WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK OF April 30, 2009 Instead of asking who still has PINE SISKINS at their feeders, a more sensible approach would be to ask who doesn't! Most feeders across the region have anywhere from 30 to 100 coming regularly as a massive migration of them passes through the area. One bird bander at Elmbrook estimated one flock over her house to number more than 300, of which 136 were banded in two hours. Commenting on their condition, she said, "They were fat to the point of being gross!" Needless to say, it has been a a busy week and in my 50 or more years of birding, I cannot remember a spring when practically all early May migrants were here before May 1st. Of these have been more than a dozen species of warblers. Everything is several days early and the most notable was a very early GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH seen at a residence along Massassauga Road and positively identified by an expert who has birded worldwide. All species that have returned have done so en masse, some in numbers that would rival mid-May. At Prince Edward Point, the story is the same. DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS have been slowly increasing and now number 4-500 a day on the shoal. TURKEY VULTURES sitting in trees at the harbour numbered 26 on the 29th, while on the 28th CANADA GEESE were moving with 320 going over. Two AMERICAN WIGEON were feeding offshore on the 29th along with 1000 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, 75 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and 6 BLACK SCOTER. About 150 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS flew past on the 26th. The first BROAD-WINGED HAWKS were seen on the 27th when three flew over. One or two WILD TURKEYS can be heard most mornings and RUFFED GROUSE are drumming. A single SPOTTED SANDPIPER was seen in the harbour on the 25th. BONAPARTE'S GULLS are feeding offshore on the midges and counts of 5000 and 3000 were made on the 28th and 29th. One or 2 CASPIAN TERNS a day are being seen or heard around the Point. A GREAT-HORNED OWL was calling on the 24th and 27th and a WHIP-POOR-WILL was flushed from a log beside the path at Point Traverse on the 25th, NORTHERN FLICKERS numbered 100 on the 25th and a HAIRY WOODPECKER puts her head out every morning as as the nests are opened below its nesting hole. Two PILEATED WOODPECKERS were seen beside the banding lab on the 25th the same day as the first LEAST FLYCATCHER of the year was found. Single GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS were seen on the 27th and 29th while the first EASTERN KINGBIRD was found on the 25th and 3 were seen on the 29th. BLUE-HEADED VIREOS arrived on the 25th and can be seen daily now and a single WARBLING VIREO was here on the 27th. BLUE JAYS are just starting to move and up to 15 a day are going over; a pair in the woods here have already lost their first nest to an unknown predator. A COMMON RAVEN flew over high on the 26th. NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS can be seen in good numbers along the cliffs while the CLIFF SWALLOWS have returned to the lighthouse and are already repairing the nests. Two RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES put in a brief appearance on the 29th. BROWN CREEPERS have started to decrease with a weekly peak of 28 on the 25th. HOUSE WRENS returned on the 27th and are noisily singing all over the place now, WINTER WRENS continue to move through and are even singing. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS numbered 65 on the 24th but only 1-2 a day are being seen now, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS on the other hand are increasing and 130 were seen on the 25th and 100 on the 27th. BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS are back and up to 3 a day can be found. HERMIT THRUSHES can easily be found and 42 were seen on the 25th. GRAY CATBIRDS are also back, arriving on the 26th, and BROWN THRASHERS are singing their hearts out with up to 10 being seen daily. Up to 100 CEDAR WAXWINGS a day are being seen. As May approaches, so do more warblers. Two GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS were found on the 29th and NASHVILLE WARBLERS arrived on the 25th and are now being seen daily. The first YELLOW WARBLER arrived on the 26th and at least 25 were present the next day. A male CAPE-MAY WARBLER was found at Point Traverse on the 29th and a BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was seen on the 25th, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS numbered 110 and 140 on the 28th and 29th and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS added some colour on the 27th and 28th. The first PINE WARBLERS were seen on the 25th and numbered at least 18, and they have been seen daily since then. Western PALM WARBLERS arrived on the 25th as well as did the first BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. A singing NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH on the 27th and a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT on the 29th rounded out this week's total of 13 species of warblers. Six SCARLET TANAGERS added splashes of colour to the Point Traverse woods on the 29th as did at least three BALTIMORE ORIOLES. Only one FOX SPARROW was seen this week, on the 25th, while two LINCOLN'S SPARROWS arrived on the 25th. WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are now becoming commoner with up to 120 present each day. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS have arrived with the first on the 27th and 2 on the 28th. The first ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK arrived on the 30th. A few RUSTY BLACKBIRDS can be found most days in the swamp. PURPLE FINCHES are around in good numbers again this year with up to 75 a day being tallied. A male WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was photographed in the woods on the 27th and PINE SISKINS are moving in really good numbers with up to 225 a day being seen; 194 have been banded here so far which far exceeds the previous best spring total of just 16. We're not finished yet. Now for the not one but three good birds seen this week. A LARK SPARROW was found and photographed on the far side of the harbour on the 25th, this is the 5th record for PEPTBO and the second in spring, the last was seen in 1987. The 29th provided two more good species with a WORM-EATING WARBLER found at Point Traverse, the first one here since 1996, although there are isolated sightings elsewhere in the County to 2004. And that evening as the wind dropped completely, four HARLEQUIN DUCKS, 3 males and a female, were found swimming about offshore; these four constitute the first spring record for here and they are only the fourth record ever, although there have been other documented sightings at Point Petre and West Point. SANDHILL CRANES have been showing up here and there in the County, and one continues to bugle throughout the day in a field west of Sprague Road on Big Island. Arrival dates of migrants reported by other observers were pretty much surpassed by those reported from Prince Edward Point. However, a few notable exceptions were BANK SWALLOW near Point Traverse on the 25th, WHITE-EYED VIREO, and a VEERY, at Point Traverse on the 27th, GREEN HERON at Fish Lake on the 28th, UPLAND SANDPIPER near Milford on the 29th, 3 SORAS at the Big Island Marsh on the 29th, BLUE-HEADED VIREO in Bloomfield on the 25th, and a GOLDEN EAGLE at Point Traverse on the 25th. Waterfowl at the Kaiser Crossroad flooded cornfields are thinning out as the fields become drier. Highs this week were CANADA GEESE (300), NORTHERN PINTAILS (300), GREEN-WINGED TEAL (132), AMERICAN WIGEON (37), and anywhere from 1 to 20 NORTHERN SHOVELERS, REDHEADS, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCKS, MALLARDS, GADWALL, and a single blue morph SNOW GOOSE until the 25th. Also present this week were 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 14 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 1 LEAST SANDPIPER, CASPIAN TERNS, GREAT BLUE HERON, AMERICAN BITTERN, NORTHERN HARRIERS, BARN SWALLOWS, LITTLE GULLS (10), and BONAPARTE'S GULLS (100). Muscote Bay at Big Island continues to attract ducks with LESSER SCAUP (300) well distributed over the water, interspersed with COMMON GOLDENEYE , OSPREYS and CASPIAN TERNS. The Darwin Award this week goes to a Belleville resident who has been noted by several residents harassing a nesting OSPREY along the Moira River. His method? He flies a remote controlled airplane in its direction deriving meager enjoyment as the bird repeatedly dive-bombs the strange interloper. His reply (with explicits omitted) when approached by a concerned resident? "I pay taxes too." We're still working on the connection between bird harassment and paying taxes! And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to David Okines, Joanne Dewey, Pamela Stagg, Garry Kirsch, Mike Burge & Kathy Felkar, Heather Heron, David Bree, Donn Legate, Angela Mantle, Dave Bell, James Barkman, Kathleen Rankine, Borys Holowacz, Laura Pierce, Rosemary Smith, Nick Quickert, Brian & Gloria Durell, Albert Boisvert, Ron Weir, Owen Weir, Ken Campbell, Mia Lane, Nancy Fox, Donna Fano, Henri Garand, Donn Legate, Ted Cullin, Don Chisholm, John Blaney, Chesia Livingston, Frank Artes & Carolyn Barnes, Lyle Anderson, Ove Ojaste & Mary-Ann Caswell. This report will be updated on Thursday, May 7th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the Wednesday night deadline. Featured photos of a HOUSE WREN at a nest box on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuff website, along with a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report are all by Dave Bell of Belleville. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County tsprague@kos.net www.naturestuff.net