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ONTBIRDS for Thursday, July 2, 2009
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Subject: [Ontbirds] Reesor Pond - A Gathering of Egrets
From: Stan Long <stan.long(AT)sympatico.ca>
Date: 2 Jul 2009 2:09pm
For the record - at Reesor Pond this afternoon : 12 Great Egrets - perhaps only
one banded [previous sighting : yellow band on left leg above knee - another
yellowish band on right ankle] - which raises the question of where are they
coming from and where do the roost - Reesor Pond lies just north of Hwy 407 on
Reesor Road in Markham
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
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Subject: [Ontbirds] Quinte Area Bird Report for week ending July 02,
2009
From: "Terry Sprague" <tsprague(AT)kos.net>
Date: 2 Jul 2009 4:43pm
WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK
ENDING
Thursday, July 02, 2009
It has been said that the month of July marks the period in the year when bird
song is at its lowest ebb. However, there is the much touted "dawn chorus" which
is still very much in evidence between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., before the heat
of the day begins to build. On a daily 5 km walk, it results in numerous bird
species for me, not normally heard during the rest of the day. Heralding the
arrival of July for me on the 1st was 38 species of birds during a walk of just
under an hour in length. Perhaps not a challenging contender for the Baillie
Birdathon, but certainly a respectable total when this season of the year
normally tempts one to shelve the binoculars, until the fall migration rolls
around. Although the YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, present for three days along North
Big Island Road did not make it on the list, a SANDHILL CRANE managed to be the
first entry that morning as it bugled its arrival two fields west of 23 Sprague
Road where it appears periodically. Other notable "sights and heards" included
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, BROWN
THRASHER and INDIGO BUNTING.
It is also the season of juvenile birds, and the several noted diagnostic cries
of young BALTIMORE ORIOLES can now be heard most days from the tree canopy.
Monday night, a family of young EASTERN TOWHEES also announced their presence
at the Demorestville Conservation Area, where other species noted included a
distant VESPER SPARROW, COMMON RAVEN and at least three WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS,
the latter species becoming increasingly prevalent now in Prince Edward County
as a breeding bird. Also discovered nesting through their cries for food, was a
nest of AMERICAN KESTRELS located in a box mounted several feet up on a
decommissioned 60' free standing TV tower in our own backyard. Sometimes it
means going no further than one's own backyard. Also during the week, two
recently fledged COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were flushed from the grass during a guided
hike west of Arden Road, north of Tamworth, on Sunday, where other species found
during the hike included CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT,
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, FIELD SPARROW AND OVENBIRD. Patience paid off for one
photographer along the Frink Centre's Wetland Ecology Boardwalk during the week,
when both a VIRGINIA RAIL and a PIED-BILLED GREBE posed to have their photos
taken, albeit briefly.
More locally, juvenile BLUE JAYS and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS are accompanying
their parents to feeders in Trenton, and the latter species are regulars at
feeders in Belleville, Picton, and along Harmony Road in Thurlow. NORTHERN
CARDINALS are at feeders in Thurlow too, and 2 PURPLE FINCHES continue to make
daily visits to a feeder east of Lake on the Mountain. A pair of EASTERN
BLUEBIRDS turned up at a residence at South Bay on the 28th, and a GREAT HORNED
OWL visited a back yard on the 26th in the Adolpustown area.
While it was only month ago when the lingering spring shorebirds finally
disappeared from the famous Kaiser Crossroad flooded fields in Prince Edward
County, the fall return of those shorebirds is already in motion, with the
sighing of the first LEAST SANDPIPER in Hamilton on July 25th and the first
"fall" LESSER YELLOWLEGS at Reesor Pond in Markham being spotted a day earlier,
right on schedule, as these two species are among our earlier "fall" migrants.
So far, nothing in the shorebird family yet in Prince Edward County. An UPLAND
SANDPIPER sitting on a utility wire on Highway 62 just north of Huff's Winery
near Bloomfield was doubtless a summer resident, a species that appears to be
declining as a breeding bird in Prince Edward County due to changing habitat. In
Trenton, where an old 20-metre high chimney at Gimpel Electric Supply, thought
to be the last site in Trenton where CHIMNEY SWIFTS are believed to be nesting,
and where some 50 birds poured in during mid-June, is still very much active
with 44 being counted on June 27th.
No less interesting than the OSPREY reported recently trailing a jess from its
leg on the north shore of Hay Bay, was another OSPREY this week at a nest site
in Kingston. The parents of these young ospreys had something else in mind as
the menu du jour, and it wasn't fish. The observer noticed both grackles and
squirrels being offered to the young. The ospreys would fly into the trees in an
attempt to capture its prey, missing more than catching, but still a pattern
that continued for much of the day as the questionable prey was taken to the
nest platform.
An employee of RR Donnelley, formerly Moore Business Forms, of Trenton, told of
a GROUNDHOG that occupied a den at the corner of the building in that city. As
employees left the plant at the end of each day, the animal ducked into a
culvert under a sidewalk, giving the customary whistled notes. Recently, the
female appeared with four cubs who soon became quite tame, often approaching the
cafeteria window and gazing inward, or making their way over to the shipping
doors where staff there would offer them handouts. One even took it a step
further, and actually entered the building were it was seen scurrying the length
of the warehouse. However, it's a dog eat dog world out there, although in this
case, a fox eat groundhog world. a RED FOX was observed shaking the life out of
one of the groundhogs, followed by the eventual disappearance of the rest of
the litter. Nature is not always pretty, but in the real world, we all feed on
something else.
And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte Area. Our
thanks to Henry Pasila, John Charlton, Garry Kirsch, Pamela Stagg, Fiona King,
Bill Hogg, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Jess Chambers, Donn Legate, Doris Lane,
and Donna Fano for their contributions to this week's report. This report will
be updated on Thursday July 9th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before
the Wednesday nigh deadline. Photo on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff
website of a VIRGINIA RAIL at the H.R Frink Centre near Plainfield is by Garry
Kirsch of Belleville. The online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report features
a photo of a SANDHILL CRANE by Susan Withers of Napanee, and a PIED-BILLED
GREBE by Garry Kirsch of Belleville.
Terry Sprague
Prince Edward County
tsprague(AT)kos.net
www.naturestuff.net
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
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Subject: [Ontbirds] Presqu'ile Birding Report for Week Ending July 2,
2009.
From: Fred Helleiner <fhelleiner(AT)trentu.ca>
Date: 2 Jul 2009 8:20pm
Most of the interesting bird sightings at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in
the past week consist of birds that are dispersing from their breeding
territories and appearing in places where they have been absent for weeks.
Three diving ducks not normally present in summer were in Popham Bay on
June 27: a male GREATER SCAUP, a LONG-TAILED DUCK on Owen Point, and a
female COMMON GOLDENEYE. A male and female RED-BREASTED MERGANSER were
on the beach on July 1 and two female COMMON MERGANSERS on July 2.
GREAT EGRETS and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS are appearing more
frequently away from their nests on the offshore islands. MERLINS were
seen on two consecutive days, and another small raptor, perhaps a
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, was seen carrying a male BALTIMORE ORIOLE. A COMMON
MOORHEN has emerged from the reeds in the marsh to feed in the open on
two occasions.
The most interesting shorebird report concerns the banded RED KNOTS that
landed briefly on the beach on May 28. It has been learned that some of
them were tagged in the United States, but the more interesting returns
were as follows: two birds banded in Tierra del Fuego, Chile in
February, 2003 and January, 2007; one bird banded in Tierra del Fuego,
Argentina in November, 2006 that was subsequently seen many times at San
Antonio Oeste (not sure where that is) from February to April 21, 2009,
scarcely a month before appearing at Presqu'ile. Someone indicated on
the bird sightings board that a STILT SANDPIPER had been seen on June
30. Since that would represent a record early fall migration date,
albeit by only two days, more information about that observation should
be submitted, either to the Park directly or through me. Others of that
species do occur regularly in July.
A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was calling near 42 Bayshore Road on June 27. A
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER at 83 Bayshore Road lends support to the belief
that the species breeds in the Park. Both MOURNING WARBLER and CANADA
WARBLER were found on June 28, as was a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. The
report of a PALM WARBLER, also indicated anonymously on the bird
sightings board, would be the first summer record of that species at
Presqu'ile if confirmed. ORCHARD ORIOLES in various plumages are seen
on most days. Two PINE SISKINS were at 186 Bayshore Road on June 27,
and one was seen there on each of the next two days.
To reach Presqu'ile Provincial Park, follow the signs from Brighton.
Locations within the Park are shown on a map at the back of a tabloid
that is available at the Park gate. Access to the offshore islands is
restricted at this time of year to prevent disturbance to the colonial
nesting birds there.
Questions and comments about bird sightings at Presqu'ile may be
directed to: FHELLEINER(AT)TRENTU.CA <mailto:FHELLEINER(AT)TRENTU.CA>.
--
--
Fred Helleiner
186 Bayshore Road,
Brighton, Ontario, Canada, K0K 1H0
VOICE: (613) 475 5309
If visiting, access via Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
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Subject: [Ontbirds] Great Egrets and Ospreys
From: Siegmar Bodach <sigipatti(AT)sympatico.ca>
Date: 2 Jul 2009 9:24pm
Follow up to Stan Long's observation of Great Egrets at Reesor Pond.
On Friday, June 19 late afternoon I counted 6 Great Egrets around Reesor
Pond.
Prior to this the most I had seen there this spring was 2. There were
also 3 Great
Blue Herons present that afternoon. I could see no leg bands on any of
the Great
Egrets.
Regarding the Ospreys (nest) I have been reporting in Aurora on top of
the cell phone
tower at Bloomington and Hwy 404 I had mentioned in one of my early
spring reports that
2 pairs of Osprey were fighting for the nest. It seems the 2nd pair of
Osprey built a
nest on top of the cell phone tower just south of Bethesda Rd. on the
east side of Hwy
404. Osprey are very active at both nests.
Good birding
Sigi
Aurora, On.
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
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