Presqu'ile Provincial Park -- February 10 2012

Due to being really busy with other things, I haven't had much time for updating this blog or birding for that matter. I hope to post more frequently as the year progresses. I guess we'll see how that goes.

I did see an adult Northern Goshawk on consecutive days this week which was a nice surprise. The first time it flushed from the side of the road and was only in view long enough to call it a Goshawk. The following morning while brushing my teeth, the squirrels outside the bathroom window freaked out and ran for cover. Some movement caught my eye and I had enough time to grab the binos and have about a five second look at a perched adult Northern Goshawk about 100 feet away. This is only the second one that I've seen while living here. The other was an immature that was perched on top of the cage of my old Ringneck Dove. The dove was not impressed.

Northern Goshawk eyes exotic food

Anyway, what a relief to be able to head out to Presqu'ile, even if it was just for half a day. I saw an American Kestrel on the way down, as well as a couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

I went down Bayshore Drive first to check out some of the feeders, as well as the ducks in the bay. Everything that would be expected was there including large numbers of Mute Swan, Redhead, Greater Scaup and a few Canvasback, Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. The Greater White-fronted Goose hasn't been seen for a few days and wasn't mixed in with any of the distant Canada Geese that I scanned through.



Redhead



The Northern Shrike that has been present for most of the winter at Calf Pasture can easily be seen from Bayshore Road. It was perched on a power line.

I stopped at 83 Bayshore to check out the multitude of feeders. There were House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Goldfinches, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches and a Carolina Wren that has been around all winter.

Carolina Wren

There was a flock of sixteen American Robins making alot of noise at the back of the yard. Some were even doing some half-hearted singing.

American Robin

As I was watching a pair of Mourning Doves sitting in the feeder at 186 Bayshore, a Cooper's Hawk came out of nowhere and just missed them.

There was a Red Fox that I ran into a number of times throughout the day. It wasn't too concerned with people.

Red Fox

At the lighthouse the wind was brisk. The big swells made picking up birds with the scope difficult. Despite the distance, a quick scan with binoculars revealed the male Barrow's Goldeneye that has been present since December. It was with a number of Common Goldeneye but easily distinguished at distance by the greater amount of black on the back. I finally scoped it and had a good look as it disappeared and reappeared behind swells while continuing to dive frequently.

I saw a group of deer near the calf pasture that were more confused by my car than scared.

White-tailed Deer

Heading back toward the park entrance from the lighthouse, I spotted a Ruffed Grouse up in a tree. These guys aren't common in the park, this being the first one that I've seen.

Ruffed Grouse

On the way out I stopped at Owen Point long enough to see a Snowy Owl. With the wind and snow blowing straight in off of the lake, it was unpleasant. I'm sure that there are still more out there.

I'll end off with a Bufflehead and a Mute Swan.

Presqu'ile Provincial Park - Jan 11 2012

I hadn't been to Presqu'ile this year yet so I decided to head down for the day. The trip started off well with a Northern Shrike before I was five minutes into the drive.



Northern Shrike

 It seems like I'm seeing Northern Shrikes more this winter than ever before. A group of deer crossed the road a couple of minutes later. I managed to get a shot before they disappeared into the woods.

White-tailed Deer

Red-tailed Hawks were everywhere during the drive. At one point I saw four in about five minutes near Warkworth.

Red-tailed Hawk #3

I decided to check out Bayshore Drive as my first stop. On the way there from the park gate, an immature Bald Eagle flew over, my first of the year. There was a big raft of Redheads in the bay with some Greater Scaup and Canvasbacks mixed in. The Long-tailed Ducks, Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye were also present.

Redhead and Greater Scaup

Canvasback trying to blend in

A stop at the Government Pier had more of the same including a couple of muskrats hanging out on the ice.

Muskrat

A quick stop to check out the numerous bird feeders at 83 Bayshore Drive yielded some House Finches, Northern Cardinals, American Goldfinches and a flock of about 40 Cedar Waxwings.

The lighthouse was almost devoid of ducks due to the fairly strong wind coming off of the lake. I did have a couple of Brown Creepers in the parking lot though. The Barrow's Goldeneye will have to wait until next time.

Calf Pasture had the expected ducks including a couple of Red-breasted and a single Common Merganser. I could see a gathering of gulls on the ice at the other side of Presqu'ile Bay so I decided to have a look through them after I left the park. There was also yet another Northern Shrike!

Another Northern Shrike

I had a quick walk to the first lookout on the Owen Point trail, having opted to forego the waders experience this time around. There were two Snowy Owls to the right on the beach and one at a distance to the left, right at the base of the point. One on the beach was an almost entirely white male, a bird that wasn't one of the five I saw during my last trip!

Male Snowy

As I left the park to find a better vantage point for the gulls, my first Sharpie of the year flew directly overhead.
The closest spot to the gulls was Gosport. It was horribly backlit and not really that close. On top of that, all the gulls lifted off for no apparent reason and settled really far out about five minutes after I arrived. I did see about a dozen Great Black-backed, 2 Glaucous and an Iceland before they left though.

Just before I got home, I saw one more new bird for the year.

Presqu'ile Provincial Park -- Dec 30 2011

Despite the weather I decided to give Presqu'ile one last try for the year. I finally saw a Purple Sandpiper a couple of weeks earlier and figured that at very least the Snowy Owls would be around.

Dec 13 2011 -- Purple Sandpiper

On the drive down, I was happy to find a flock of about 70 Snow Buntings and three Horned Larks.

Snow Buntings

It was the coldest day that I had been there yet, with a nice breeze coming in off of the lake. My first stop was at the lighthouse, where I had a good look for the Barrow's Goldeneye but came up empty handed. On the drive to the lighthouse, I scanned the Long-Tailed Ducks, Buffleheads and Common Goldeneye for anything different and was rewarded with a single White-winged Scoter. There was a lone Brown Creeper at the parking lot.

White-winged Scoter

As I arrived at Owen Point, I noticed a Snowy Owl standing on the ground behind the patch of bushes at the Point.




Female Snowy Owl



Snowy Owl tracks

As I took a couple of pictures of it, I noticed two Northern Harriers flying toward shore from the Islands. Almost immediately afterwards two Snowy Owls flew by, followed by a third a couple of minutes later. A quick scan of Gull Island revealed a fifth Snowy Owl! The last one was just sitting on a duck blind.

Snowy flying past Owen Point

The crossing to Gull Island was starting to become interesting as the ice built up along the shoreline. The current is fairly swift with large chunks of ice flowing through. As I was crossing I watched the Gull Island Snowy make a failed attempt on some Long-Tailed Ducks near the shoreline. It glided right along the ground and then water before the ducks saw it at the last second and dove. Judging by the pairs of duck wings strewn about the island, these attacks are often successful. I found it again sitting on a duck blind on High Bluff Island.

High Bluff Island Snowy

There was a large flock of about 70 American Black Ducks in between High Bluff and Gull Island with a few Mallards mixed in. A third Northern Harrier flew past. Gulls were non-existant in the park with only a couple of distant Ring-Billeds flying by. During the walk back to the car I came across two of the Snowy Owls that had flown past me at Owen Point.

 Female Snowy



Older female Snowy? This bird had large complete bands on the tail
but also an extensive bib. You be the judge.


As I was almost back at the car, I came across a Northern Shrike. A nice way to end the hike.

Northern Shrike -- Not a good picture

That was about it for the day. I did stop and examine a flock of European Starlings on a power line just outside the park and found five Brown-Headed Cowbirds, the first that I've seen this winter.