, 1997 at 11:01:43:
Many searched today without seeing it. I was there all morning and agian briefly in late PM. It is a very birdy spot all the same.
There is a Hudsonian Godwit in the small pond behind the truckwash on Pier 25 south.
A black throated gray warbler would be a lifer for me and I was wondering when it was seen last. I don't live in the burlington area and was wondering if it was worth a trip.
In Reply to: Re: Bronte grebes: 1-missing posted by Nick Avery on October 22, 1997 at 14:36:16:
I saw three grebes Saturday afternoon. 2 adult and one large immature. You could tell the immature because it still has the dark lines through the face. Camouflage for hiding in reeds ;-)
In Reply to: Re: Bronte grebes: 1-missing posted by Nick Avery on October 22, 1997 at 14:36:16:
A follow up to my previous posting.
Having just come back from Bronte, I saw three grebes. At this stage of their plumage I could not determine if there were two young and one adult or the other way round.
Nick
In Reply to: Bronte grebes: 1-missing posted by Gavin Edmondstone on October 18, 1997 at 17:23:54:
There was one missing on the 16th (noon), and a visit on the 19th had two missing. I was hoping they were out fishing or whatever. Do grebe young leave first?
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 19, 1997
The hawk migration through the Quinte area seems to have come to a standstill, and there was little evidence of any hawks passing over Point Petre during a field trip there by the Quinte Field Naturalists on Saturday. However, there have been a few interesting raptor sightings this past week.
Randy Vincent looked up just in time to see a mature BALD EAGLE pass over his car on Highway 62, near Mountain View on Wednesday. No less interesting than the eagle was a SHORT-EARED OWL one day earlier that made two low passes over my head at 4:30 a.m. in this writer's own yard! The owl came from the same field which last summer, hosted two Henslow's Sparrows, and this summer - Sedge Wren and Grasshopper Sparrow. I do like that field.
Amherst Island had between two and seven NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS between last Friday and just this past Tuesday.
Amherst Island this past week also had about 25 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and six AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, along with DUNLIN and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. FOX SPARROWS have also been seen on the island.
There were EASTERN BLUEBIRDS at Point Petre on Saturday, along with HERMIT THRUSH, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, HORNED GREBE and REDHEADS. More than a dozen AMERICAN COOTS were present in the harbour at Wellington, also on Saturday.
Brian Grimley had a GREEN HERON on Wednesday in Consecon Creek along Highway 62, just north of County Road 1 (Scoharie Road). EVENING GROSBEAKS have been on the move this past week, with individuals being spotted in Picton, Huyck's Point, Carrying Place, and some distance north of us - a flock of about 35 passing over the village of Tweed on Saturday.
The next meeting of the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists will be taking place at Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, October 28th at 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker will be Don Tyerman, Resource Management Specialist with Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
Terry Sprague will be leading a guided hike, sponsored by Quinte Conservation, at the Menzel Provincial Nature Reserve, 13 km north of Deseronto, on October 25th, at 1:30 p.m. Please bring appropriate footwear as part of the trail is through about 4 inches of open water. This report will be updated Sunday, October 26th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 19, 1997
The hawk migration through the Quinte area seems to have come to a standstill, and there was little evidence of any hawks passing over Point Petre during a field trip there by the Quinte Field Naturalists on Saturday. However, there have been a few interesting raptor sightings this past week.
Randy Vincent looked up just in time to see a mature BALD EAGLE pass over his car on Highway 62, near Mountain View on Wednesday. No less interesting than the eagle was a SHORT-EARED OWL one day earlier that made two low passes over my head at 4:30 a.m. in this writer's own yard! The owl came from the same field which last summer, hosted two Henslow's Sparrows, and this summer - Sedge Wren and Grasshopper Sparrow. I do like that field.
Amherst Island had between two and seven NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS between last Friday and just this past Tuesday.
Amherst Island this past week also had about 25 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and six AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, along with DUNLIN and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. FOX SPARROWS have also been seen on the island.
There were EASTERN BLUEBIRDS at Point Petre on Saturday, along with HERMIT THRUSH, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, HORNED GREBE and REDHEADS. More than a dozen AMERICAN COOTS were present in the harbour at Wellington, also on Saturday.
Brian Grimley had a GREEN HERON on Wednesday in Consecon Creek along Highway 62, just north of County Road 1 (Scoharie Road). EVENING GROSBEAKS have been on the move this past week, with individuals being spotted in Picton, Huyck's Point, Carrying Place, and some distance north of us - a flock of about 35 passing over the village of Tweed on Saturday.
The next meeting of the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists will be taking place at Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, October 28th at 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker will be Don Tyerman, Resource Management Specialist with Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
Terry Sprague will be leading a guided hike, sponsored by Quinte Conservation, at the Menzel Provincial Nature Reserve, 13 km north of Deseronto, on October 25th, at 1:30 p.m. Please bring appropriate footwear as part of the trail is through about 4 inches of open water. This report will be updated Sunday, October 26th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
The Bronte Harbour Red-necked Grebe family now has only one young bird and two adults. My last record of both two young birds was October 7. If anyone has a later date I would like to know.
In Reply to: Humber Bay East posted by Mike on October 15, 1997 at 16:23:11:
I have heard they are building a bridge across Mimico creek that will extend the Waterfront trail across the creek without having to get back on Lakeshore
This morning the birding in High Park was great - by far the best I've seen it this fall. Juncos were moving through in great numbers - I must have seen at least 100 and missed many more. Other songbird highlights included a Fox Sparrow and a Phoebe north of the allotment gardens, a male Towhee in the open woods along the northeast shore of Grenadier Pond, and a sizeable flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hermit Thrushes, and both Kinglets.
On Grenadier Pond, there were also a few interesting birds. Near the south end, there was a Bufflehead pair, and the resident Mute Swan family, as well as the tame Great Blue Heron. At the north end were 2 Coots (which I have never seen in High Park before), 3 GW Teals, and 4 Gadwalls, as well as a second GB Heron.
On Sunday morning (Oct. 19) at 9 a.m., I will be leading a walk through High Park. The focus will be on birds, but we'll also spend some time looking at the Carolinian vegetation and the spectacular fall colours on some of the trees. The walk will begin at the northeast corner of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. Everyone is welcome to attend!
In Reply to: Hovering Kinglets? posted by Carolyn King on October 15, 1997 at 13:25:08:
The behaviour you describe is not uncommon for Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Most often when I have seen it, they were hovering near the tips of white pine branches. That being said, I also don't know what they achieve with this behaviour. However, as kinglets are insectivores, I would guess that there are small insects present in these locations which the kinglets are trying to catch. It is interesting that while Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets are similar in many respects, I've never seen a Golden-crowned hover.
In Reply to: Humber Bay East posted by Mike on October 15, 1997 at 16:23:11:
I was down at Humber Bay this morning, and found most of the regulars, including the Harlequin Duck (who would have thought a few years ago that we would ever refer to a Harlequin as a regular?). Additional birds present today included the usual pair of Buffleheads and a female Goldeneye, as well as two male Scaups (Greater, I think). On the east shore of Mimico Creek just south of Lakeshore there were 2 L. Yellowlegs and 5 Killdeer, along with several GW Teals. Scattered throughout the park were small numbers of Juncos, WT & WC Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, and Song Sparrows (some of them singing). I also saw my first Tree Sparrow of the fall in the sumacs east of the skating ponds, and a Kestrel hovering over the pond near the east end of the peninsula.
By the way, does anyone have any more information on the construction going on at Humber Bay? A sign was erected a while ago showing the plans for the areas north and east of the parking lot, and this seems to match the construction which is taking place. There has also been construction on the east side of Mimico Creek for several months now, which is not indicated on the sketch. Today for the first time, I saw a new rubble path extending into the creek from the west side, where the cattail marsh is. It seems like there is no end to the changes they want to make here (yet ironically they do everything possible to keep the beavers from changing the landscape). It will be interesting to see whether the changes which have taken place this summer have an effect on the wintering birds we are accustomed to seeing here. I suspect it will.
Marcel
In Reply to: Please confirm! posted by L. Malaval on October 04, 1997 at 12:45:11:
While it is true that the CN Tower and even more likely our other high-rise glass towers are fatal attractants to a wide variety of passerine migrants, I have not heard anyone postulate that gulls had learned to lure migrants to such a death as a foraging strategy. I have witnessed Ring- billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) opportunistically feeding on carcasses of birds fatally killed at towers before. (Ovenbird at First Canadian Place, White-throated Sparrow at College Park, Hermit Thrush at Hydro sub-station/steam plant stack on Elizabeth St. I have far more frequently seen stray cats benifitting similarly). I have not witnessed Herring Gulls opportunistically feeding in this manner, probably for the reason Chris mentions, that they are less likely found around the downtown highrises than Ring-billed Gulls. I suspect they would behave similarly and at fatal tower attractants near water I suspect Great Black-backed Gulls would behave similarly.
In any event, the real authorities on this topic would be volunteers from the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) who monitor the carnage at many of the worst fatal attractants in the Toronto area during both spring and fall migrations. Their web site and e-mail can be found at:
http://www.interlog.com/~pagu/flap.html
They are diligent and should be commended for what I'm sure must be a demanding and often heart-breaking endeavour.
I would be interested to know if there is any truth to the idea of Herring Gulls luring birds to fatal attractants by anyone who has witnessed it first-hand as it is not something I would dismiss out-of-hand since I have seen a Herring Gull consume an exhausted & disoriented passerine (Cape May Warbler) migrant out at sea on a pelgic trip by swallowing it on-the-fly. Such a learned behaviour as recognizing and pouncing on light- attracted disoriented birds seems plausible except for the fact that Herring Gulls are seldom seen activiely foraging nocturnally.
In Reply to: Diving Mallards posted by Jerry J. Kubera on October 13, 1997 at 20:24:25:
Although Mallards and other dabbling ducks rarely dive, it has been described for many dabbling ducks. Two places I can think of in Toronto where I have most often witnessed diving by dabblers are the southwest corner of Grenadier Pond in High Park in winter and around the "bubblers" at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club & the farm on Toronto Island. I have seen Mallard, American Black Duck (the black Mallard?), Gadwall, & Northern Pintail dive on occasion in Grenadier Pond.
Dear Fellow Birders
Hi, I was down to Humber Bay on Monday, and the highlights were the male Harlequin Duck, a Mockingbird, Dunlin, Lesser Yellowlegs, Green-Winged Teal, Northern Shoveller, and Gadwall.
Mike
Last weekend I observed several Ruby-crowned Kinglets hovering to pick something off wild aster flowerheads. I first assumed they were getting seeds, but the asters hadn't completely finished flowering. Has anyone else seen this behaviour, and do you know what they would be after?
This afternoon my wife and I have observed two female Mallards divind for food in what used to be called feeding bay at Humber Bay Park East. They stayed under water for onle about two seconds but for a dabler it seemed very unusual. You could see the water above them almost boiling like. Lots of air being released I guess. Is this normal? We have never seen this in the last twenty years of birdwatching.
In Reply to: Re: Please confirm! posted by Chris Clark on October 09, 1997 at 16:29:33:
Chris, I think that a question is HOW would a gull, Ring-billed or Herring, lure migrants like warblers into the CN Tower? Maybe they could chase them into the office buildings but lure them to the CN Tower? It kind of reminds me the old Plato theorie of warblers or small birds flying south on the backs of storks.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 12, 1997
The sunny and mild conditions throughout much of this past week gave way for some excellent birding in Prince Edward County and the Quinte area in general. On Friday, there were plenty of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS at Beaver Meadow Wildlife Management Area, along with HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, GREAT BLUE HERON, TURKEY VULTURE and DARK-EYED JUNCO. Sandbanks Provincial Park the same day had a GREATER YELLOWLEGS in the pannes in the former Pit area. The bird was lame, but appeared to be managing okay.
Birder Brian (Grimley) spotted an immature RED CROSSBILL on Saturday at the feeders behind his house on Kings Road, between Cherry Valley and Sandbanks. This represents an unusually early date for this species, although we do have past early records for the county, including an August date 10 years ago.
Quinte Conservation Area on Tuesday had plenty of DARK-EYED JUNCOS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, along with CEDAR WAXWING, an abundance of AMERICAN ROBIN, BLUE JAY, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.
On October 4th. Kingston Field Naturalists visited Prince Edward Point and found little evidence of warblers; however, on a return trip the following day about 1,200 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were present indicating a major overnight influx. Numerous RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, both WHITE-THROATED and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were moving through, along with both GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS.
Amherst Island had good birding that weekend too with PEREGRINE FALCON , AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER turning up at the K.F.N. property, at the east end of the island. Two small groups of HORNED GREBES were noted offshore. HORNED GREBES were also seEn at Prince Edward Point, along with a number of WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS.
And that's it for this Thanksgiving Weekend from the Quinte area. E-mail has indicated a wide readership of this weekly report. To ensure its continuance, we ask that you continue reporting any sightings you have made in the Quinte area to be included in this weekly synopsis of the birds of Prince Edward County and area. Reports are usually updated every Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m.
The next meeting of the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists will be taking place at Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, October 28th at 7:00 p.m. Guest speaker will be Don Tyerman, Resource Management Specialist with Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
Terry Sprague will be leading a guided hike, sponsored by Quinte Conservation, at the Menzel Provincial Nature Reserve, 13 km north of Deseronto, on October 25th, at 1:30 p.m. Please bring appropriate footwear as part of the trail is through about 4 inches of open water.
This report will be updated Sunday, October 19th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
There was a Brant on the lawn with Canada Geese up until 3:30 when it was flushed by a dog. I could not relocate it. Two of the Red-necked Grebes were close to shore.
In Reply to: Please confirm! posted by L. Malaval on October 04, 1997 at 12:45:11:
Although I can't confirm this, I have heard the same thing. I can give you a few related details...
During migration seasons, many birds do crash into the windows of the downtown skyscrapers. Small birds (sparrows) are usually killed outright. Larger birds sometimes survive (they usually get kocked silly on impact and then fall to the ground). Nobody is entirely sure why they fly into the brightly lit buildings, but it seems they are attracted to the lights. (One theory is that the lights may look like an open field just outside of a forested area. The bird, flying through the dark thinks it's in a forest and, seeing the light, thinks that it is an open area which would be safer for flying through.) Turning building lights off seems to lessen the number of birds killed. (In fact, the CN Tower now turns off most of their lights during migration season. They used to have bright spotlights up the sides, but they don't anymore.) Some of the downtown buildings have a "safe flight" program where they ask workers in their buildings to turn the lights out when they leave, but hardly anyone ever does. The larger buildings actually employ people to walk around the outside of the buildings in the morning to pick up the dead birds.
I be surprised if the gulls haven't noticed the free carrion in the same places every morning and make it a regular stop. It also wouldn't surprise me if the gulls figured out how to chase birds into walls. (Along the Toronto waterfront, the most common gull is actually the Ring-billed gull which is much smaller than the Herring gull, but still bigger than a crow. Herring gulls are few and far between in the downtown area.)
As an aside, the CN Tower actually has a pretty small surface area compared to the office towers.
Hope this helps.
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM THE QUINTE AREA - Sunday, October 05, 1997
A late report coming in due to e-mail problems concerned a visit to Prince Edward Point on Sept. 28th by Walter Frey where he reported the Point teeming with birds. Numbers of hawks were moderate, but he had several SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and two MERLIN, along with a couple of NORTHERN HARRIERS. Severel hundred BLUE JAYS and about 50 NORTHERN FLICKERS migrated through in loose flocks.
Among the migratory songbirds he noted were LEAST FLYCATCHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, GRAY CATBIRD, HOUSE WREN, SOLITARY VIREO and RED-EYED VIREO plus 9 warblers: NASHVILLE, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, YELLOW-RUMPED, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, PALM (a flock of about a dozen!), COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, WILSON'S and AMERICAN REDSTART. A flock of 50+ RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, and one EASTERN TOWHEE were ALSO SEEN.
A GREAT EGRET continues to hang out in the mill pond at Stirling where it has been present for at least the past month according to local residents.
Sandbanks Provincial Park on Saturday had lots of stuff flitting about at West Point including DARK-EYED JUNCO, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, EASTERN TOWHEE, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET.
No other reports were phoned or e-mailed in this past week from the Quinte area. Just a bit farther outside the Quinte area, Madoc had 35 EVENING GROSBEAKS on Friday. On Sunday, during a fall colour tour, some of the more interesting finds included a PILEATED WOODPECKER and a COMMON RAVEN have a tete-a-tete in a dead conifer just south of Haliburton, a GRAY JAY and SPRUCE GROUSE at Algonquin Provincial Park, and RUFFED GROUSE, EVENING GROSBEAK, DARK-EYED JUNCO and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH at Bon Echo Provincial Park.
This report will be updated Sunday, October 12th Please e-mail tsprague@limestone.kosone.com
Hello!
My birdwatching society (CORA, in Lyon, France) has heard news that Herring gull in Toronto would lure migrating birds in flight to crash on the CN tower (in order to feed on the corpses). Can your tell us whether this is true or a big joke? Thanks for your help!
Yesterday I took a walk through Humber Bay Park East and was thrilled to see a female northern harrier cruising low and slow over the lagoon. I was walking in tall reeds, near the water, so she flew quite close to me a couple times. This is the first harrier I've ever seen in Toronto. Also saw a merlin.