November 20, 2011 Presqu'ile Birding

Today, November 20th birded Presqu'ile Provincial Park and found 3 Purple Sandpiper on Gull Island along with a small number of late lingering shorebirds including 1 White-rumped Sandpiper, 3 Black-bellied Plover, 8 Sanderling and 15+ Dunlin. The long staying male Eurasian Wigeon was still present in Presqu'ile Bay along with 174 American Coot, 8 Tundra Swan and 68 Mute Swam. With the mild weather we still had Spring Peepers calling and saw a Northern Leopard Frog.

Directions: Courtesy Fred Helleiner: 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. Visitors to Gull Island not using a boat should be prepared to wade through shin-deep water in which there is often a swift current and a substrate that is somewhat uneven and slippery. It should also be noted that, because duck hunting is given priority on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, Gull Island, High Bluff Island, Owen Point, and part of the calf pasture are not available for bird-watching on those days. Birders are encouraged to record their observations on the bird sightings board provided near the campground office by The Friends of Presqu'ile Park and to fill out a rare bird report for species not listed there.
Directions: Prince Edward Point. Take exit 566 (Marysville) off the 401 and go south on County Road 49 to Picton. Take County Rd. 8 to County Rd. 17 to County Rd. 16 to County Rd. 13. Follow County Rd. 13 to the end until you reach the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. There is now a gate near the tip by the harbour. You can no longer drive to the lighthouse but have to park by the gate and walk. The lighthouse is at the very tip of the point.

Hip waders were required to cross over to Gull island.

My son Ben decided that pants and boots weren't required!

Ron Hoffe follows suit, almost. He rolls his pants up..

An injured Sanderling was hobbling along the gravel shoreline feeding.

A late White-rumped Sandpiper was actively feeding.

One of 3 Purple Sandpipers feeding on Gull Island.

A Purple Sandpiper and Dunlin feeding.

With mild conditions even the frogs were out.

An American Robin feeding on Buckthorn berries.

The Lighthouse is a good vantage point for viewing Presqu'ile Bay.

November 19, 2011 Birding Prince Edward Point

Spent the day birding various areas in Prince Edward County including Prince Edward Point, Point Petrie and Sandbanks Provincial Park. Overall land bird activity was low but we did note a movement of 450+ Cedar Waxwing and 150+ American Robin. Other land birds of note included 3 Northern Shrike and 12 Eastern Bluebird. Off Prince Edward Point there was a good number and variety of water birds. The best sighting was a small flock of 3 male Harlequin Ducks that fly by as we were scanning the lake. They landed just off the point giving us great views! Thousands of Long-tailed Ducks were observed along with 230+ White-winged Scoter, 3500+ Greater Scaup, and 1 Red-throated Loon. A surprise was a breeding plumaged Bonaparte's Gull with a complete black hood. I've only ever observed a couple of fall adults still in breeding plumage along the Niagara River with the 1000's of Bonaparte's Gull that concentrate there during November/December. Our final stop was at Presqu'ile provincial park where we saw the long staying male Eurasian Wigeon in Presqu'ile Bay.

Three Harlequin Ducks in flight including 2 adult males, 1 female and a female Long-tailed Duck.

Another view.

Cedar Waxwing were on the move and numerous flocks were observed flying over. A number of immature plumage birds were seen.

Breeding plumage Bonaparte's Gull in November!

A Northern Shrike landing.

A total of 3 Northern Shrikes were observed in PEC.

The male Eurasian Wigeon was still present at Presqu'ile Bay.

November 12, 2011 Local birding and hybrid Goldeneye

Hi Everyone

The highlight of birding this morning was a male hybrid Barrow's X Common Goldeneye off the boat launch at Shirley's Bay. This hybrid showed a very distinctive crescent and a small black shoulder spur of the Barrow's and head shape and scapular marking of a Common Goldeneye. Hybrids are rare but regular in eastern Ontario and are sometimes either overlooked or identified as Barrow's Goldeneye. All 3 scoters were off Shirley's Bay and all 3 regular grebes. At the Moodie Drive ponds 75+ Snow Geese were observed along with 40+ Hooded Herganser, 1 Ruddy Duck and 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. From the Trail Road vantage point 1 1st winter Iceland Gill and 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were seen.
Good birding, Bruce

Directions: Gulls: From Ottawa take Hwy 417 west to Hwy 416. South on the 416 to exit 66 (Fallowfield Rd.) Right (west) on Fallowfield to Moodie Dr. Left (south) on Moodie, go past Trail Rd. on your left and Cambrian Rd. on your right until you come to a very large sand & gravel operation on the left (east) side of the road. ***PLEASE NOTE*** - do NOT cross the gate to the sand & gravel operation. This is private property, and most of the birds can be well-viewed from the road.The landfill site is located on Trail Road. There is no access but the gulls can be viewed from Trail Road just south of the main entrance.

A male hybrid Common x Barrow's Goldeneye at Shirley's Bay.

November 10, 2011 Gulls on the move south.

Hi Everyone
Spent a couple of hours viewing gulls at the Trail Road Landfill site late yesterday afternoon. Lots of activity both in the landfill and the ponds along Trail Road and Moodie Drive. Viewing conditions were excellent and I observed 11 Lesser Black-backed Gull (various ages), 2 Iceland Gull, 1 Thayer's Gull and 1 Glaucous Gull. There were hundreds of Herring gull present and 65+ Great black-backed Gull. Also 1000's of Canada Geese in the surrounding area plus 150+ Snow Geese. Earlier in the day I counted 103 Sandhill Cranes along Smith road near Milton Road. Good birding, Bruce

Directions: Gulls: From Ottawa take Hwy 417 west to Hwy 416. South on the 416 to exit 66 (Fallowfield Rd.) Right (west) on Fallowfield to Moodie Dr. Left (south) on Moodie, go past Trail Rd. on your left and Cambrian Rd. on your right until you come to a very large sand & gravel operation on the left (east) side of the road. ***PLEASE NOTE*** - do NOT cross the gate to the sand & gravel operation. This is private property, and most of the birds can be well-viewed from the road.The landfill site is located on Trail Road. There is no access but the gulls can be viewed from Trail Road just south of the main entrance. Directions: Cranes: From Ottawa take Hwy. 417 east to exit 96 . Go north for 2 km on Boundary Road to Russell Road (Regional 26). Turn right onto Russell and drive 3.5 km to Milton Road (Regional 31). Turn left on Milton Road and go about 5 km and turn left on Smith Road.

Sandhill Cranes staging along Smith Road off of Milton Road.

November 8, 2011 Purple Sandpiper at Presqu'ile Provinial Park.

Late fall shorebird watching was great a Presqu'ile Provincial Park today. Highlight was a Purple Sandpiper located earlier during the day on Sebastopol Point. There was a good variety of shorebirds including 22 Black-bellied Plover, 2 White-rumped Sandpiper, 24 Sanderling, and 12 Dunlin. The Purple Sandpiper spent most of its time along the north east corner of Gull Island and also flew over to the gravel point off Owen Point.

Good Birding, Bruce

Directions: 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. Visitors to Gull Island not using a boat should be prepared to wade through knee-deep water in which there is often a swift current and a substrate that is somewhat uneven and slippery. It should also be noted that, because duck hunting is given priority on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, Gull Island, High Bluff Island, Owen Point, and part of the calf pasture are not
available for bird-watching on those days. Birders are encouraged to record their observations on the bird sightings board provided near the campground office by The Friends of Presqu'ile Park and to fill out a rare bird report for species not listed there.

The Purple Sandpiper resting with Dunlin and a White-rumped sandpiper. The Purple Sandpiper is a regular fall migrant in small numbers at Presqu'ile.

A mixed flock of Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin, Sanderling and a Purple Sandpiper.

Shorebirds gather off Owen point on one of the small gravel islands that link to Gull Island. Rubber boots or waders are required to walk over to Gull Island.

Sunset over Popham Bay and Sebastopol Point at Presqu'ile.

November 5-6, 2011 Birding Amherst Island

The bird activity continues to change on Amherst Island. On November 5th we observed 26 Rough-legged Hawks, mainly in the center of the island and the following day only 6 could be located. The "Owl Woods" was quiet with only 2 Long-eared Owl, but the feeder area had a good supply of Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. The east point (KFN property) had a late Semipalmated Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, 1 American Golden-Plover , 72 Tundra Swan and a male Barrow's Goldeneye.

Good Birding, Bruce

Directions: Amherst Island: Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Rd. 4, Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy. 33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry. The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the island on the hour. Cost is $9.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas stations on the island. There are restrooms on the ferry, and at the island ferry dock. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the island on the east side of the Lower Forty Foot Road.

Because of liability issues, visitors to the Kingston Field Naturalists'property at the east end of Amherst Island MUST be accompanied by a KFN member. For KFN contactinformation or how to become a member, please visit http://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/ ."

Long-eared Owl enjoying the morning sun.

A female Northern Harrier made numerous unsuccessful attempts at an American Black Duck. The duck would dive when the harrier tried for it.

Common Loons were easy to see from the ferry with over 70 counted on our return trip on Nov. 5th.

With no seeds in the feeders the chickadees and nuthatches were glad for the hand out! Remember to bring some sunflower seeds for the feeders.

On November 6th Ben and I counted a variety of dead water birds along the shoreline of the KFN property which included 25 Long-tailed duck, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 White-winged Scoter, and 3 Common Loon.

A late Semipalmated Sandpiper at the gravel point was a surprise.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a regular visitor to the Owl Woods feeder.

The Dunlin is one of our later shorebirds that linger in eastern Ontario during November and sometimes into early December. .

November 1-2, 2011 Local Birding

As bird activity along the Ottawa River continues to change weekly and with cooler temperatures to the north our last of the migrant water birds and a few land birds are moving through the region. A few like Common Goldeneye and Snow Bunting will winter here in small numbers. The water levels along the Ottawa River are now very high leaving no shorebird habitat and very few areas of exposed mudflat/sandbar or rocks for gulls to roost on. On November 1st at 1:45pm the RAZORBILL was still present off Deschenes Lookout along with 2 Red-throated Loon, 5 red-necked Grebe, 4 Horned Grebe and 1 Double-crested Cormorant.
At Shirley's Bay on November 2nd there was a good concentration of ducks off the boat launch including all 3 scoters, 150+ Lesser Scaup, 100+ Common Goldeneye, 14 Bufflehead, and 12 Red-breasted Merganser. Also present were 8 Red-necked Grebe, 6 Horned Grebe, 3 Common Loon, and 2 Double-crested Cormorant. On the west side of the causeway at Shirley's Bay 76 Gadwall and 68 Northern Shoveler and 2 Bald Eagles were noted. Snow Bunting are starting to show up in the area with small flocks at the Shirley's Bay boat launch, Britannia Pier, and Britannia Point.

A male Hooded Merganser snacks on a small fish.

Great Blue Herons will linger in November and even December if there is open water for feeding.

A lone Brant feeds at Andrew Haydon Park.

The Bald Eagle nest at Shirley's Bay is now visible since the leaves have fallen. This nest was built last spring but appeared not to be used. Maybe next spring.

The Snow Bunting is a sign that winter is not to far.