[Ontbirds]Quinte Area Bird Report for week ending January 17, 2008

[Terry Sprague]

WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE 
WEEK ENDING Thursday, January 17, 2008

Although a few evenings have been bitterly cold, consistently mild days this 
past week have resulted in a drop of action at both feeders and in the 
field. The open condition of several lakes and bays has driven waterfowl 
beyond viewing range of even those with spotting scopes. Wellington, for 
example, paled in comparison to one week earlier with a mere 100 MALLARDS on 
Sunday, and only 10 MUTE SWANS (compared to 92 a week earlier), and one lone 
brown-hooded kayaker. A probable male KING EIDER was identified in Lake 
Ontario, out from the west jetty of the channel, but viewing conditions were 
less than conducive for a 100% identification. One AMERICAN COOT was still 
present at the harbour on Sunday, but three were present a day earlier. It's 
always the luck of the draw whenever one visits this popular viewing area as 
water birds come and go. Open water has appeared in East Lake at the 
headwaters of the Outlet River, but the only thing present there on Sunday 
was the MUTE SWAN, 23 in total. A gaggle of 300 CANADA GEESE, which quickly 
became a skein upon taking flight, was noted near the junction of County 
Roads 18 and 10, at Sandbanks. The HORNED GREBE, seen a week ago at Prince 
Edward Point, was still present on Saturday, just off the south shore. And 
the GLAUCOUS GULL, spotted in the Bay of Quinte off the Norris Whitney 
Bridge at Belleville on December 28th, was still around on Saturday, and may 
be viewed from the Meyer's Pier at the foot of South Front Street.

For bird feeders, it depends on where you are. While the action at some 
feeders is so slow that even the neighbourhood cat has stopped watching what 
few birds turn up daily, others feeders have seen little, or no change. The 
feeder along Glenora Road, east of Picton continues to have between 80 and 
100 COMMON REDPOLLS, and 25 PINE SISKINS were noted there by a passer-by on 
the 12th. At most feeders, populations of COMMON REDPOLLS are holding up 
well with 60 at a Big Island feeder, 50 at a feeder on Tripp Road and 30 at 
a feeder along Highway 62 near Jericho Road.  And if you think you have only 
5 or 6 chickadees at your feeder, it might be wise to count again. A bird 
bander in the Elmbrook area of Prince Edward County set up her nets on 
Sunday and by the end of day, had banded no fewer than 35 BLACK-CAPPED 
CHICKADEES! Also receiving bands that day were 2 PURPLE FINCHES and 59 
AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. Meanwhile, at the end of her driveway the same day 
while all this was going on were 300 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, 7 PINE GROSBEAKS and 
one CEDAR WAXWING. At the west end of Trenton there is a CHIPPING SPARROW 
visiting a feeder there, and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES were reported at a 
feeder in the Consecon Lake area. A flock of 10 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS 
stopped briefly at a South Bay feeder, then carried on. Other feeders have 
been slow during the week, but hawks drop in anyway at some to check things 
over. One feeder east of Lake on the Mountain was visited last weekend by a 
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, A COOPER'S HAWK and a RED-TAILED HAWK. Even a circling 
BALD EAGLE took some interest in the hawk activity below. An AMERICAN 
KESTREL was seen on the front lawn of one residence in Wellington today.

Proving that birds of prey often show an interest in carrion, a RED-TAILED 
HAWK was observed investigating a road killed raccoon on County Road 13 near 
the rock cut at South Bay today. In Belleville, another RED-TAILED HAWK was 
seen perched atop a lamp post along the Parrott Riverside Trail in midtown 
Belleville at Bridge Street. In a rather interesting observation near Lake 
on the Mountain, interpreted through tracks and other marks in the snow, it 
appears that one hawk took on a bit more than it could handle when it 
grabbed a rabbit in one backyard. There were wing marks on either side of 
the rabbit tracks, indicating that the rabbit had even managed to drag the 
hawk for a few feet. After an intense struggle, judging by the wing marks 
and marks from the rabbit's body, the rabbit succumbed to its injuries. The 
hawk then attempted to airlift the rabbit, lifting it off the ground, but 
the rabbit weighed the hawk down so much that the best the hawk could do was 
to drag the rabbit about five feet before abandoning the lifeless carcass.

In other bird news, a PILEATED WOODPECKER was seen in one backyard in the 
Barry Heights area of Trenton, reportedly the only activity of interest 
since the snow all but disappeared. EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were seen at 
Morrison's Point Road, Bond Road near Walmsley, and Smith's Bay during the 
week. About 60 AMERICAN ROBINS and 18 CEDAR WAXWINGS were along County Road 
13 near Gravelly Point Road and a wintering TURKEY VULTURE was seen flying 
low near the banding station at Prince Edward Point on January 12th. Forty 
BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen the same day at the Point Traverse woods, and 
five PINE GROSBEAKS were also noted not far from there. One observer stopped 
his car and stared in amazement as he counted 137 WILD TURKEYS in a field 
along Ridge Road, south of Picton on the 14th, commenting that he likely 
missed many that may have been in the wooded area out of sight. All this 
from 20 WILD TURKEYS that were released in nearby Beaver Meadow in 1989, and 
which flew in 20 different directions upon release from their cardboard 
boxes!

And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. 
Our thanks to Pamela Stagg, Paul Mackenzie, Anne Potter, Donald McClure, 
John Blaney, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Doris Lane, Wayne McNulty, Joanne 
Dewey, Cathie Findlay, John Charlton, Serge de Sousa, Ted Cullin, Nick 
Quickert and Silvia Botnick for their contributions to this week's report. 
This report will be updated on Thursday, January 24th, but sightings can be 
e-mailed any time before the 6:00 p.m. Thursday deadline. Featured photos in 
the online edition of the Quinte Area Report take a look at the antics of 
the WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH in photos submitted by Shirley Laundry and Peter 
Sporring, both of Belleville. Be sure to also check out the photo on the 
Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website, taken by Bloomfield resident 
Donald McClure of some of the 137 Wild Turkeys he encountered on Monday 
along Ridge Road, just south of Picton.

Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
tsprague at kos.net
www.naturestuff.net