Sightings
To report sightings, email dmonkman1@cogeco.ca or telephone 705-743-0868
| Date | Sighting | Location | Observer |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2012 | I had my first Monarch of the year this afternoon. It was flitting about in my garden, landing from time to time on the two inch milkweed plants that are emerging from the ground. This is my earliest Monarch by at least two and a half weeks. A Question Mark, American Lady and several Red Admirals also put in an appearance today in the yard. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 10, 2012 | I spent a couple of hours birding around Mount Pleasant this morning. At the end of of Wilson Line, I had 2 Red-eyed Vireos, 2 Scarlet Tanagers and 1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak. On Stewart Line, in the swamp west of County Road 10, there were large numbers of very vocal Northern Waterthrush and Common Yellowthroat. At the north end of Winslow 1/4 LIne, I found 4 Wild Turkey, 1 Chestnut-sided Warlber and 1 Gray Catbird. On the west side of Howden 1/4 line, just north of Stewart Line, I found 4 Bobolinks. | Mount Pleasant area | Drew Monkman |
| May 6, 2012 | Had a great weekend in our yard, saw 2 male orioles ,2 male rose breasted grosbeaks , 1 brown thrasher ,1 great crested flycatcher and 1 male ruby-throated hummingbird. We were glad that these neo-tropical birds have come home for the summer. I put all this activity down to two words: Native Plants [although I do add seed and nectar] adding natives over the 3 years we have been at this location has made a huge difference . It was inexpensive and many of the shrubs have great flowers and fruit to offer the birds. As well it has increased the insect population and has brought in a great number of native bees which was something i was hoping for as much as the birds. | The Glen, Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| May 5, 2012 | Just wanted to report that after doing our 6th annual Adopt-A-Road clean-up on the full length (9.5 km) of Cty. Rd. #35 (Old Keene Road), from Hwy #7 to Cty. Rd. #2 this morning, I had crews reporting large numbers (dozens in various spots) of dead butterflies (Red Admirals) on the shoulders of the road. Not surprising given the numbers around these days, but interesting just the same. | County Road 35 (Old Keene Road) | Rick Stankiewicz |
| May 5, 2012 | On the rail trail to the Orange Corners Trestle this morning we saw Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks and White-crowned Sparrows. | Orange Corners Trestle on Trans-Canada Trail | Gord and Enid Mallory |
| May 5, 2012 | Despite a slightly later start (8ish), I had a productive morning at Hubble Road - managed 2 Golden-winged warblers (observed singing), 1 blue-winged warbler (observed singing), 8 Eastern Towhee, rose-breasted grosbeak, blue-headed vireo, red-eyed vireo, great-crested flycatcher, and others. Then on my way home on Centre Dummer Road near 7th Line saw/heard another blue-winged warbler, and 2 towhees (among others). | Hubble Road, off of County Roads 44 and 47, east of Stony Lake | Scott Gibson |
| May 5, 2012 | On the PFN-sponsored Jane's walk at Fleming College this morning, I counted 50+ Red Admirals over a distance of 100 metres through an open area. They were nectaring on Dandelions. | Fleming College | Drew Monkman |
| May 4, 2012 | Today, we had seven Red-breasted Grosbeaks at our feeder. | McCrea Drive, Peterborough | Liliana Perez and Mitch Brownstein |
| Male 4, 2012 | I spotted two male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at a feeder outside of 2nd storey bedroom window. (feeder on a pully system) Not a usual visitor at one of our feeders (have 5 set up) - 1st time that I recall in some time. | 994 County Rd 19, Peterborough | David Quist |
| May 4, 2012 |
There has been another big flight of Red Admiral butterflies into Ontario these last few days (including today). We had at least 20 admirals in the yard this afternoon. With all of the bird migrants that arrived last night, you have to think that the winds have been favorable to butterfly migration, too. I noticed quite a few at Beavermead this morning, flying about despite the overcast, damp conditions. The ROM blog also confirms the arrival of more butterflies (http://blog.rom.on.ca/2012/05/more-butterfly-migrants-arrive/) Martin and Kathy Parker were at 2nd Marsh, Oshawa, today and then drove east to Port Hope. There were lots and lots of butterflies, mostly Red Admirals, moving off the lake onto the land. Scanning the open water of the marsh was like watching a parade of butterflies going by. On the drive to Port Hope the butterflies were consistently crossing the road from south to north. |
see Sighting notes |
Drew Monkman
Martin and Kathy Parker |
| May 4, 2012 | I walked around Ecology Park and Beavermead Park this morning (9 a.m.) and recorded nine species of warblers including Northern Parula, American Redstart, Blackburnian, Palm, Ovenbird and Black-throated Green. In all, I probably saw 80 to 100 warblers, most of which were Yellow-rumped. Other birds of interest included Least Flycatcher (1), Baltimore Oriole (1), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (5), Warbling Vireo (4) and Blue-headed Vireo (3). Most of the birds were actually in the area of Beavermead where people park their trailers - across the creek from Ecology Park. Later in the morning, I heard a House Wren singing on Maple Crescent. | Ecology Park and Beavermead Park | Drew Monkman |
| May 4, 2012 | Bryan and I got an excellent look at a Palm Warbler up our road close to Airport Road. We also heard our first Common Yellowthroat warbler calling. | Johnson Drive | Mary Beth Aspinall |
| May 4, 2012 | Today, there were 4 f. and one m. Rose-breasted Grosbeak eating apple blossoms at Ecology Park proper, as opposed to adjacent Beavermead. Also there were 2 shimmering m. Scarlet Tanagers and a m. American Redstart. My FOS empid, likely Least Flycatcher, was sallying in a cedar, plus at least a couple Question Mark butterflies, with the Red Admirals. This a.m. there were 4 White-crowned Sparrows in my vegetationally challenged back yard on Ashdale Cres. W. Walking home last evening there was a screaming Merlin Stuka-ing on a crow at Inverlea Park (nw side of Parkhill Brg). Perhaps a known urban nesting spot? (Yes, they do nest here - Drew) | Ecology Park and Ashdale Cres. | Sean Smith |
| May 4, 2012 | This morning, Sue and I heard an Ovenbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Black-throated Green Warbler singing in our backyard. | (Park Street North, between Parkhill & Wolesly). | Andrew Jobes, Sue Prentice |
| May 4, 2012 | This morning during my bike ride to work from Lakefield to the MNR building in downtown Peterborough there was quite a lot of bird activity. Highlights included: Great Crested Flycatcher – 1 at Nichol’s Oval Eastern Kingbird – 2 birds Bank Swallow – a single bird with Northern Rough-winged Swallows at Lock 25 Cliff Swallow – the birds that nest under the foot bridge near the Trent Rowing Club are back – I first saw the yesterday evening on my way home Red-eyed Vireo – 1 singing near the London St foot bridge Wood Thrush – 1 singing Gray Catbird – 1 singing on the bike trail just N of Armour Rd. Golden-winged Warbler - singing male first heard (singing Golden-winged song) and then seen. Rotary bike trail just W of Douro 8th Line. Black-throated Blue Warbler - singing Palm Warbler – singing – also heard and seen yesterday on my way home Baltimore Oriole – 6 at various locations along the way Certainly lots of Warbling Vireos and Yellow Warblers around now! | Rotary Bike Trail from Lakefield to Peterborough | Colin Jones |
| May 4, 2012 | I took a walk through Jackson Park this morning and found a Wood Thrush and Ovenbird singing on the hillsides. A few new warblers for me were Blackburnian and Black-throated Green. | Jackson Park | Chris Risley |
| May 3, 2012 | Noticed first Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder tonite - have had the feeders up for a few weeks now in anticipation. | Mary Jane Parker | |
| May 3, 2012 | Yesterday, Baltimore Orioles were singing in the woods.. saw a male today. Also, have white throated sparrows pecking in the garden. I have noticed a lot of yellow bellied sapsuckers... they have been pecking .. very noisy .. at everyones old aluminum TV towers. Bald eagle still flying by as well. | Upper Buckhorn Lake(north shore).. Kawartha Hideway | J. Philpott |
| May 3, 2012 | Sue and I took our beginnner birdwatching class to Jackson Park today, and we had the following recent returns: - BLUE-HEADED VIREO - BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER - WOOD THRUSH - YELLOW WARBLER. | ||
| May 3, 2012 | Today, I photographed a Muscovy Duck that showed up in my backyard on Pengelley Drive in Bailieboro. The probable escapee perched on the railing of our deck! | Bailieboro | Marie Adamcryck |
| May 3, 2012 | Yellow Warbler (3-4, singing), (none yesterday) and White crowned Sparrow at Meadowvale Park near TASSS. I also had Black-throated Green (1) and Black-and-White Warblers (2), Blue-headed Vireo (1) and Warbling Vireos at Beavermead. | Meadowvale Park and Beavermead Park | Sean Smith |
| May 3, 2012 | This morning, Mitch Brownstein, Byran Whitfield, Mary Beth Aspinall and myself birded on Bryan and Mary Beth's large, habitat-rich property on Johnson Drive, just south of the by-pass. Birds of interest included Yellow Warbler (2), Nashville Warbler (2), Black-and-white Warbler (1), Blue-headed Vireo (1), Least Flycatcher (1), Great Crested Flycatcher (1), Rusty Blackbird (3), Purple Finch (1), White-crowned Sparrow (2), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2), Wood Duck (4), Solitary Sandpiper (1) and Greater Yellowlegs (1). We also heard both Gray Treefrog and American Toad calling, witnessed a pair of Snapping Turtles mating in a shallow lagoon and saw about a dozen Red Admiral Butterflies. The damp air was rich with the scent of Balsam Poplar. | Johnson Drive, Peterborough | Mitch Brownstein, Byran Whitfield, Mary Beth Aspinall and Drew Monkman |
| May 2, 2012 | Today I had both a Palm Warbler and a Spotted Sandpiper at Beavermead Park in Peterborough. | Beavermead Park | Sean Smith |
| May 2, 2012 | Today, at 4:30 p.m. I saw a single Swainson's Thrush in the large maple woodlot on Hooton Drive, just east of Howden Line. Other birds of interest along Hooten included Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, White-crowned Sparrow and Field Sparrow. A Gray Treefrog was also calling and four Red Admirals flew by. No Yellow Warblers yet that I could find. Drew Monkman | Hooten Drive | Drew Monkman |
| May 2, 2012 | Today while I was walking my dogs a FISH CROW and two American Crows flew over, chasing a Turkey Vulture. The FISH CROW and the American crows were calling and you could clearly hear the difference. I had my Ipod with me and listened to the call and it matched perfectly. It was at the Trent U Nature Area on the De Pencier trail at the bridge with the old abandoned car. Other species of interest included: Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Field Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Caspian Tern and White-crowned Sparrow. | Trent U. Nature Area | Luke Berg |
| May 2, 2012 | Along the Otonabee River this morning in Peterborough, I had Warbling Vireo (2), Black-and-White Warbler, Eastern Kingbird and Chimney Swift (Hunter Street in East City). Also, last night May 1, our front yard (919 Ashdale Cres. W.) hosted a Beaver. It decimated my carefully cultivated dandelion blooms and grasses, rested underneath my car, and climbed up a cement block and sniffed our front door. [We have a strict non-solicitation policy, but this guy appeared to be a fellow disgruntled, possibly militant, Parks Canada employee - don't print that line.] The 3-6 Red Fox kits, which denned near TASSS, appear to have 'fledged'. | Peterborough | Sean Smith |
| May 1, 2012 | Approximately 20 Chimney Swifts were flying above the Quaker Plant in downtown Peterborough at 6:30 pm this evening. | downtown Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
April 30, 2012 |
There are currently three (five four days ago) Trumpeter Swans at Emily Provincial Park including one tagged as J88. (Note: Tagged Trumpeter Swans can be reported on-line by going to: http://www.reportband.gov/ ) | Emily Provincial Park, Omemee, Ontario | Margaret Sinclair |
| April 30, 2012 | Today I photographed a Brown Thrasher on our lawn. | Birchview Road, Clear Lake | John McGregor |
| April 28, 2012 | Yesterday and today, I had one Eastern Towhee scratching under a feeder in my yard, joining 6 White-throated Sparrows. | McCrea Drive, Peterborough | Mitch Brownstein |
| April 28, 2012 | I saw the first gosling of the season today, swimming by Dodworth Island, Stony Lake. | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| April 28, 2012 | Just spotted a Black-and-white Warbler, a Solitary Sandpiper and a thrush of some species on my property by the Otonabee River off Johnston Drive. | Johnston Drive | Bryan Whitfield |
| April 27, 2012 | Caspian Terns (2), in front of Ptbo. Lift Lock NHS, diving on fingerlings released for the Greenwing/DU fishing tournament! | Peterborough Lift Lock | Sean Smith |
| April 24, 2012 | This afternoon I made a brief stop at the wetland on Fairbairn Street, north of County Road 19. I was able to see and hear a pair of Common Gallinule (formerly known as Common Moorhen) and Pied-billed Grebe. A Virginia Rail also called. Apparently, a pair of Northern Shovelers was also seen in this wetland in recent days. However, I did not see them today. Later, in the flooded field at the NW corner of County Road 19 and the Chemong Highway, I found a single Greater Yellowlegs. | Fairbairn Street and County Road 19 | Drew Monkman |
| April 24, 2012 | I saw my first female Red-winged Blackbird of the season standing in the snow under my feeder this morning. Poor bird – I bet she wasn't expecting this snow and sleet! | Highway 7A – Bethany | Kim Clark |
| April 22, 2012 | Today we heard a Red-shouldered Hawk calling. | Mississagua Lake area, north of Buckhorn | Cathy Darevic and Simon Dodsworth |
| April 22, 2012 | Today I saw an Eastern Towhee on the ground at the edge of some cedars (there is bird feeder in proximity) outside the kitchen window. It looked similar in colouring (slightly lighter) to the robin, but it was the "distinctive jump-and-kick motion, thrusting both feet to move leaves and reveal food" that was most impressive. I had never seen this behaviour before. | 994 Country Rd 19, RR 1 Peterborough. | David Quist |
| April 22, 2012 | About 20 people took part in the Sunday Morning PFN Bird Walk today. We went to the Warsaw Caves Conservation Area first where highlights included 2 Hermit Thrush, a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Winter Wren and a Blue-headed Vireo in full song. There were also numerous Blue Jays (presumably migrating through), most of which were making their "toolili" whistle. Later, at Terry Hunter's farm on Highway 28 north of Highway 7, we added species such as Cooper's Hawk, Northern Harrier, Pine Warbler, Wood Duck, Tree Swallow (occupying nearly all of the boxes) and Field Sparrow. Despite the 7C temperatures, one lonely Red Admiral butterfly was also seen. | Warsaw Caves Conservation Area; Hunter Farm | Drew Monkman and Peterborough Field Naturalist members |
| April 21, 2012 | As has been the case all week, large numbers of Ruby-crowned Kinglets are moving through the Peterborough area. There were at least a dozen singing in Jackson Park this morning. | Jackson Park, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 20, 2012 | We have Pine Siskins at our bird feeder! I got a good picture of one. There are a whole bunch mixed in with the goldfinches. Today, I also saw a bird that looked like a Tuffed Titmouse or something similar. It had the crest like cardinals and it was grey. | Indian River | Serena Formenti |
| April 20, 2012 | I have two Fox Sparrows coming to my feeder. They have been here for at least a week. There are also a number of White-throated Sparrows. | McCrea Drive, Peterborough | Mitch Brownstein |
| April 20, 2012 | Both my Juneberry and Pin Cherry are in full bloom in my yard today. This is at least three weeks earlier than usual. | Maple Cres. Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 20, 2012 | I spotted an Eastern Towhee in my backyard this morning. Unfortunately no photo. He moved too quickly. But he was pecking like a chicken under my bird feeders looking for a few scraps. Then a rabbit ran after him and he flew away! | Television Road, Peterborough | Brenda Ibey |
| April 20, 2012 | Here is an up-date on the Stony Lake eagles' nest. I've been disappointed the past 2-3 months because I haven't seen the Bald Eagles return to the nest they appeared to be building on the island out from my home. Today, I saw a pair of Ospreys there. It looked to me like the nest took a beating from all the strong winds we've had lately. No eagles yet, unfortunately. | Hamilton Bay, Stony Lake | Nan Campbell |
| April 19, 2012 | Bob Prentice and I went looking for butterflies today and found eleven species on Hubble Rd, Devil’s 4 Mile Rd and Sandy Lake Rd today: Red Admiral 58, Questionmark 4, Mourning Cloak 2, Spring Azure 11, Eastern Comma 2, Eastern Pine Elfin 16, Gray Comma 1, Hoary Elfin 5, Henry’s Elfin 1, Brown Elfin 1, American Lady 1. In a marsh just north of the junction of Cty Rd 46 and Cty Rd 47 we saw and heard an American Bittern. A Virginia Rail also called in the same marsh. | Kasshabog Lake area | Bob Prentice and Tony Bigg |
| April 19, 2012 | Yesterday, April 19, Jerry Ball and I explored the roads north of Bobcaygeon and Buckhorn and found a wide variety of species. We covered Ties Mountain Road, Charlie Allen Road, Tates Road, Galway-Cavendish Forest Access Road, Pencil Lake Road and Salmon Lake Road. Butterflies recorded were 140+ Red Admirals (including 15 on the trunk of one maple that was bleeding sap), 7 Question Marks, 2 Grey Commas, 2 West Virginia Whites, 9 Mustard Whites, 8 Spring Azures, 2 American Lady, 9 Eastern Pine Elfins and 1 Mourning Cloak. Wildflowers in bloom included Red Trillium, White Trillium (several just starting), Trout Lily, Spring Beauty, Round-leaved Hepatica, Nodding Bellwort, Bloodroot, Blue Cohosh, Coltsfoot, Marsh Marigold (several) and Red-berried Elder (flowers almost open). Ties Mountain Road, northeast of Bobcaygeon, was by far the best road for wildflowers with huge "carpets" of blooming Trout Lily . Birds of note included 20+ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 10 Winter Wren, 10 Hermit Thrush, 5 Broad-winged Hawks, 10 Pine Siskin, 2 Evening Grosbeak, 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 8 Pine Warbler, 1 Merlin, 7 Wild Turkey, 5 Ruffed Grouse (on road), 1 Wilson Snipe and 1 American Woodcock. As for herptiles, we had a basking Blanding's Turtle and heard Northern Leopard Frog (4 locations), Chorus Frog (1 location) and Spring Peeper (1 location). | Roads north of Bobcaygeon and Buckhorn | Drew Monkman and Jerry Ball |
| April 18, 2012 | I was pleased to see and hear a Hermit Thrush while walking my dogs on the DePencier trail at TUNA this morning.. FIrst one for me this spring. | Trent University Nature Area | Jennifer Budgell |
| April 18, 2012 | This morning I walked the Trent Nature Area trails on the canal side of University Drive. Over the 2.5 hrs I was there, I saw at least three dozen Red Admirals and one American Lady. Obviously, they survived the -7C temperatures last night with no problem. Other species of interest included at least 12 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 White-throated Sparrow and 1 Winter Wren. Serviceberry was in bloom on at least two trees and the flowers on both White Trillium and Marsh Marigold were very close to opening. | Trent University | Drew Monkman |
| April 18, 2012 | I live in Cornwall, and I experienced this same strange phenomena on Monday (April 16) evening. It occurred about 6 p.m. and I happened to look out on my balcony and saw many butterflies flying around the side of my building, some resting on my balcony. I live on the 9th floor (facing westward) of a highrise in the downtown core, so this was pretty unusual. I went outside and wasn't exactly sure what they were. They "looked" like Monarchs, but I knew they weren't. Although I thought they might have been the Question Marks you spoke about, looking at photos, I believe they were Red Admirals. There were at least a dozen, probably more of them. They darted back and forth individually so sometimes seemed to play games in groups of 3 or 4. It was totally magical!! I made me feel as if I was in a butterfly garden. I have never experienced anything like this here before!! They were really brave, too. Some would land close to me, and even seemed to think about landing on my arm, but they didn't go that far. Absolutely wonderful!! | Cornwall | Kathleen Hay |
| April 18, 2012 | I, too, had Red Admirals flying in my backyard in London in astounding numbers, commencing last Saturday, April 14 in the afternoon. At first there were only a few, perhaps half-a-dozen. By 17:30 on Monday, April 16, my best guess is that there were between 75 - 100, at any given time, in very aggressive groups, congregating around the various mature cedars and pines in the backyard of our South London. It was indeed a sight! | London | Suzanne Hicks |
| April 17, 2012 | I have been seeing Red Admiral butterflies since the week of April 9th in the east end of GTA. | Greater Toronto Area (east end) | Eileen Randall |
| April 17, 2012 | Today I saw large numbers of American Lady butterflies in Whitby. This close relative of the Red Admiral (same genus) is also migratory. It would appear that the Ladies are also part of this huge butterfly movement from the southern states northward into Canada. | Whitby | Tony Bigg |
| April 17, 2012 | Cool tempertures today (max: 9 C) made butterfly activity almost non-existent. There was only one report of a Red Admiral flying. | Peterborough | Erica Nol |
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April 16, 2012 (26 C) |
Following everyone else I saw many Red Admirals today, some nectaring on Coltsfoot and some on Willow blooms. First for the year for me, I also saw several Spring Azures (Trent Wildlife Sanctuary and Charlie Allen Rd), a Mustard White (Charlie Allen Rd), and an Eastern Pine Elfin (Charlie Allen Rd). Also on CARd were Mourning Cloak and Gray Comma. | various | Tony Bigg |
| April 16, 2012 |
This afternoon with the wind came beautiful "Red Admiral" butterflies everywhere and still tonight [7:16], they are continuing to entertain us. Never have seen this, so many in one place. Lynne - |
Springbrooke Drive, Peterborough | Lynne Kemp |
| April 16, 2012 |
I counted 42 Red Admirals while walking the dog around the block at 6 p.m. |
Westbrook Drive, Peterborough | Martin Parker |
| April 16, 2012 | Further afield, this morning while birding in the Stratford/Mitchell area there were Red Admirals everywhere, quite literally -- so presumably the phenomenon involved a huge area and huge numbers... I've never seen anything like it. | Stratford/Mitchell area | Jarmo Jalava |
| April 16, 2012 |
My wife counted 1 Question Mark and 20 Red Admirals in our yard in the space of five minutes! It would appear that they are being blown in on the strong, south-westerly winds. I was still seeing admirals in downtown Peterborough at 6:00 p.m., flying about in shaded areas.The admirals I saw today were all very aggressive and continually chasing each other, often in groups of 3 or 4. Many perched on the lawn for several second before taking off again to "chase" another individual. Normally, Red Admirals seen in Ontario have migrated up from the southern U.S. It is believed that the species is unable to overwinter in Canada. According to Massachusetts Audubon, "the first Red Admirals usually appear in the state after the first week in May. This early flight represents migrants from overwintering populations in the South (c. North Carolina southward)." Obviously, a mid-April arrival in central Ontario has to be seen as extremely early! Red Admirals are a holarctic species and are seen throughout Europe and Central Asia. Huge migrations are also recorded in these areas. Here are a few other facts of interest: - the migration was noted throughout northeastern North America - many of the butterflies were seen nectaring on dandelions, coltsfoot, flowering fruit trees, etc. There were many on-line reports of flowering trees and shrubs covered with Red Admirals - a hawk watch on Lake Erie counted about 140 going by per minute and easily 5000 for the day - they appeared to start arriving on Sunday (London area, for example) but the bulk of them did not arrive until Monday. The movement had been noted in the Minneapolis area, however, as early as Saturday, April 14. - on-line reports from Texas say that Red Admirals were abundant all winter long in the state, mostly because of the return of the rain and a profusion of wildflowers. It would seem that many of the butterflies originated from Texas but that has yet to be confirmed. - significant numbers of admirals arrived in 2007 & 2010, as well - There is actually a red admiral research project looking at things such as how movement of air masses and weather fronts affect Red Admiral movement and final distribution. Go to: http://vanessa.ent.iastate.edu/ to report your observations - whether they will survive the cold night temperatures is unclear. However, they are a hairy butterfly and have been recorded flying at night and at sub-zero temperatures in Europe. Hopefully, they will have been able to take advantage of warm micro-climates such as deep grass or fallen leaves to avoid freezing - Red Admiral caterpillars feed on nettles.. At this time of year, the adults will nectar on any flower they can find such as fruit tree blossoms, dandelions and coltsfoot flowers. They are already busy laying eggs on the nettle; these will hatch and mature for a ‘born in Ontario’ generation of adults later this spring. - In Ontario, there may be two or three generations per year. - A few Red Admirals have been reported to overwinter in Ontario but the majority of the ones born in August and later migrate south. Unlike Monarch butterflies, there is no single overwintering location known. - Every spring, a new population of Red Admirals migrates north to Ontario from the US. Some years, however, the numbers are extremely small and the species can be almost completely absent. - you can see a good video of the migration by going to: http://outdooredguys.wordpress.com/ - Question Mark butterflies also make a southward migration in the fall, overwintering in the southern U.S. A return migration, occasionally in fairly large numbers, occurs in late spring. |
Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 16, 2012 | When I arrived home at noon I noticed a butterly in our front garden so I got my camera to take a pic. When I returned outside there was a profusion of butterlies - mostly Red Admirals, with at least one Question Mark in the garden . In all the years we have lived here I have never seen anything like this. They were mainly landing in the maple tree, which is flowering, and on the ground as well as on other plants. | Peterborough | Sherry Hambly |
| April 16, 2012 | Colin Jones reports that currently, in what is probably an unprecedented mass migration (both in numbers and timing – i.e. much earlier than normal), large numbers of Red Admirals and lesser numbers of other migratory butterflies such as Question Marks from further south are moving into Ontario and into the northeastern U.S. and Canada. Hopefully the cooler weather coming tomorrow won’t cause havoc to all of these butterflies! | Canada and the northeastern U.S. | |
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April 15, 2012 |
Two flowers on one of my tulips opened today. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 13, 2012 | There are currently three pairs of Wood Ducks at the pond on the north side of County Road 16 beside the Gannon's Narrows Conservation Area. At least one pair is known to be nesting in the nearby trees. The others may use the boxes that have been set up for this purpose. A female Red-bellied Woodpecker came to a nearby feeder all winter long. A pair of Trumpeter Swans were present in the open water of the Narrow's from early December on and I still see them occasionally. | Gannon's Narrows, between Pigeon and Buckhorn lakes | Jim Watt |
| April 12, 2012 | Today I had my first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male) of the year. It was quietly excavating its typical small, shallow holes in an Austrian pine. It spent most of the day in the same tree. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 12, 2012 | Trumpeter Swans J81 and J88 were photographed this morning on Chemong Lake, north of Fowler's Corners. The same birds (along with J84) were seen on Rice Lake on March 30. | Chemong Lake | Sandy Brack |
| April 11, 2012 | Our backyard feeder is still busy with goldfinches (12+), juncoes (6), Pine Siskins (2) and the odd Purple Finch. At least one of the male goldfinches is almost in breeding plumage. Pine Siskins are present in large flocks at at least one feeder in Warsaw, too. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 11, 2012 | For the past six years, I've had the same Black-capped Chickadee with a white head coming to my cottage feeder. I have to assume that it's the same bird. Now that seems old for a chickadee! | Chemong Lake | Janet Flinn |
| April 10, 2012 | I live on Cameron Street in Peterborough on the Otonabee River. Today at around 5 p.m. I looked out the window to see a Trumpeter Swan at the waters edge. He has two yellow tags with the identification J82. He is not shy and came right up to me as I sat on the shore. He was not even frightened of our dog. What a beautiful creature! (Note: This is the same swan that has been in the downtown Peterborough area since at least March 26. D.M.) | Cameron Street, Peterborough | Jody Gozzard |
| April 10, 2012 | A Sora was calling in the Lakefield Marsh at 9:15 am this morning. | Lakefield Marsh | Tony Bigg |
| April 10, 2012 | Last night, in an attempt to trap Raccoons that are digging up our lawn, I trapped a Virginia Opossum. | Bridgenorth | Bob Hardill |
| April 9, 2012 (Easter Monday) | On an Easter Weekend hike through Petroglyphs Provincial Park, I did the loop around Nannabush Lake and came across an Eastern Hog-nosed Snake. I think it may have been a young one. I also saw a lot of Wild Turkeys and Great Blue Herons. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Andrew Lipscombe |
| April 8, 2012 | My wife & I saw a Bald Eagle on Pigeon Lake this morning. We saw it from our cottage on Grenadier Island just south of the Narrows. We have an Osprey nesting on our property but the eagle was distinctive by its size, white head & wing tips. | Pigeon Lake | Gary Rodda |
| April 8, 2012 | Leading the Peterborough Field Naturalist Sunday morning walk today we found a total of 25 Wilson’s Snipe! - by far the most any of us had ever seen in one day. The largest number, 16 were on Douro 9th Line south of Cty Rd 4. Going south from CR4, the area is on the east side, just past the first farm. Another flock of 5 was further south just before reaching Hwy 7 (the road becomes Providence Line south of Division Rd). Other sightings were of 2, 1, and 1 birds. On Asphodel 3rd Line we watched about twenty Green-winged Teal in a flooded field not far north of Cty Rd 2. Other birds of note were Common Loon and 3 Trumpeter Swans at Asphodel Heights on Rice Lake, Savannah Sparrows, several Ospreys, American Kestrel, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, and a Purple Finch. In all 43 species were seen between 8:00 am and 11:00 am. N.B. The PFN Sunday morning birding walks are free and open to the public. Meet at the north parking lot of the zoo at 8:00 a.m. | various (see Sighting description) | Tony Bigg |
| April 7, 2012 | While kayaking today in Lower Buckhorn Lake near Wolf Island Provincial Park, I saw the breeding pair of Bald Eagles. The female was sitting on the nest (eggs?) and the male was in a tree nearby. Today, at the Lakefield sewage lagoons, I saw the male Ruddy Duck, along with 3 Green-winged Teals, 2 Northern Shovelers, 4 Gadwall, Bufflehead and Ring-necked Ducks. | Buckhorn Lake and Lakefield Sewage Lagoon | Kim Clark |
| April 6, 2012 | At 4:15pm today Abby MacNaughton and I found a male Ruddy Duck at the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons. There were also lots of Bufflehead, good numbers of Ring-necked Ducks and Lesser Scaup as well as 4 Gadwall, 2 Wood Duck and 2 Green-winged Teal. Brendan | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons | Brendan Boyd |
| April 6, 2012 | The Bloodroot and Hepatica are in full bloom today in my garden. Dandelions are in flower on a number of lawns along the street. Two Eastern Comma butterflies were flying about the neighbourhood today, as well. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 6, 2012 | There were about 10 Tree Swallows around the nest boxes on the drumlin at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary today. | Trent University Wildlife Sanctuary, University Drive | Jim Cashmore |
| April 4, 2012 | I saw a Short-eared Owl at 7:31 p.m. today over the brushy open area SW of the corner of Johnson Drive and Major Bennett Drive in the industrial park off Fisher Drive in Peterborough. The owl was first seen in the air being harassed by a crow. It then flew lower and to the west closer to the railroad tracks coursing back and forth over the fields and then dropped out of sight. After a few minutes I refound it flying over the fields a little to the NE where there are some big earth mounds. The bird had shallow wing beats, buffy belly dark "wrist" patches, a rounded owl head, dark eye patches. It was slightly larger than the crow. | corner of Johnson Drive and Major Bennett Drive | Chris Risley |
| April 4, 2012 | I had a single male Purple Finch on my feeder today. It's my first of one of 2012 at the feeder. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 3, 2012 | Today at McLaren Marsh, adjacent to the Ken Reid Conservation Area, just north of Lindsay, there were 24 Tree Swallows, 2 Trumpeter Swans (the same nesting pair as last year), 20 Bufflehead, 4 Common Mergansers, 8 Wood Ducks, 1 Green-winged Teal, 1 American Wigeon, 1 Common Loon, 1 Swamp Sparrow and 1 Purple Finch (in full song). There were also abundant midges and a small Eastern Tent Caterpillar tent (active) in a choke cherry. One Northern Leopard Frog called while we were there. | Lindsay | Wildlife Observation Skills class from Fleming College, Don McLeod and Drew Monkman |
| April 2, 2012 | This evening, I heard 2 Sandhill Cranes and an American Woodcock calling on RR46 just north of Round Lake. | Round Lake, north of Havelock | Tim Haan |
| April 1, 2012 | Lynn Smith and I spent the day birding in the snow and drizzle from Cavan to Ashphodel 3rd line and a bit near the airport. We totalled 47 species. Besides the Barrow's Goldeneye, which was still among the Common Goldeneye at 3rd line, other highlights included 5 great blue herons, 4 belted kingfishers, a 3rd/4th year bald eagle chasing an osprey in the bay E of Serpent Mounds, a pair of red-breasted mergansers at Birdsall Line boat launch, a northern shrike just north of Bensfort Bridge, three eastern bluebirds, a pair of Northern Shovelers in the pasture ponds on Johnston Rd S of the 115, and a blue-winged teal on Brown's line immediately W of Airport Road. | Rice Lake and Peterborough | Scott McKinlay |
| March 30, 2012 | Three tagged Trumpeter Swans were present on Rice Lake today. The tags are J81,J84 and J88. | Keene | Elizabeth Bingham |
| March 30, 2012 | When I got home from work this afternoon, there were two Hairy, one Downy, my first of season Northern Flicker, and to my suprise my first in yard female Red-bellied. A while later I heard, but did not see, a Pileated. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| March 30, 2012 | Mitch Brownstein, Jim Cashmore and I also had the Barrow's Goldeneye this morning at the south end of Asphodel 3rd Line (stay to left on Indian Road and follow to the small park and boat launch). It was still with several Common Goldeneyes about half-way across the lake. We also saw eight Tree Swallows here and another 30 or so at the bottom of Birdsall Line where a Common Loon was present as well. Midges were flying over the lake and probably being scooped up by the swallows. In total, we counted five Osprey along County Road 2, most perched on nest platforms. | Rice Lake | Drew Monkman |
| March 29, 2012 | Simon Dodsworth, Cathy Darevic and I just refound Scott's Barrow's Goldeneye at the same place he had it earlier. Definitely a Barrow's! | Rice Lake | Mike Burrell |
| March 29, 2012 | I had the good fortune of checking a few spots this morning near Rice Lake and managed some good finds including 5 Canvasbacks off Herkimer Point; 2 Sandhill Cranes feeding in field off Birdsall Line; 1 Common Loon off Birdsall Wharf; 3 Trumpeter swans off Duncan's Line (initially observed by T. Cameron yesterday); and Osprey in 4 different locations. However, the big find is what I believe to be an adult male Barrow's Goldeneye off Asphodel Heights Park (end of 3rd Line). The bird was with 4 adult male Common Goldeneye, all displaying for 2 females (suspect COGO); the BAGO had very distinctive and evident crescent patterns on head and much darker/almost striped back and sides. Ability to compare with the COGOs it was with assisted greatly in suggesting it was BAGO. I observed the bird at 11:45 today, approx. 200m west of the Asphodel Heights Park boat ramp. Also a Sandhill Crane was calling and circling overhead. | Rice Lake | Scott Gibson |
| March 29, 2012 | For the last 3 days a Trumpeter Swan has resided in the creek (once called Noyes's Creek) between the Tollington Bridge at Beavermead Park and Armour Road. It is probably quite young because its neck still has a grey shade. The yellow spot on the face is not visible. It is tagged with bright yellow wing tags, number J82. It seems calm and not frightened by quiet approach. Many passers by on the Trans-Canada Trail have noticed it. | Beavermead Park | Ivan Bateman |
| March 28, 2012 | With much cooler temperatures these last few days (-9 C the night of March 25) spring's progression has slowed. Today I say several flocks of a dozen or so robins feeding on staghorn sumac berries and large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds feeding in fields and roosting in bordering trees. Common horsetails were already emerging along the edge of the rail-trail. | Trans-Canada Trail between HIghway 7 and Lily Lake Road | Drew Monkman |
| March 28, 2012 | I had ticks on my clothes on March 19 in Prince Edward County. On the flipside I also saw four Blanding's turtles. (Note from D.Monkman: I believe John is referring to the Black-legged Tick that causes Lyme disease. Don Sutherland of the Natural Heritage Information Centre in Peterborough says "Other than the occurrence at Serpent Mounds a few years back, I have no knowledge of any other occurrences of Ixodes scapularis (Black-legged Tick) in Peterborough County. Dog or Wood Ticks, Dermacentor variabilis, are around but local and I have picked adults off our Labrador Retrievers after a walk in the Trent Nature Sanctuary, for instance.") | Prince Edward County | John Urquhart (Ontario Nature) |
| March 27, 2012 | I heard a Swamp Sparrow singing in a swamp to the south side of the rail trail between Blezard Line and Villier’s Line. | Rice Lake area | Tony Bigg |
| March 25, 2012 | Today, Mary and I saw across from our house on Johnston Drive a pair of Northern Shovelers and about 8 Green winged Teal. | Johnston Drive, near Ptbo Airport | Bryan Whitfield |
| March 24, 2012 | I found a juvenile Five-lined Skink hiding under a rock in the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site, Mississauga Dam Road, north of Flynn's Corner this morning. | Kawartha Highlands | Heathyr Francis |
| March 24, 2012 | The male flowers are dropping today from the Silver Maples, covering the sections of Wallis Drive, just south of Weller St. in red. | Wallis Drive | Drew Monkman |
| March 23, 2012 | Male Purple Finch on feeder. Two days later, a pair were on the feeder. The winter flocks of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches are still here and continue to swarm the feeders. | Indian River on Sawmill Road near the Warsaw Caves | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 23, 2012 | The Merlin returned to our neighbourhood this evening... Park St N & Bonnacord St in town. | Peterborough | Andrew Jobes |
| March 23, 2012 | Tonight I went out to look for salamanders along Birchview and Camp Line roads. Frogs were: Spring Peepers everywhere, Chorus Frogs, Leopard Frogs, Green Frogs, Wood Frogs, and 1 American Toad. Salamanders were: Blue-spotted Salamander (30), and Spotted Salamander (12). There was an American Bittern calling along Camp Line road. | Clear Lake | Luke Berg |
| March 23, 2012 | This morning, on my drive in to work, I had a very early American Bittern fly over me at Highway 28 and the Eels Creek picnic area. I guess it might be time to check your local bittern breeding areas to see if they're back calling. Just south of this location I also had 3 Wood Ducks fly over the road. | Highway 28 at Eel's Creek | Mike Burrell |
| March 23, 2012 | I just saw a pair of Bald Eagles soar through Gannons Narrows. They were flying towards Jacobs Island and may be heading back to the nest they have at the Narrows. | Fothergill Isle | Rose Rogers |
| March 23, 2012 | Yesterday, in Algonquin Park, an Eastern Pine Elfin was seen and photographed at the Algonquin Visitor Centre. This record is simply amazing!!! (and scary!). Since all of the Toronto Entomologists’ Association (TEA) butterly summary records are now databased (1969-2011) I took some time this morning to summarize the earliest dates (provincially) within the printed summaries. The earliest previous record provincially was April 8, 2000 in Peterborough Co. So, this record breaks that by over 2 weeks. The earliest previous Algonquin record was April 17, 2005. Also of note is that an April 25 record of Eastern Pine Elfin in Algonquin in 1999 broke the previous earliest record (at that time) by 20 days! So this record breaks these two by about a month! And the pre-1999 Algonquin record by 54 days?!?! According to the records reported in TEA summaries, I calculated the average first date for Eastern Pine Elfin for the following periods: 1969-1999 – May 7th 2000-2011 – April 24th 1969-2011 – May 3rd | Algonquin Park | reported by Colin Jones |
| March 23, 2012 | At lunch today Colin Jones, Rob Craig, Simon Dodsworth and myself checked out the flooded field SE of Mather's Corners. The white Snow Goose is still present along with good numbers of other waterfowl, particularly Northern Pintail. We also had good looks at 2 Cackling Geese here. The most interesting bird though was an apparent male hybird Gadwall x Mallard, or "Brewer's Duck" as this hybrid combination is often known. This bird has a fairly typical male Gadwall body but the head has a strange light patch on the cheek and lots of green iridescence above and behind the eye (similar to that of American Black Duck x Mallard hybrids). It's definitely an interesting bird worth looking for. | Mather's Corners | Mike Burrell |
| March 23, 2012 | Four Tree Swallows were flying over Lakefield Marsh at 10am this morning. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| March 22, 2012 | This evening, Jerry Ball and I spent a few hours looking for amphibians crossing roadways. We cruised Birchview Road east of Highway 28 south of Young's Point eastward to Camp Road and then south to County Road 6. The diversity of speces was impressive -- 4 species of salamanders and 7 species of frogs. Salamanders Blue-spotted Salamander -- 11 Spotted Salamander -- 4 Eastern Newt -- 2 Four-toed Salamander -- 1 Frogs Spring Peeper -- lots on roadway and calling in wetlands Chorus Frog - one Wood Frog -- on roadway and calling Green Frog -- on roadway Leopard Frog -- lots on roadway Gray Treefrog -- one on roadway American Toad -- two on roadway | Clear Lake | Martin Parker |
| March 22, 2012 | Two crayfish (Rusty?) in the river. Two days later we also saw two engaged in a very protracted head to head wrestling match. They had more staying power than we did, so didn't get to see who got the decision! | Indian River at Sawmill Road | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 22, 2012 | Jocelyn and I saw an Osprey on a nest today. The nest is on a tripod nesting structure in the wetland to the north of the road linking Bobgaygeon and Dunsford, immediately east of Dunsford. I think it is part of Emily Creek. This is a full week earlier than anything noted in Doug Sadler's book but that is of course now dated. | Emily Creek, near Bobcaygeon | John Bottomley |
| March 22, 2012 | All of the ice has now gone out on Big Bald Lake, north of Buckhorn. | Heathyr Francis | |
| March 22, 2012 | Last night, in the old fields south of the Lakefield Fairgrounds, we could hear a couple American Toads calling, over the chorus of Spring Peepers and Chorus Frogs. | Lakefield | Carrie Sadowski |
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March 22, 2012 (max. of 26 C) |
Today, with temperatures approaching 25 C, Forsythias in our neighbour's yard were at peak bloom, the male catkins were past maturity and already falling from our Trembling Aspen, violets were blooming in the lawn and Tiger Lily leaves were about five inches tall! Weeping Willows are already a pastel green throughout the city as leaves begin to emerge. A friend reports that her "early tulips" have bloomed and the blooms are finished already! | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| March 22, 2012 | On the evening of March 21, several Ameican Toads were calling faintly along Westbrook Drive in the western end of Peterborough. This evening, there was a strong chorus of three individuals calling a the top end of Westbrook Drive. | Westbrook Drive | Martin Parker |
| March 21, 2012 | This afternoon and evening I conducted surveys for calling frogs east of Peterborough and into adjacent Hastings and Northumberland Counties. I was primarily checking known sites for Western Chorus Frog (COSEWIC Threatened) based on records in the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary database, but generally stopping at wetlands to listen for frogs. As expected with the amazingly mild weather of the past week, early calling frog species were widespread. At 115 stops where I had frogs (mostly calling but also some alive (AOR) or dead on the road, DOR), I had Spring Peepers calling at 97 stops, Chorus Frogs at 32 stops (haven’t yet figured out what proportion were new vs. previously known sites), Wood Frog at 31 stops, Leopard Frogs at 12 stops, and American Toad at 1 stop (1 AOR, no calls heard, though Colin Jones heard toads calling Wed. night in Lakefield). I also had Painted Turtles at 17 sites (mostly basking, but also some AOR and DOR), Blanding’s Turtle at 1 site (1 adult female AOR), and Eastern Garter Snake at 1 site (1 AOR). I also saw Ambystoma (either Blue-spotted or Yellow-spotted Salamander) spermatophores on the bottom of one woodland pond, though no salamanders seen. This makes 8 herp species (excluding the Ambystoma sp.) on 21 March, plus I’ve also heard local reports of Red-bellied Snake (Don Sutherland on the trail north of Trent on Wed.) and Snapping Turtle. Quite remarkable and unprecedented. The phenomenon is widespread in southern Ontario and I have heard of early calling of Peepers in Sudbury (19 March) and Peepers and Wood Frogs calling in Pembroke (also 19 March). Quite a few migrant birds around on Wed. Lots of Phoebes and Killdeers, plus Red-shouldered Hawk, T Vulture, Kingfisher, GB Heron, Flicker, Sandhill Crane, E Bluebird, Snipe, Woodcock, N Harrier, E Meadowlark (no swallows). | ||
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March 21, 2012 (max. of 25 C) |
The pond at Mathers Corners was still interesting today with hundreds of Canada Geese, one Snow Goose, about twenty Northern pintails, a few American Wigeons, and Green-winged Teals, Mallards and American Black Ducks. Driving north on Stony Lake Road, we found a dead mostly-white Snowshoe Hare. Only the hare's back had started to turn brown. Coltsfoot was in full bloom in several locations as were American Elms, Speckled Alder, many of the Trembling Aspen, Pussy Willows, and Silver Maples. On Hubble Road alvar, west of County Road 44, Chorus Frogs were calling raucously. We also say two Gray Comma (wings in immaculate condition, despite having overwintered as an adult) and one Eastern Comma butterflies. Birds of interest here included a flock of about two dozen Bohemian Waxwings. On Sandy Lake Road, west of County Road 46, we saw two Mourning Cloak butterflies, an Infant moth, several Midland Painted Turtles, and an American Woodcock standing quietly in the middle of the road. It was gently bobbing up and down, almost like it was performing some kind of display. At the end of the day, we checked the Otonbabee River for swallows but did not find any. Other birds of interest recorded today included Turkey Vulture, Brown-headed Cowbird, Wild Turkey, There was no snow visible in the bush anywhere. Some of the ponds still had a bit of ice in the middle. Stony Lake had a thin covering of black ice out from shore but the bays and shoreline areas were ice free. | Mather's Corners, Stony Lake and Methuen Lake area | Jerry Ball, Tony Bigg, King Baker and Drew Monkman |
| March 20, 2012 | Record temperatures (previous records in brackets) March 11 - 16.2 C (15.8 in 1977), March 16 - 20.2 C (14.5 in 1990), March 18 - 22.6 C (10.7 in 1995), March 19 - 23.4 (14.4 in 1976), March 20 - 23.7 C (13.2 in 1979), March 21 - 25? C (13.2 in 1979), March 22 - 24? C (15.3 in 2000), | Peterborough | Environment Canada |
| March 20, 2012 | I saw at least four Great Blue Herons back at the heronry behind the marsh on University Road at noon today. At 6:30 p.m. this evening there were three Turkey Vultures sitting atop a dead tree by the bridge over the canal on Nassau Rd. | Trent University area | Tony Bigg |
| March 20, 2012 | Today I saw my first Cabbage White butterfly. I have never seen one before in March. This species overwinters as a pupa (chrysalis). | downtown Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 19, 2012 | I saw the first Painted Turtle out basking on a log in a wetland on Big Bald Lake this afternoon. The rest of the lake is still covered in ice. | Big Bald Lake, NW of Buckhorn | Heather Francis |
| March 19, 2012 | The pond at Mathers Corners was productive again today with hundreds of Canada Geese, one Snow Goose, about twenty Northern pintails, a few American Wigeons, and Green-winged Teals, Mallards and American Black Ducks. The Northern Shovelers seen by others yesterday were not seen today. The rail trail produced an Eastern Bluebird singing just west of Settlers Line, and a Northern Shrike, also singing, just east of Base Line. Several Golden-crowned Kinglets were seen/heard. Only one butterfly was seen, a Mourning Cloak west of Settlers Line. Chorus Frogs and Spring Peepers were calling in the wet areas. A second Northern Shrike was hunting from wires on Jermyn Line just north of Hwy 7. In my yard in Lakefield an Eastern Phoebe was calling early this morning. | Keene area |
Tony Bigg Jim Cashmore Clayton Vardy |
| March 19, 2012 | A Mourning Cloak butterfly was first observed by my wife then by me this morning in our back yard. | Peterborough | Don Finigan |
| March 19, 2012 |
Two male Buffleheads having an altercation. In the evening our first choir of Spring Peepers. |
Indian River on Sawmill Road near the Warsaw Caves | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 18, 2012 | On or about March 18 I found an engorged American Dog, or Wood, Tick in about 2 inches of water in my heated birdbath in the backyard. After taking it out, I found it still alive, and when I put it on a flat rock to photograph it, its proboscis and four pairs of legs emerged. Maybe it hitched a ride on a bird, and dropped off after the bird submerged it when it was bathing | Wildlark Drive, Peterborough | Murray Palmer |
| March 18, 2012 | Today I heard the male American Woodcock’s “peents” and the wing whistling. I was lucky enough to see one flying overhead. I heard the first splash of a beaver’s tail, a couple of Spring Peepers – and not so nice, the first blackflies. | 10 kms north Flynn’s Corners, north of Buckhorn | Joanne O'Heron |
| March 18, 2012 | Chorus Frogs were singing loudly in the pannes of Presqu'ile Provincial Park on Sunday morning. Also noteworthy that day was the first Mourning Cloak butterfly that I've seen so far this year. Waterfowl are abundant in Presqu'ile Bay, with Redhead, Canvasback, Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye being the most abundant species. | Presqu'ile Provincial Park | Mike McMurtry |
| March 18, 2012 | Today, while out and about, Dave and I saw two turtles basking in the sun in a wetland just east and north of the junction of Lakeview Road and Cty Road #2 south of Peterborough. Later in the afternoon we heard two and saw one Eastern Meadowlark. We heard another one along Highway #28 a little while later, as well as a Killdeer. On Friday, March 16/12, while checking out Little Lake waterfowl, two male geese went after each other tooth and nail (or should I s ay beaks and wings) until one was driven off. The commotion was so disturbing, it drove off all the other waterfowl on the lake. It was quite a sight to witness. | various (see email) | Sherry Hambly |
| March 18, 2012 | The frog chorus has started on my property. It backs onto a swampy forest and runs to the Pigeon River, west of Ski Hill Road in Omemee. | Omemee | Gavin Hunter |
| March 18, 2012 | Today when I was at my friend Jake's farm I saw a number of new spring species for Peterborough, at least for me. They included six species of woodpecker (Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, and Red-bellied Woodpecker), Eastern Phoebe, Killdeer and Brown-headed Cowbird. | Luke Berg | |
| March 18, 2012 | Although many of us have been suspecting this for the last few years, I believe that the Sandhill Cranes are about to nest in the marshes of Rice Lake. Yesterday, I saw a pair – definitely a male and a female – near the mouth of the Indian River where it empties into Rice Lake. They were calmly walking around , enjoying the great sunshine and probably establishing a nesting site. | Indian River at Rice Lake | Michael Gillespie |
| March 17, 2012 | This morning at about 9 a.m. I saw a flock of about 100 Wild Turkeys spread all over a field on the west side of Hwy 28 just south of the junction with Cty Rd 33. This evening I heard my first American Woodcock calling opposite the Camp Kawartha Ecology Centre on Nassau Rd. Another was calling by the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary car park on University Rd, and a third was calling further down University Rd south of the marsh. I also saw a herd of 16 White-tailed Deer in a field on Douro 9th Line just south of River Rd. | various (see email) | Tony Bigg |
| March 17, 2012 | The cornfield south of Mather's Corners is again water-filled following the heavy rains of Thursday night. Present around 1130h this morning were a couple of hundred ducks, just over half of which were Mallards, but also present were Northern Pintail (16), Green-winged Teal (28), American Black Duck (10), American Wigeon (2) and Gadwall (2) along with 87 Canada Geese. Fewer ducks on Little Lake (no sign of the scaup, Long-tailed Duck or Redheads), but the Horned Grebe was still present, sleeping in the centre of the lake NW of the cemetery. | Mather's Corners and Little Lake | Don Sutherland |
| March 17, 2012 | Today we saw an amazing 17 butterflies: 1 Compton's Tortoiseshell, 1 Mourning Cloak and 18 Eastern Comma.Also of note in the area were several Pine Siskin flocks, about a dozen Brown Creepers in full song, and a flock of about a dozen Bohemian Waxwings. | Charlie Allen Road and Galway-Cavendish Access Road north of Flynn’s Corners (north of Buckhorn) | Jerry Ball and Tony Bigg |
| March 17, 2012 | An American Robin is busy building a nest above a door on my neighbour's property. He also reports a Mourning Dove nest with eggs in it. He first discovered the nest and eggs on about March 12. | ||
| March 16, 2012 | Today at Little Lake I saw a male Long-tailed Duck in full winter plumage, 19 Redheads, 4 Buffleheads, 4 Common Merganser, 6 Hooded Merganser, 6 Ring-necked Ducks and 2 Lesser Scaup. On County Road 21 west of County Road 28, I saw the Greater White-fronted Goose. | Little Lake and County Road 21 | Kim Clark |
| March 16, 2012 | Lori and I heard our first Chorus Frogs of the year along the Rotary Rail Trail north of Trent University. There were 2 or 3 calling intermittently from the flooded hayfield opposite (East) the entrance to the Promise Rock Trail, and <10 calling from the graminoid marsh at the north end of the shrub thicket swamp NE of the Promise Rock Trail entrance. | Rotary Rail Trail, north of Trent University | Don Sutherland |
| March 16, 2012 | Simon Dodsworth and I just found a single Greater White-fronted Goose in the Briar Hill Wetland on the north side of County Road 21 just west of County Road 28. Take the Fowlers Corners exit off Hwy 115 and travel about five minutes south on County Road 28. | Junction of County Roads 28 and 21, south of Peterborough | Mike Burrell |
| March 15, 2012 | Saw our American Mink, a large male, russet brown. We've seen signs of him now and then through the winter. In a previous spring, I saw the male running about with a smaller black female. Also our first Turkey Vulture soaring high above the river. | Indian River on Sawmill Road near the Warsaw Caves | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 14, 2012 | The ice is just going off the Rice Lake and this morning we had at least 20 swans just out from our home at 676 Knott's Landing, south of Keene.They were their at sunrise but gone by noon. | Keene / Rice Lake | Elizabeth Bingham |
| March 14, 2012 | This morning at about 10:15 a.m. a Red-shouldered Hawk circled over the Lakefield Sewage lagoons being harrassed by a crow. A flock of about 55 Snow Buntings also flew over and two Song Sparrows were singing. On the 3rd Line of Douro at Cedar Crossroad I heard 5 Eastern Meadowlarks singing as well as many Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. | Lakefield area | Brendan Boyd |
| March 13, 2012 | This morning I saw a flock of 24 Tundra Swans on Brealey Drive just north of the airport. They were flying south. | Brealey Drive, Peterborough | Frank Millard |
| March 12, 2012 | I found 2 Cecropia moth cocoons today in the field by our house. I can’t get over the size of these things! | Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| March 12, 2012 | I found a Red-shouldered Hawk sitting in a tree on Division Rd near the Indian River at mid-day today. | Division Road | Tony Bigg |
| March 12, 2012 | At noon today, the highlight was a basic plumaged Horned Grebe north of the point, viewed from the cemetery. The Horned Grebe was in the middle of a large (~50 birds) flock of Hooded Mergansers. On the ice at the SW corner of the lake (just south of the art gallery) was a single adult Iceland Gull. Behind Harvey's/Millenium Park there was a single American Coot. | Little Lake | Mike Burrell |
| March 12, 2012 | This morning a small flock of 12 Tundra Swans was on the ice just north of the Lakefield Marsh. Among the many Canada Geese along the Otonabee River between Lakefield and Trent University there were at least half a dozen Cackling Geese. Also on the River were four Wood Ducks, a Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-necked Ducks, Hooded and Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes and Buffleheads. | Lakefield Marsh and Otonabee River | Tony Bigg |
| March 12, 2012 | Ten Hooded Mergansers on the river (seven males, three females), though the original pair(?) kept their distance. | Indian River on Sawmill Road near the Warsaw Caves | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 11, 2012 | It's great to see so many spring migrants back. I checked out Little Lake at 1:30 p.m. today. Some of the migrants included 5 American Wigeon, 1 Redhead, 78 Ring-necked Duck, 57 Hooded Merganser, a Horned Grebe and 2 Merlin. They were all viewed from the point in Little Lake Cemetery. There were also at least 3 Iceland Gulls mixed in with the Herrings and Ring-billeds on the south shore of the lake. Abby and I went back in the evening at 6:00 p.m. Much of the same was there with the exception of a Cackling Goose off the east side of the point mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese. | Little Lake | Brendan Boyd |
| March 11, 2012 | Today, I saw 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets near Lochlin in Haliburton County and there was one Tundra Swan on Shadow Lake near Norland. Kim Clark | Lochlin (Haliburton County) and Norland (City of Kawartha Lakes) | Kim Clark |
| March 11, 2012 | Just at dusk today, I heard and saw a Sandhill Crane. | Omemee | Gavin Hunter |
| March 11, 2012 | This morning there appears to be a very large flock of Tundra Swans on Rice Lake just out from Serpent Mounds park. Elizabeth Bingham | Rice Lake | Elizabeth Bingham |
| March 10, 2012 | A group of 35 - 40 waxwings have been hanging around our neighborhood the past two days. Yesterday and today there were two Bohemians in the group. They have been feeding from my neighbor's ornamental apple tree in the front yard. We are at Cavan Wood Drive which is the first right north of 7A on on County Road 10. I'm 943, the apple tree is adjacent to my front yard, to the west. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| March 10, 2012 | A pair of Canada Geese arrived, flying low over the river. We usually have three pairs raising young on the river, one fairly nearby who proclaims his territory regularly on our old dock, but the families come together when the young are still quite small, cruising the river and coming onto our back area to feed on the long grass in the summer. | Indian River on Sawmill Road near the Warsaw Caves | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 8, 2012 | A pair of Hooded Mergansers have arrived, diving for food in our little shallow bay and succeeding in catching something. Last year we had two families on the river, but before that only one. On March 9, there were male Hooded Mergansers and one female. Female spurned one male and presumably her chosen partner chased off this second male. | Indian River on Sawmill Road near the Warsaw Caves | Stephenie Armstrong |
| March 8, 2012 | I stopped at Little Lake at lunch today - weather brought in a good assortment of ducks. In addition to the numerous mallards, common mergansers, hooded mergansers, and goldeneye that have been kickng around there were also good numbers of Ring-necked Ducks (60+),some Black Ducks (4), American Wigeon (9), Scaup (8), 1 Redhead and 1 Pied-billed Grebe. Mathers Corners also had 5 Pintail (3 male, 2 female) amidst 100+ mallards (100+), geese (50+) and black ducks (4). | Little Lake and Mather's Corners | Scott Gibson |
| March 7, 2012 | Scott Gibson and I checked out Little Lake. Due to the warm temperatures there was a lot of shimmer making viewing the relatively small gull flock (~75 birds) difficult from just west of the cemetery so we drove around to the north side and viewed from Edgewater Blvd. It was about an even split (40/30) of Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls but we did find a single adult Iceland Gull. This bird has about grey primary tips (about half way between white and black) so it wasn't too difficult to pick out. We then drove around and viewed from the cemetery where there was a nice mix of ducks, including about 20 Ring-necked Ducks and 5 Hooded Mergansers. | Little Lake | Mike Burrell |
| March 7, 2012 | This morning, I heard then saw a Merlin in the top of a spruce tree at the corner of Gilmour and Park streets. They nested in the spruce several years ago but not recently. They seem to move to a new old crow's nest every year somewhere in our neighbourhood. | Gilmour Street | Chris Risley |
| March 7, 2012 | For 2 days, there have been 7 or 8 Common Grackles at the feeder early a.m. and a Red winged Blackbird on the platform feeder near Lakefield. The same day a mink investigated the back porch. | Lakefield | Mary Jane Parker |
| March 6, 2012 | This morning there was a single male Common Grackle flying overhead at the Public Library on Aylmer St. in downtown Peterborough. | downtown Peterborough | Colin Jones |
| March 6, 2012 | Today, I heard and saw my first Red-winged Blackbirds. | Curve Lake Road and Derrymore Trail | Joanne O’Heron |
| March 6, 2012 | Isn't this season of rebirth wonderful!!! On our dog walk this morning we heard, then saw Red-winged Blackbirds on the causeway to Fothergill Isle near Gannons Narrows. A sure sound of Spring for me. | Gannons Narrows | Rose Rogers |
| March 6, 2012 | Yesterday there were no Red-winged Blackbirds around Lakefield. This morning there are at least 20 males scattered around the Lakefield marsh singing. | Lakefield marsh | Tony Bigg |
| March 4, 2012 | I saw about 60 Bohemian Waxwings at 1877 on the Smith 6th Line off of Lakefield Road. | Lakefield | Brendan Boyd |
| March 3, 2012 | A pair of Purple Finches was at my feeder this morning on Cty Rd 29 in the north end of Lakefield. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| March 3, 2012 | At first I thought I was seeing things, but I'm sure a pair of Trumpeter Swams flew by yesterday. They were coming from Gannon's Narrows towards Fothergill Island. | Pigeon Lake | Rose Rogers |
| March 2, 2012 | Yesterday, my wife observed a flock of several hundred Bohemian Waxwings sitting in a tree along the Parkway Trail behind Walmart. Perhaps if we don't look out our windows, we can imagine spring has arrived! | Parkway Trail, east of Chemong Road | Don Finigan |
| Mar. 2, 2012 | The mild, misty conditions this morning seemed very conducive to bird song. I heard my largest chorus yet this winter of House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos and a single Mourning Dove. There seemed to be much more bird activity than usual. I even had a pair of Canada Geese fly over. A lot of crows around the city are paired up, too, and can be seen perched side-by-side. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
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FEBRUARY 2012 WEATHER NOTES (source: "Ontario Weather Review" from Environment Canada website: www.ec.gc.ca) The pages on the calendar may keep turning, but warmer-than-normal temperatures are still with us. This temperature trend has been with us in Ontario since July 2011. This month, the mean temperatures rivaled record values set back in 1998. That year, February was exceptionally warm. The year that followed was slightly colder, but well in excess of normal values. Mean temperatures across the province in February 2012 exceeded normal values by differences ranging from 3.7 to 6.8 degrees Celsius. New high mean temperature records were set or equalled this month at Peterborough, Toronto Pearson, and Trenton. February’s precipitation was generally unremarkable in terms of major variations from normal. |
Environment Canada | ||
| Feb. 29, 2012 | This morning, a Cooper's Hawk was perched in a maple surveying the bird feeders but there was no activity and it left without catching anything. This morning around 7 when the doves were just starting to come down from the spruces they roost in, the hawk flew to the edge of the tree and caught a bird for breakfast. He spent an hour up in the spruce eating before flying to another clearing in the branches where he sat for close to an hour. (Note: I saw a Cooper's Hawk chasing Mourning Doves in front of my house today as well. D.M.) | Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| Feb. 28, 2012 | This afternoon (0 C), I actually saw a robin pull a full-size earthworm out of the ground on the front lawn of a south-facing house. A first for February! I've noticed, too, that many of the crows I'm seeing these days are now perched together as pairs - presumably a male and a female. | Valleyview Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| Feb. 26, 2012 | Robins continue to be very common in the city this winter. Today, I saw a flock of about 12 American Robins eating mountain-ash berries along Weller Street, west of Wallis Drive. Ring-billed Gulls have been fairly common throughout the city for most of the month, as well. | Weller Street | Drew Monkman |
| Feb. 26, 2012 | I saw a male Bald Eagle flying over downtown Peterborough around noon today. | downtown Peterborough | Rob Tonus |
| Feb. 24, 2012 | This morning, during the snowstorm, I heard my first House Finch of the year in full song. As during most snowstorms, there was a lot of activity at the feeder. I'm not sure what it is about snowstorms that brings the birds in to feed in greater numbers than usual. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Feb. 24, 2012 | I had a Northern Flicker in my backyard again today. The crabapple tree was full of robins, starlings and cedar waxwings so it stayed on the ground in the garden digging for at least half an hour. I have also been hearing robins singing every morning since Feb. 18th. I have also heard a Mourning Dove's short call. | Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| Feb. 22, 2012 | Today, while walking along Westbrook Drive near the hospital, there were single American Robins calling every 100 feet or so, almost as if they were already staking out nesting territories. One was actually singing its heart out - something I've never heard before in February. The sunny, 5 C weather was no doubt a factor. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Feb. 22, 2012 | This morning at 10 am a flock of about 40 Bohemian Waxwings was present in my neighbour’s yard on Cty Rd 29 just north of Lakefield. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| Feb. 19, 2012 | We also saw 45 Cedar Waxwings on Heritage Line on Feb 16. There are two Northern Shrikes wintering on David Fife Line. One at River Road and another less than a kilometre from Highway 7. I had another one about 2 km west of Clarina on County Road 6 today. | Keene area | Brendan Boyd |
| Feb. 19, 2012 | The were seven Northern Pintails on the river north of the Lakefield Arena about 2:30 p.m. today. There were three males and 4 females. The number of Common Goldeneye on the Otonabee River in the area of Sawyer Creek (beween Lock 24 and Lakefield) is building. There were 30 this afternoon. | Otonabee River / Lakefield | Martin Parker |
| Feb. 18, 2012 | This afternoon a flock of 2 dozen robins and 3 dozen starling showed up in the backyard and my territorial robin (see Feb. 9)was kept busy chasing any that tried to land in his tree.The snow is the least of his concerns. He was successful but he'll be tired tonight! Today I also had an American Robin on the street who was singing his head off like it was a morning in April (instead of mid-February!). | Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| Feb. 17, 2012 | It seems like it is becoming a habit, but I stopped by Little Lake today at lunch.. I viewed the gull flock from the south shore at a parking area on Crescent Street just west of the Little Lake Cemetery. There were even more gulls sitting on the ice and in the water than my previous visits: Herring Gull - 950 (mostly adults, of which almost half are in full alternate plumage) Ring-billed Gull - 4 (all adults) Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 (adult basic; looks like the same one Don Sutherland reported earlier this winter with a very streaky head almost giving it a hooded appearance) Iceland Gull - 5 (1 adult, 4 first basic) Glaucous Gull - 3 (1 second basic, 2 first basic) Great Black-backed Gull - 4 (2 adult, 2 first basic) Also had 3 Snow Buntings flyover. The gulls were very spread out today making scanning through them a bit easier than last week when they were so tightly packed, but I am sure I still missed a bunch, especially some Icelands. | Litlle Lake, Peterborough | Mike Burrell |
| Feb. 17, 2012 | This morning I heard my first Mourning Dove calling of 2012. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Feb. 9, 2012 | Today, I was watching a robin feeding in my crabapple tree when a Northern Flicker flew in and starting eating fruit as well. This robin has been around all winter but in the last couple of weeks has been very territorial and has been chasing other birds if they landed in "his" tree. The flicker was a bit big for him so he just kept an eye on him. The robin and the area cardinal are becoming vocal as well. Spring has begun. Yesterday I spotted a Belted Kingfisher in a tree beside the river just south of Lakefield on River Road. |
Tudor Crescent, Peterborough Lakefield |
Sue Paradisis |
| Feb. 8, 2012 | Abby MacNaughton and myself saw an adult Northern Goshawk on River Road between Hope Mill Road and David Fife Line on both February 7th and 8th. | Keene area | Brendan Boyd |
| Feb. 6, 2012 | At lunch today, I checked out Little Lake. There were the most gulls I have seen this winter. I viewed from the south side of the lake. Herring Gull - ~600 mostly adults Ring-billed Gulls - 20 all adults Iceland Gull - 2 adult, 2 first winter Glaucous Gull - 1 first winter Great Black-backed Gull - 2 first winter. Lots of sleeping gulls and gulls packed tight so I likely missed a bunch. | Little Lake | Mike Burrell |
| Feb. 5, 2012 | Today, I saw a flock of about 300 or so Snow Buntings just outside of omemee. Luke | Omemee | Luke Berg |
| Feb. 5, 2012 |
Just a brief note to let you know that I think this winter is confusing the birds! This morning I saw 3 Eastern Bluebirds, 2 off which were quite interested in a box that nested a second brood late last summer! It was very nice to see them again -it made my day -but I hope they don't think it's April! |
Omemee | Scott Sargent |
| Feb. 4, 2012 | Today, we had a pair of Eastern Bluebirds at our boxes. We were dumbfounded! But there they were...going from box to box. In the past, the earliest we've seen them is March 25th. I've also been watching a young River Otter in the little trout stream farther down our road, along the old railway bed heading west. So many joys, living in the country! | 1771 Cameron Line | Janet Johnstone and Doug Latham |
| Feb. 4, 2012 | Today, I saw the two Trumpeter Swans that summered here near Hiawatha (Kent's Bay) fly north up the Otonabee River. Wild Turkeys are everywhere in this area. | Kent's Bay Road at Hiawatha | Sharon Simpkins |
| Feb. 3, 2012 | This morning, at my house in Lakefield, there was a flock of about 50 Cedar Waxwings feeding in my crab tree. Currently, there is a larger flock (~75 birds) of Bohemian Waxwings in my neighbour's yard. These are the first Bohemian Waxwings that I've seen personally this winter. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| Feb. 2, 2012 | Today on Little Lake in downtown Peterbrough there was a Horned Grebe, Common Merganser, many Common Goldeneyes, immature Lesser-Black-Backed and Great Black-backed gulls, and one adult Iceland Gull. | Little Lake | Dave Milsom |
| Feb. 2, 2012 | Today when my mom and I were walking our dogs in the Trent U Nature Area we saw about 20 Bohemian Waxwings and a small wren (either Winter or House). The wren was in the back southeast corner of the sanctuary in the maple swamp with the long boardwalk. | Trent Nature Area | Luke Berg |
| JANUARY WEATHER NOTES (source: "Ontario Weather Review" from Environment Canada website: www.ec.gc.ca) In January 2012, balmy temperatures continued to reign across the province. The warmer-than-normal mean temperature trend, which has been the rule since July, remained consistent in January. Mean temperatures approached, but somewhat surprisingly did not surpass, the values of 2006 when most recent records were set in Ontario. This January, mean temperatures were above normal values by as much as 7.8 degrees Celsius. The mean temperature for Peterborough for January was -4.2 C whereas the normal mean is -8.9 C, a difference of 4.7 C. | |||
| Jan. 27, 2012 | Today I saw an all-white Ermine (Short-tailed Weasel) in my shed. It appeared to be pregnant and had a dead Red Squirrel in its mouth. | Omemee | Gavin Hunter |
| Jan. 25, 2012 | Today, on the way up to Algonquin Park today, Jerry Ball, Tony Bigg and I saw several large flocks of finches eating road sand on Hwy 127 between Maynooth and Whitney. The finches were Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls with a few American Goldfinches. At one point there were half a dozen Evening Grosbeaks in the trees. The feeders in the village of Whitney were very active with a lot of the same finches, one large flock of Evening Grosbeaks, and, in one crabapple tree, three Bohemian Waxwings. Finches in the park were surprisingly scarce, with no redpolls, one Pine Siskin flock of about 60 birds and a few other small groups. We did see three Red Crossbills on Opeongo Rd and one small flock of White-winged Crossbills at the start of the Spruce Bog Trail. The usual large flock of Evening Grosbeaks and a few American Goldfinches were at the Visitors Centre. Also on Opeongo Rd we had two Boreal Chickadees, one seen and one heard, eight Gray Jays, and a single Golden-crowned Kinglet. We also saw three Boreal Chickadees on the Spruce Bog Trail, and four Gray Jays. The final great sighting was an Eastern Wolf at km 37 crossing the road in front of us, pausing on the top of the snow bank and looking at us, and then calmly trotting into the woods - a life mammal for all three of us. It was about the size of a German Sheperd and showed a lot of ruddy colour on the legs. | Algonquin Park and Whitney area | Tony Bigg, Jerry Ball and Drew Monkman |
| Jan. 22, 2012 | You know it is a mild winter when, today, at 9:28 a.m. I saw a Belted Kingfisher on the west side of Hwy 115 on the south side of Cavan Creek. | Hwy 115 at exit to Cavan and Bethany | Rick Stankiewicz |
| Jan. 14, 2012 | We have had a male Red-bellied Woodpecker coming to our feeder on River Road along the Indian River since about mid-November. | Indian River at River Road | Brendan Boyd |
| Jan. 14, 2012 | I have an Eastern Towhee coming regularly to my feeder. There are also a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers in our area. | south of County Rd. 2 on David Fife Line. | Michael Gillespie |
| Jan. 12, 2012 | My husband sighted a single young male Barrow's Goldeneye (with dark grey beak) on Lower Buckhorn Lake in the boating channel just before the town of Buckhorn. | Buckhorn | Claudio |
| Jan. 12, 2012 | Today, I saw a Belted Kingfisher on David Fife Line where it crosses the Indian River. | David Fife Line | Abby MacNaughton |
| Jan. 11, 2012 | I had a Northern Shrike at David Fife Line and River Road and another at David Fife Line and County Road 2. | David Fife Line | Brendan Boyd |
| Jan. 10, 2012 | Today, I saw a Cooper's Hawk chasing pigeons at George and London streets in Peterborough | Peterborough | Brendan Boyd |
| Jan. 10, 2012 | As of late this afternoon, there were still several hundred gulls of six species on Little Lake. They were on the ice, almost in the middle of the lake. I viewed them from the Mark Street boat launch. Among the many Herrings and lesser numbers of Ring-bills, I was able to find three adult and one immature Great Black-backed Gull, one adult Lesser Black-backed, four immature Glaucous Gulls, and one adult and four immature Iceland Gulls. I'm sure I missed several other white-winged gulls, given the distance and my less than state-of-the-art scope. About fifty Common Goldeneye were also present, mostly off the beach at Beavermead Park. I also heard today that the pair of Bald Eagles on Lake Katchewanooka nested successfully this past summer, raising one eaglet. They are adding material to the nest once again and are around every day. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Jan. 8, 2012 | Today I saw what I believed to be a Fisher. It was east of Omemee in farmer's field south of our home. On Jan. 14 I confirmed it was a Fisher as we saw the prints in the fresh snow. They were very distinct. | Omemee | Bruce Flemons |
| Jan. 8, 2012 | A pair of Bald Eagles are building a nest on an island in Hamilton Bay on Stoney Lake. They have been seen bringing material to the nest in recent days. | Stony Lake | Nan Campbell |
| Jan. 8, 2012 | The White-winged Scoter and Common Loon were still present at 3:30 p.m. today at Gannon's Narrows (see Jan. 4). The loon actually called briefly while I was there, which was the first time I've ever heard a loon call in January! I also saw a Bald Eagle on Lake Katchewanooka. It was perched on dead pine tree at the north end of the island where a pair of eagles has nested in recent years. | Gannon's Narrows and Lake Katchewanooka | Drew Monkman |
| Jan. 5, 2012 | Mid-morning today, I scanned the aggregation of gulls sitting on the ice on Little Lake. The gulls were all along the open channel down the centre of the lake.Between 200 and 300 gulls were present when I arrived at around 1015h this morning. Amongst the Herrings and lesser numbers of Ring-bills were: Great Black-backed Gull - 2 (adults); Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2(1 adult winter with a very dusky head giving the initial impression of a dark-hooded gull, and a 1st-winter individual); Glaucous Gull - 5 (1 adult, 2-1st winter, and 2-2nd winter), and Iceland Gull - 7 (2 adults, 5-1st winter). I went on to Mervin Line east of Airport Rd.After some time broadcasting Red-bellied Woodpecker calls and giving Barred Owl imitations, an uncharacteristically quiet male Red-bellied Woodpecker appeared from the south side of the road. The only other bird of note for me today was a 2nd year male Red-winged Blackbird with starlings visiting a feeder on Drummond Line just south of the Old Norwood Rd. | Little Lake, Mervin Line and Drummond Line | Don Sutherland |
| Jan. 5, 2012 | My daughter, Valerie Wyatt, and her husband Paul Grant just returned from Gannon Narrows and found one White-winged Scoter with a group of 12 Common Goldeneye, visible from the east side of the bridge over the Narrows. A Common Loon was also present in the water further to the southeast, and could be seen from the bend in Kinsale Road near its intersection with Myers Crescent. Gannon Narrows is between Buckhorn and Pigeon Lakes, approximately 8 km north of Ennismore along County Road 16 (Tara Road).(Sighting submitted by Bryan Wyatt) | Gannon Narrows | Valerie Wyatt & Paul Grant |
| Jan. 4 | I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the woods on the west side of the south end of the Bridgenorth Trail this morning. It was with four Hairy and one Downy Woodpecker. At noon, driving along Preston Rd between Mt Pleasant Rd and Hooton Drive, just west of Hwy 7, I saw a dark sparrow fly across the road in front of me. I stopped the car and ‘pished’ the bird out to find that it was a Swamp Sparrow. | Bridgenorth and Mount Pleasant | Tony Bigg |
| Jan. 4 | Today at 1 p.m., I scoped Little Lake in downtown Peterborough and found an adult, 1st-winter and 2nd-winter Glaucous Gulls, 2 adult Iceland (Kumlein's) Gulls, and a 1 st - winter Lesser Black-backed Gull among the Ring-billed and Herring gulls. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Dave Milsom |
| Jan. 4 | I saw an adult male Green-winged Teal yesterday morning mixed in with a large flock of Mallards on the Otonabee River at Cameron and Park streets. I looked again today, but couldn't see it. Today (3:30pm) Isaw a Belted Kingfisher on the west bank of the Otonabee River, sighted from the east bank at Armour and Dafoe streets. | Peterborough | Tore Buchanan |
| Jan. 2, 2012 | The Petroglyphs CBC was held today in blustery winds with heavy snow squalls. 22 participants found 29 species, below our average of 33. No new high counts were obtained, but one all time low of 21 was counted for Blue Jays (our ten year average is 305). Unfortunately it was the second consecutive year we missed the Gray Jays. Of note were: One flock of 40 Bohemian Waxwings, 6 Bald Eagles - 4 adults and 2 1st year birds 2 Mourning Doves - the lowest since they moved north permanently into the area in 1995 514 Black-capped Chickadees - the lowest since 1990 21 White-breasted Nuthatches - the second lowest ever Winter Finches: Purple Finch 1, Red Crossbill 32, White-winged Crossbill 35, Common Redpoll 1, Pine Siskin 167, American Goldfinch 428. I don't believe the low numbers were only due to the weather, I believe the much reduced use of feeders was the primary cause (the economy?). | Petroglyph Provincial Park and surrounding area | Tony Bigg and 21 other observers |
| Jan.1, 2012 | This afternoon, I saw an American Kestrel sitting on a telephone wire at the south end of Peterborough County - just north of Boundary Road on Country Road 28. | County Road 28 | Sherry Hambly |
2011 |
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| Despite being a strong La Niña year, which tends to be cooler than the average year, 2011 was the ninth warmest year on record and the warmest La Niña yet, according to a global temperature analysis by NASA. To date, nine of the world's ten warmest years have occurred since 2000 according to data going back to 1880. The global temperature in 2011 was 0.92 degrees Fahrenheit (0.51 Celsius) degrees warmer than a mid-20th Century baseline. | |||
| DECEMBER WEATHER NOTES (source: "Ontario Weather Review" from Environment Canada website: www.ec.gc.ca) The warmer-than-normal mean temperature trend, which has been the rule since July, remained consistent in December. The entire province experienced mean temperatures exceeding normal values, in some cases by as much as 5.5 degrees. The mean temperature for Peterborough for December was-1.6 C whereas the normal mean is -5.3 C, a difference of 3.7 C. | |||
| Dec. 26, 2011 | Early this afternoon, Sue Prentice & I saw (& photographed) an Ovenbird in the cedars at the north end of the pond in Jackson Park. | Jackson Park, Peterborough | Andrew Jobes |
| Dec. 18, 2011 | The Peterborough CBC was held on Sunday, December 18th in pleasantly warm weather for a change. 27 participants found 57 species, well above average but below our high of 62. New high counts (with previous highs) were: Cooper’s Hawk 6 (5) Ring-billed Gull 306 (284) Red-bellied Woodpecker 7 (2) American Crow 691 (535) American Robin 750 (495) Cedar Waxwing 737 (417) Common Starling 3400 (2553) Dark-eyed Junco 366 (309) Red-winged Blackbird 13 (5) Total Birds 15002 (12477) Records were also equaled for: American Wigeon 1 (only seen once before) Wilson’s Snipe 1 (seen five times before) Eastern Screech Owl 2 Northern Flicker 5 Also of note was a Yellow-rumped Warbler, our first warbler since 1981. Of the finches we had only 2 Purple Finches, one flock of 151 Pine Siskins, and 870 American Goldfinches.. The high numbers were no doubt due to the warmer temperatures this fall and abundant food crop in the area. The weather today was pleasantly clear and calm, but cold (-11 to -4 C.) | Peterborough city and surrounding area | Tony Bigg and others |
| Dec. 18, 2011 | For the third day in a row ( Dec.16,17,18) I have had 5 male Eastern Bluebirds hanging about my orchard. They are all healthy looking, although I'm sure they're a little hungry. One has been spotted at the feeder. | south of County Rd. 2 on David Fife Line. | Michael Gillespie |
| Dec. 18, 2011 | Today, there were 3 Northern Shoveler's - 2 females, 1 male at the Lakefield sewage lagoons. | Lakefield sewage lagoons. | Tim Haan |
| Dec.15, 2011 | Today, along the red trail at the Trent Nature Area on University Road (east side), I saw several flocks of American Robins, totalling at least 40 birds. | Trent Nature Area, University Road | Drew Monkman |
| Dec. 13, 2011 | Today there was a Great Black-backed Gull on Little Lake, just opposite the old Mark Street wharf. | Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 12, 2011 | A female Long-tailed Duck was swimming off the north end of the Lakefield Marsh this morning. | Lakefield Marsh | Tony Bigg |
| Dec. 11, 2011 | I saw a Northern Shrike today along the Trans-Canada Trail between Lily Lake and Ackison Road. On Dec. 13, I also saw and heard two American Robins on the same trail but in the sector between Ackison and Lily Lake Road. There is abundant wild grape this year. I also noticed several very large patches of Dog-strangling Vine, especially just east of Lily Lake Rd. | Trans-Canada Trail | Drew Monkman |
| Dec. 10, 2011 | This afternoon, there were at least two Cackling Geese in with nearly 450 Canadas on Little Lake. When first observed the geese were along the southwest side of the lake along the shore and adjacent lawn in the vicinity of the Peterborough Art Gallery. I also counted at least 800 Canada Geese between Little Lake and the mouth of Sawer Creek on the Otonabee River south of Lakefield. | Little Lake, Otonabee R. | Don Sutherland |
| Dec. 8, 2011 | At around 4:30 pm today I saw a Merlin land and sit on top of a telephone pole located on the NE corner of the intersection of Spillsbury and Forster. I was able to get a picture of the bird. | Peterborough | Sherry Hambly |
| Dec.8, 2011 | Today, one male Common Merganser and a pair of Hooded Mergansers were present on Little Lake on the east side of the cemetery. Yesterday, about 75 Bufflehead were at the sewage lagoon in Lakefield. I also had a small flock of Brown Creepers along the Trent to Lakefield rail-trail. Several Common Goldeneye and Hooded Mergansers were noted on the river, as well. | various (see Sighting description) | Drew Monkman |
| Dec. 4, 2011 |
Eleven species of gulls were seen on today's Peterborough Field Naturalists trip to the Niagara River. The outing was a great success in fine balmy weather and ideal viewing conditions. 1. Franklin's Gull: one first winter bird on the Roosting Rocks between Adam Beck and the Butterfly Conservatory 2. Little Gull: 1 that flew to Lake Ontario at the fly-past at Niagara-on-the-Lake. 3. Bonaparte's Gull: abundant. 4. Ring-billed Gull: common. 5. Herring Gull: abundant. 6. Thayer's Gull: 1 adult at Adam Beck Overlook. 7. "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull: 2 or 3 adults at Adam Beck overlook. 8. Lesser Black-backed Gull: 9. Glaucous Gull: 1 first winter in the middle of the river at Chippawa. 10. Great Black-backed Gull: many. 11. Black-legged Kittiwake: one first winter flying with Bonaparte's at the Whirlpool OTHER BIRDS Juvenile Pomarine Jaeger seen all day at Adam Beck. 3 female Harlequin Ducks on the wall at Chippawa. 1 Purple Sandpiper on its usual rock right of the barge above the Falls. 3-5 Black Vultures seen at the overlook on the Niagara Parkway below Brock Monument and several seen at Adam Beck. Tufted Titmouse and Red-bellied Woodpecker at feeders in Chippawa and along the Parkway near Queenston. At this latter location, we also had Northern Flicker, White-throated Sparrow, American Robin, and Cedar Waxwing. A wonderful time was had by all! |
Niagara River between Chippawa and Niagara-on-the-Lake | PFN members (trip led by Tony Bigg) |
| Dec. 4, 2011 | My husband and I have just watched an Osprey dive and catch a fish here in Warsaw on the Indian River. Although a regular summer visitor we have not seen any since mid-Nov. Then quite unexpectedly one has shown up on the last two days. | Warsaw | Maureen Smith |
| Dec. 3, 2011 | A second winter Glaucous Gull was sitting among Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls on the dock by the Trent Rowing Club on the Otonabee River this morning, very close to the River Road. | Trent University Campus | Tony Bigg |
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NOVEMBER WEATHER NOTES (source: "Ontario Weather Review" from Environment Canada website: www.ec.gc.ca) Province-wide temperatures were from two to four degrees above normal. In most cases, this was the warmest November since 2009, but Ottawa had not been this warm since 1948. Peterborough's mean temp. was 4.3 C.This was 2.6 C above the normal of 1.7 C and the warmest November since 2001. |
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| Nov. 30, 2011 | Today, I had an immature Snowy Owl in my yard for most of the day. | Lancaster Drive, north of Fowler's Corners, on Chemong Lake | Bob Hancock |
| Nov. 25, 2011 | I found an Eastern Screech Owl on Robinson Road in Ennismore Friday (Nov. 25) night. He appeared to be stunned and unable to get off the road. It actually looked like a piece of garbage in the road but a slight look of feathers caught my eye as I drove by, so I turned around and looked again. Being dark, I could not tell what it was other than some type of bird. I had to wait for several cars to pass before I could run out and get him and 3 of those vehicles drove directly over him! I put him in a cat carrier I just happened to have in my truck and brought him to my sister's house. We checked him over and he seemed fine - both feet worked and his wings were good. He was released behind her house on Cedarvale (very close to where he was found, but safer). It was a great feeling and an awesome sight to see him fly off into the night! I have attached a photo we took before we released him/her Beautiful little bird!! | Robinson Road (Cty Rd 16), Ennismore | Kim Mitchell |
| Nov. 23, 2011 | My wife heard, then saw, 31 Sandhill Cranes flying north over Lakefield around 3:30pm today. I saw a Golden Eagle north of Buckhorn today around 1pm. I was walking the Frank Hemming snowmobile trail (off Mississagua Dam Rd.) in Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park. It was flying low in a southerly direction. Lakefield | Lakefield area | Travis Cameron |
| Nov. 20, 2011 | We have had a Red-bellied Woodpecker at our birdfeeder in the morning all week (Nov. 14 - 20). | Otonabee River South at Cedar Bank Road | Eva McFaul |
| Nov. 18, 2011 | Since early November, and now with snow on the ground, I still hear American Robins singing every morning. (N.B. There appear to still be large numbers of robins around, probably because of abundant wild food in many areas. It is not uncommon for robins to sing sporadically in the fall. However, it is not the full, sustained song of springtime.- D.M.). | Kathy Langlois | |
| Nov. 10, 2011 | Today, a group of four of us birded from Peterborough to Algonquin Park. Some of the highlights included 1 Northern Shrike (Co Rd 19 in Peterborough), 10 Hooded Mergansers and 3 Common Mergansers (Otonabee River), 100+ Buffleheads (Lakefield Sewage Lagoons), 30 Ring-necked Ducks and 1 Red-necked Grebe (Paudash Lake), an unidentified eagle being harrassed by a Common Raven (between Maynooth and Whitney) and 1 Spruce Grouse, 1 Boreal Chickadee, and 20+ White-winged Crossbills (Wolf Howl Pond trail off of Arowhon Road in Algonquin Park). There were small groups of Gray Jays, Evening Grosbeaks, and Golden-crowned Kinglets in a number of locations in the Park including Opeongo Road. We also enjoyed watching the frolics of a group of four River Otters in the first large lake/wetland along Opeongo Road. | various (see Sighting report) | Drew Monkman, Jerry Ball, Mitch Brownstein and Jim Cashmore |
| Nov. 8, 2011 | I saw a Pileated Woodpecker today. behind my condo on Champlain Crescent. | Champlain Crescent, Peterborough | Howard Parson |
| Nov. 6, 2011 | Around midday today, November 6th, I checked Pigeon Lake northeast from the Sandy Point Rd vantage. There were still two Common Loons as well as 4 Red-necked Grebes, 4 Bufflehead, several dozen Ring-billed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls. Don | Pigeon Lake | Don Sutherland |
| Nov. 2, 2011 | Today, three Sandhill Cranes flew over my house, heading in a southerly direction, possibly to the large marsh just south of Omemee. | Omemee | Gavin Hunter |
| Nov. 2, 2011 | I witnessed a unique visitor this morning about 10:30 am from my cabin window and crossing the end of my driveway about 200 feet away from the cabin. It was a very large beige coloured cat with a long tail. It looked too big to be a Bobcat or Canada Lynx and it walked with long strides. I didn’t see any black or dark coloured spots on the cat. I’m wondering if my visitor was possibly a Cougar? My cabin and property is located on the west side of Blackfish Bay which is part of the Kamaniskeg Lake/Madawaska River system. Blackfish Bay is located about half way between Barry’s Bay and Combermere. I understand from friends there have been cougar sightings in the past in the Rockingham area east of Combermere and in the vicinity of Aylen Lake west of Barry’s Bay. The cat appeared to be pre-occupied with a hunt and noise being generated on a building project several hundred feet away from my property didn’t seem to concern it. Earlier in the morning, I had watched two adult deer munch on apples in my back yard close to the driveway cat sighting. Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to obtain a photo of the cat through the cabin window. I was reluctant to pursue it on foot for a photo op and instead hopped in the van and went looking but to no avail. (Note: According to Rick Rosatte at Trent/MNR, a cougar specialist, there have been several sightings in the Combermere area over the years.) | Blackfish Bay, between Barry's Bay and Combermere | Dennis Billings |
| Nov. 2, 2011 | I saw an Eastern Comma and a Clouded Sulphur flying in the Robert Johnston EcoForest today. One Hermit Thrush was still present. I also saw four more Clouded Sulphurs on the Base Line to David Fife rail trail. | Robert Johnston EcoForest (185 Douro 5th Line) and Base Line | Tony Bigg |
| Nov. 1, 2011 | I just wanted to report sighting of a Northern Shrike by myself and Brendan Boyd today at around 3:00pm at the Peterborough Airport. It was in the grass just off Runway 27, then flew up to sit on the sign for "D" taxiway. Also, a week or so ago (October 24) we were hiking through fields along River Road (Indian River) and saw a late Blue Headed Vireo. That's all for now. | Peterborough Airport and Indian River | Abby McNaughton and Brendan Boyd |
| Oct. 30, 2011 | Highlights of the Peterborough Field Naturalist Sunday morning outing to the Pigeon Lake area included 6 Common Loon, 2 Hooded Merganser, 1000+ Canada Geese, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Kestrel, 500 Red-winged Blackbirds, and numerous small flocks of American Tree Sparrows. | Pigeon Lake area | PFN |
| Oct. 30, 2011 | I birded several spots this morning, October 30th. The highlights were a juvenile Red-throated Loon at Sandy Point on Pigeon Lake, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker on nearby Elm Lodge Rd. The loon was 250-400m NNW of the north end of Sandy Point Rd at the turnaround and boat launch. The lake was calm and the viewing conditions were good. The bird was preening when first spotted at around 12:10 PM, but then began to dive regularly, moving gradually to the ENE to a distance of about 400m. There were a couple of Common Loons in the general vicinity. After leaving the loon, I turned E on to Elm Lodge Rd and almost immediately noticed a largish woodpecker flying SE across the cattle pasture on the N side of the rd. The bird flew to the line of mature Red Oaks along the fencerow on the N side of the road and as I arrived at the spot were it had landed it could be heard calling. It is a male. To reach these sites, take Peterborough Rd 16 (either N from Ennismore or S from Buckhorn) to Elm Lodge Rd., continue W on Elm Lodge Rd to its junction with Sand Point Rd. The woodpecker was roughly 100m E of this junction. For the loon, turn right (N) and drive 400m to the end of Sandy Point Rd. An American Coot was on the Otonabee River just N of Lock 23 and there were 3 Eastern Bluebirds at the Lakefield Sewage Lagoon. Also at Lakefield SL: 115 Lesser Scaup, 82 Bufflehead, 53 Common Goldeneye, 4 Ring-necked Duck and 3 Greater Scaup. | Pigeon Lake and Lakefield areas | Don Sutherland |
| Oct. 27, 2011 | Today, a Fox Sparrow made a brief appearance in our yard and fed on niger seed scattered on the ground. It was accompanied by three White-throated Sparrows and a half dozen Dark-eyed Juncos. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 26, 2011 | Today, we had a Northern Mockingbird at our feeder. | Lily Lake Road, Peterborough | Gord and Enid Mallory |
| Oct. 24, 2011 | I saw four Trumpeter Swans on the island above Lock 23 on the Otonabee River at 5 pm today. This reminds me that I glimpsed an article in one of the local papers a month or so ago, reporting an injured Trumpeter Swan – I think at the south end of Chemong Lake. The article said that there had been a family with cygnets, Unfortunately our copy of the paper disappeared before I could take any notes from it. Does anyone know anymore about these swans? It is possibly our first record of the Trumpeter Swan nesting in the county. | Otonabee River and Chemong Lake | Tony Bigg |
| Oct. 17, 2011 | For years, a golden eagle makes its way across our property in the fall and in the spring. It was spotted again today. It usually perches on the same dead tree for about an hour or so. I am curious about its possible migration route and I was wondering if there have been any sightings of this wondrous raptor out towards the Peterborough area? | south of Millbrook | Jane Zednik |
| Oct. 9, 2011 | I saw a small group (6) of Rusty Blackbirds on the Baseline to Settlers rail trail this morning. Other birds of interest seen were Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Blue-headed Vireos (3), Eastern Phoebe, Gray Catbird, Green-winged Teal, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Six species of butterly were still around - Cloudy Sulphur (79), Orange Sulphur (1), Viceroy (2), Monarch (1), Eastern-tailed Blue (2), and Pearl Crescent (1). On Thursday, Oct 6th I had four Hermit Thrushes and four Ruffed Grouse in the Robert Johnson Eco-forest. On Friday Oft 7th I had another two Hermit Thrushes and about twenty Pine Siskins alongside the Lakefield Marsh. | see email | Tony Bigg |
| Oct. 9, 2011 | Today I heard a Song Sparrow singing repeatedly along the Trans-Canada trail, west of Jackson Park. On Oct. 8, I had a late Monarch, along with two Merlins (calling repeatedly) at Munroe Island on Stony Lake. |
Jackson Park, Peterborough Stony Lake |
Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 5, 2011 | The first Dark-eyed Junco of the fall showed up in our yard today. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 5, 2011 | We have been cottaging on Salmon Lake in the Kawarthas for over 50 years . This is the first summer we have not had bats swooping over the lake at sunset. Having spoken to a number of people on the lake, I know the absence is widespread. (Note: There is a bat hibernaculum close to Salmon Lake where white-nose syndrome has been found. D.M.) | Salmon Lake in northern Peterborough County | Mike Scuse |
| Oct. 4, 2011 | Whilst walking my dog today in the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary I saw more birds, except perhaps for large flocks of blackbirds flying over, than I have ever seen there before. The open area, where the swallow nest boxes are, had warblers everywhere, especially along the west and southern sides. I estimated there were over 200 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 50 Palm Warblers. Wherever I looked I could see about ten birds moving. Along the boardwalk along the east of the sanctuary a noisy flock of about 200 White-throated Sparrows moved through the brush and trees. In all, I saw 25 species, including a small flock of 6 Pine Siskins. Returning to Lakefield along River Road I stopped to watch as a flock of about 500 blackbirds, mostly Common Grackles with a few Red-winged Blackbirds, slowly flew low across the road in front of me. | Trent Wildlife Sanctuary, Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| Oct. 2, 2011 | Large numbers of White-throated Sparrows finally arrived in our yard today, not doubt as a result of the cold front that moved in. There has also been a lot of Turkey Vulture migration this weekend, too, and lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets moving through. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 1, 2011 | Today, at about 4:15 p.m. I was watching a group of 23 Turkey Vultures that were circling quite low in the strong winds, when an odd-looking hawk suddenly joined them. Quickly it was easy to see that it was a first year light morph Swainson`s Hawk, with pointed wing tips, dihedral, and dark flight feathers! I had never seen a Swainson`s in Ontario before, but have seen hundreds of them in the prairies of Canada in the past. They are a casual species in southern Ontario, and are usually seen (if at all), at one of the many autumn hawk watch sites along Lake Erie. | north end of Belmont Lake, south-west of Cordova Mines, township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen | Tim Dyson |
| Sept. 18, 2011 | Today, we saw a Giant Swallowtail as it flew down Preston Road, stopping a couple of times on sapling foliage, before finally flying north of the one-lane bridge and up the river out of site. | Crowe River at Preston Road and Fish Hatchery Road, east of Cordova Mines, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Twsp | Tim Dyson |
| August 28, 2011 | We have had at least one Giant Swallowtail around our place (near Stewart Hall) for at least two weeks. They traverse the west facing edge of our maple bush edge and lite in sunny patches of low shrubs and trees as well as feeding (?) on fragrant white phlox, yellow trumpet vine and red geraniums. cheers | Stewart Hall | Dan and Nancy Mansell |
| August 27, 2011 | At about 7:45 p.m. this evening, we too had a visit from a Giant Swallowtail in our front yard at 51 Maple Crescent in the west end of Peterborough. I saw a second one on August 29 near Lily Lake on the rail-trail. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| August 16, 2011 | Today, at the boat launch off the far east end of Round Lake Road, I watched a Giant Swallowtail flitting about and occasionally landing on leaves, for about a minute, before it disappeared into a farm field across the road. | Round Lake, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Twsp | Tim Dyson |
| August 7, 2011 | These last few days I have watched as jet-black, 1 and 1/4 inch Great Black Wasps (Sphex pensylvanicus) have been depositing dead or paralysed Praying Mantis into the skimmer box of my pool. So far, they have put more than a dozen mantis in the skimmer, entering by small holes in the lid. Has anyone heard of such a thing before? These wasps usually capture grasshoppers and crickets, sting them, and then lay eggs on the body to feed their larvae. | Ennismore | Ed Hutchison |
| August 4, 2011 | We have six Green Herons roosting in trees behind our property. I've never seen them hang around so much and so visibly. | Peterborough | Brenda Ibey |
| July 27, 2011 | Last night we wandered past our pond and were able to get a good look at three Green Herons. We see them flying over, but not often this close, hopping around in the trees. I think there are one adult and four or five young. The one at least looked kind of gangly! | Television Road, Peterborough | Brenda Ibey |
| July 19, 2011 | On the drive into work this morning 7:30 am spotted three Sandhill Cranes in the field at the corner of Smith 14th concession and Birchbend Rd. near Upper Chemong Lake. | Upper Chemong Lake | Fred Irons |
| June 29, 2011 | We saw another Indigo Bunting this evening while walking the dog along the road directly south of the airport (Moncrief Line). It was sitting on a wire above the bridge, vocalizing its dual-noted song. Sherry Hambly | Moncrief Line | Sherry Hambly |
| June 5, 2011 |
I saw a singing male Blue-grey Gnatcatcher on May 10 on River Rd (between Hope Mill Rd and David Fife Line) in Otonabee Township. I haven't seen one this far north before and was wondering if they are regularly seen in the County. (Note: Gnatcatchers are in fact quite rare in Peterborough County. D. Monkman) |
Otonabee Township | Brendan Boyd |
| June 5, 2011 | I heard this very different bird call today..never heard it before. It was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. It was in my backyard here in Kawartha Hideway, north shore of Buckhorn Lake. Is this a rare sighting? (Note: Yellow-billed Cuckoo is certainly far less common than Black-billed in Peterborough Co. and might even be termed rare. Both species respond possitively to outbreaks of Forest Tent Caterpillar, however, and this year is no exception. There are certainly lots of Black-billeds around and there have been a number of other reports of Yellow-billed. Don Sutherland) | Buckhorn Lake | J. Philpott |
| June 5, 2011 | Today at 7 a.m., there was a Blackpoll Warbler singing in the John Street vicinity in the Avenues area of the downtown. | downtown Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| June 5, 2011 | Sitting on the deck at the Silver Bean Cafe at Millenium Place in downtown Peterborough this morning, we enjoyed great Fair Trade coffee, along with the calls of Osprey, Yellow Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Kingbird, Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, and Song Sparrow. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 3, 2011 | Today, as I was arriving at work, there was a Swainson’s Thrush singing from the trees bordering the Otonabee River behind the MNR building. | downtown Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| June 1 - 3, 2011 | During a three-day stay at Camp Kawartha, I observed the following species of interest: Eastern Towhee, Blackpoll Warbler (late migrant), Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Field Sparrow, and Barred Owl. There were also many Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterflies flying, along with thousands of Common Baskettail dragonflies. Some of the flowers in bloom included Northern Small Yellow Lady's-slipper, Blue-eyed Grass, Pussy-Toes, Wild Columbine, and Balsam Ragwort. | Birchview Road (Clear Lake) | Drew Monkman |
| June 3, 2011 | This evening, a Common Nighthawk flew over a friend's house in the west end of Peterborough. This is the first nighthawk I've seen in Peterborough this year. | Westbrook Drive | Drew Monkman |
| June 2, 2011 | We often walk our dog on the Hooten Road portion of Cavan swamp and this year I have discovered two hairy woodpecker nests along the road - both within 10 to 30 feet of the road - one in a dead aspen, the other in a dead tree (not sure what species it is). I first noticed the nests because of the frantic activity of the parents at both sites when I stopped to take photos of them. Then I heard a chirring sound - babies in the nest, and finally discovered the entry hole to the nests and watched a parent enter with food. I first discovered that baby woodpeckers chirr last year while walking our dog along another favourite spot - Mervin Road near the airport - through the swamp just east of the river - I kept hearing this odd sound whenever we walked by this particular spot, and after some sleuthing, discovered a hairy woodpecker's nest in a dead tree about 10 feet from the road. The nest entry holes in all three are about 2 inches in diameter and are about 10 feet up. | Hooten Road in the Cavan Swamp | Dave and Sherry Hambly |
| June 1, 2011 | I walked a favourite small section of road in Duoro-Dummer Tsp today and counted 227 blooms of Northern Small Yellow Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin), The Showy Lady’s-slipper is in leaf but yet to bloom. | Douro-Dummer Township | Tony Bigg |
| May 27, 2011 | Today, we spotted a Gray Catbird in our backyard, a species we had not seen before. Then on June 2 we several times heard a cry that sounded like a cat meowing very loudly. We didn’t see that one, but concluded it must be a Gray Catbird, as well. | 244 Patricia Crescent, Peterborough | Lowell Lunden |
| May 19, 2011 | Last night Peter Lin and I watched the Chimney Swifts enter their roost in the white brick chimney on the building to the east of WildRock and visibile from the laneway behind their store (just south of Charlotte Street). Starting at around 8 pm the number of swifts flying overhead increased from 5 up to 60 (at 8:35). Then at 8:40, 30 swifts suddenly funnelled into the chimney. More swifts continued to join the swirling flock overhead and kept dropping into the chimney for the next nine minutes. By 8:50 a total of 98 swfits entered for the night. None were left in the sky. Earlier (at 8:13 and 8:36) 3 Chimney Swfits entered other chimneys in the area. We also saw a male Merlin and a Barn Swallow during our watch. Spitting rain was intermittent but didn't seem to bother the swifts. A good viewpoint is from the top floor of the King Street garage. | Peterborough | Chris Risley |
| May 15, 2011 | Yesterday, in our back yard, we had an Eastern Towhee, and then today in the same location, we had a male Black-throated Blue Warbler. | Peterborough | Don Finigan |
| May 15, 2011 | Two Sandhill Cranes were seen this morning at Miller Creek Conservation Area during the PFN Sunday Morning bird walk. The birds were 100 feet straight out from the viewing tower, about two-thirds of the way between the tower and the patch of open water. One of the birds appeared to be sitting on the ground, possibly on a nest. A Sora was calling at the small wetland on the west side of the junction of Country Road 24 and the 5th line of Smith-Ennismore. |
Miller Creek Conservation Area, 7th Line of Smith-Ennismore |
Drew Monkman |
| May 14, 2011 | I saw the strangest thing last week. Well, strange for the 7th line of Smith. I was driving along about 1km from the Miller Creek CA and had to break for an Otter. He was crossing from a marshy area to the woods. I have lived there and walked my dog on that road for the past 10 years and have never seen an Otter. I would not have thought there was enough water in the marsh let alone the woods. Finally saw an Indigo Bunting on May 14. He came to the feeder twice but I have not seen him since. Also, the first Baltimore Oriole. They never hang around my place but I frequently get them for a few days early in the season. I have orange halves on posts and a fruit feeder to encourage them. | Smith-Ennismore Township | Tara Harrington |
| May 13, 2011 | We have lots of birds coming to our house this spring. I put out oranges on the fence post for orioles and now we have one! We put out our oriole and hummingbird feeders and in about an hour, the oriole and a hummingbird were at the feeders! Here are some regulars: brown-headed cowbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, chipping and song sparrows, white-throated and white-crowned sparrows, goldfinches, chickadees, hairy and downy woodpeckers, northern flickers, nuthatches, purple finches and house finches. We put out black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, safflower, finch mix, niger seed, corn-on-the-cob and suet. They really like this suet. We buy it from the Farmer's Market on Saturdays. They like the peanut one the best. | Indian River |
Serena Formenti, Grade Six |
| May 13, 2011 | This morning I saw a Blanding's Turtle along the side of the road. | Buckhorn | Joanne O’Heron |
| May 13, 2011 | I saw my first hatch Canada Geese today at the creek behind Country Style on Cty Rd. #35, south of Hwy#7. There were at least 8 goslings. | County Road 35 | Rick Stankiewicz |
| May 9 to 13, 2011 | Black Tern – flock of 8 over Lakefield Marsh, Tues evening, May 10 Alder Flycatcher – one singing from the willow swamp ½ km N of Trent U along the bike trail, May 12 Wood Thrush – one singing in my yard this morning this morning, May 13 Tennessee Warbler one singing along the bike trail N of Trent on May 11 and another on May 12 (quite early) Northern Parula – one singing along the bike trail just S of Douro 9th Line on May 11 Magnolia Warbler – one singing along the bike trail S of 9th Line on May 11 and 12 Black-throated Blue Warbler – a few along the bike path from Lakefield to Peterborough on May 11 American Redstart – a few on Mon May 9 along the bike path, many more by May 11th Common Yellowthroat – willow swamp N of Trent U on May 12 Bobolink – one at Tamarac Golf Course, Ennismore, Tues evening, May 10 Baltimore Oriole – several along the bike path on May 9 | Lakefield, bike path from Lakefield to Peterborough, Tamarac Golf Course in Ennismore | Colin Jones |
| May 12, 2011 | This morning at Miller Creek Conservation Area, there was a Sandhill Crane which appeared to be on its nest. It is 75-100m from the viewing platform towards the only open water of the stream you can see at "1 o'clock". The camouflage is great - it could easily be overlooked. We also heard Sora, Virginia Rail, and A. Bittern. My wife saw 3 Black Terns at Lakefield Marsh this evening. Yesterday morning (May 11, 2011) I birded Warsaw Caves Conservation area with Ethan Huner. It was a very 'birdy" morning with ~50 species seen including 14 species of warbler. Highlights were 7 Cape May Warbler (4 within one binocular view!), and 2 Bay-breasted Warbler. | Miller Creek, Lakefield Marsh, Warsaw Caves Conservation Area | Travis Cameron |
| May 12, 2011 | This morning, a Yellow-throated Vireo could be heard singing from an adjacent Manitoba Maple. This is a first for the year (and yard) for me. | Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| May 8, 2011 | Today, I saw a Belted Kingfisher on Young's Point Road. It was on a hydro wire on a section of the road that is essentially waterfront. In the afternoon I had a male Red-Breasted Grosbeak at my feeder. | Young's Point Road and Bridgenorth | Tara Harrington |
| May 8, 2011 | While out herp-atlassing today, I stopped near Gannon Narrows to listen for chorus frogs, which I’d had at this location in previous years but not recently. As I slowed and opened my window I could hear Chorus Frogs calling, but stopped with the window open I could also hear the song of a Blue-winged Warbler. In order to determine that it was a Blue-winged (and not a Golden-winged or one of the hybrids), I walked to edge of the pasture and broadcast Blue-winged song using my ipod and portable speakers. The bird immediately responded, flying to a perch in a hawthorn right beside the road, and was clearly a pure Blue-winged Warbler. Still lots of Chorus Frog choruses and a few of Spring Peeper, particularly north of Hwy 36, but Wood Frogs appear to entirely finished in the southern part of the county. I did hear my first calling Green Frogs and had a single chorus of Pickerel Frog. On Deer Bay Reach Rd. north of Buckhorn Lake I had my first Smooth Greensnake of the year along the grassy road verge. There was still at least one Bohemian Waxwing in the ornamental Prunus at the corner of Pearl and King in downtown Peterborough as of Friday afternoon (May 6th), but I did not see any on the weekend or this morning (May 9th), as I cycled by. Don | Gannon's Narrows | Don Sutherland |
| May 6, 2011 | I saw and heard several Chimney Swifts today at the corner of Hunter and George streets in downtown Peterborough. | downtown Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 5, 2011 | Out walking the dogs this morning at Gannon Narrows, I heard flapping and looked up and saw a female Wood Duck hanging on the side of the tree. She seemed to have her foot stuck in the bark on the tree, right beside the cavity which I presume is her nest. I have never seen this situation before. I was not sure haw long she had been stranded there. My 30' ladder was not long enough and would have been too dangerous to operate from so I called Shaun Milne of Shaun Milne Signs who lives just north of Ennismore and asked him to bring out his bucket truck. With the use of the truck and a towel (used to wrap up the duck while we extracted her from her trap) they were able to free her. She sat on the towel for about 30 seconds to catch her breath then flew off none the worse for wear. I don't think that she would have been able to get her leg free by herself and would have died. Nice to have a happy ending to the story. | Gannon's Narrows, Ennismore | Jim Watt |
| May 2, 2011 | During a walk through Jackson Park this morning, Sue and I heard a Wood Thrush & a Black-and-White Warbler singing. | Jackson Park | Andrew Jobes |
| May 2, 2011 | The Louisiana Waterthrush found yesterday by Don Sutherland was still present and singing this morning at the same location on Asphodel 3rd Line about 300m N of County Rd 2. There are also at least two Northern Waterthrush present at the same location and, as Don has already mentioned, the two species were engaging in regular chases. This is a great opportunity to hear (both the song and chip notes) and see the two species side by side. The Louisiana is an extremely well marked bird and in this morning’s dull light, the bright white eye stripe was almost glowing. | Hastings area | Colin Jones |
| May 1, 2011 |
Don Sutherland found a singing Louisiana Waterthrush 300 m north of the intersection of Rice Lake Road and Asphodel Third Line. The bird is singing in the wet ash swamp on the west side of the road. He found it around 11 am on May 1 and I went and heard it around 1 pm at the same place. The Third Line is the north-south road that crosses Rice Lake Road where the Indian River crosses. There is a small park and playground on the NW corner at the intersection. Don found the bird at about 10:30, hearing its song through the open window of his car. The bird was singing almost constantly when first found, and engaging in regular chases with a resident male Northern Waterthrush. It could be heard and seen easily from the roadside, so there is no need to wade into the swamp, which is privately owned. |
Hastings area | Chris Risley and Don Sutherland |
| April 30, 2011 | I was herp atlassing in the eastern portion of the county and adjacent portions of Hastings County. Lots of bird activity including Great Crested Flycatcher, and single Gray Catbird, Bobolink and American Redstart, the latter which was singing constantly from woods near Marmora Station. Lots of turtles, mostly Midland Painted but a few Blanding's, and frogs, including one 'chorus' (2 individuals) of Pickerel Frog in a grassy pond along the hydro right-of-way paralleling Bannockburn Rd., west of Bannockburn (Hwy 62). | various | Don Sutherland |
| April 30, 2011 | Around Cavan today we saw rusty blackbirds, brown thrasher, rose-breasted grosbeak, eastern towhee, black-throated green warbler, b&w warbler, pine warbler, ovenbird, northern waterthush, eastern wood pewee, great-crested flycatcher, and lots of other stuff. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| April 29, 2011 | On my bike ride home today from Peterborough to Lakefield, there were many large flocks of swallows along the Otonabee River. Most were Tree and Barn Swallows but there were also some Cliff, Northern Rough-winged and Bank Swallows mixed in. Also, there were a few small flocks of Cedar Waxwings. | Lakefield rail-trail | Colin Jones |
| April 29, 2011 | Today, at around noon, I first heard then observed a flock of 38 Bohemian Waxwings in flight over our house on John Street in the Avenues areas of the downtown. The flock was headed south. Yesterday (April 28th) morning there was a Nashville Warbler singing in and/or near our backyard. | John Street, Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| April 28, 2011 | This evening after the storm, my wife, Diana, pointed out to me the arrival of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on our feeder. The bird has been around all day today also. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| April 27, 2011 | The Bloodroot in our school naturalized area is in full bloom. | Edmison Heights Public School, Marina Blvd | Drew Monkman |
| April 27, 2011 | Like Colin Jones, Bob Prentice and I also saw/heard Brown Thrasher (Duoro 3rd Line, several), Yellow-rumped Warbler (about thirty by Lakefield Marsh in the campsite, and a few more elsewhere), Black-and-white Warbler (two in the Lakefield campsite) and Field Sparrow (several along Hubble Rd). We also had Eastern Towhee (Lakefield campsite & Hubble Rd), Caspian Tern (Lakefield Marsh), American Bittern (within 5m of the road at Sawyer’s Creek on Duoro 3rd Line), Pine Warbler (several in the north of the county, and last but not least a Northern Mockingbird on Lynch’s Rock Rd. | Lakefield area | Tony Bigg and Bob Prentice |
| April 27, 2011 | Saw a nice little House Wren today just off the north end of the Hiawatha Line near Cty. Rd.#2. | Hiawatha Line | Rick Stankiewicz |
| April 27, 2011 | A male Indigo Bunting has been at our bird feeder for the past two days. | 7 km north of Keene | Tore Buchanan |
| April 27, 2011 | This morning, during my cycle to work from Lakefield to Peterborough along the Rotary Trail the bird activity was very good. Apart from there being more individuals of certain species that have already been reported (e.g. Chipping Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow) I also had the following species that are at least new to me this season. Double-crested Cormorant – one flock of 8 overhead near Trent U. Least Flycather – one singing in my backyard in Lakefield House Wren – a few singing at various locations Brown Thrasher – two along the bike trail S of Trent U. Yellow Warbler – 2 singing between Lakefield and Trent U. Yellow-rumped Warbler – at least 6 singing at various locations Black-and-white Warbler – one singing half-way between Lakefield and Trent U. | Rotary Trail | Colin Jones |
| April 25, 2011 | I was up in the Crystal Lake-Mount Irwin area of the county today. Lots of Yellow-rumped and Pine warblers and Hermit Thrush, several Northern Waterthrush and a single Blue-headed Vireo, all singing. Lots of Chorus, Wood, and Northern Leopard frogs and Spring Peepers calling, though there was still some ice in a number of woodland ponds and snow drifts along shaded roadsides. This morning (April 27th), much to my surprise, there was an male Eastern Towhee giving its ‘drink’ call repeatedly from the top of a large Norway Maple at the intersection of Park and King in the Avenues area of the downtown. While walking our dogs on the Rotary Rail Trail north of Trent University this evening (2000h), we encountered an adult Red-bellied Snake on the trail about 800m north of Trent. | various (see email) | Don Sutherland |
| April 25, 2011 | There were 6 Purple Martins at Tamarac Golf Club, Ennismore, today. | Ennismore | Colin Jones |
| April 25, 2011 | Walking the Bridgenorth trail early this morning I heard two Northern Waterthrushes singing. I also saw a European Hare. I met Emily Pettypiece who had just seen a Sandhill Crane on the same trail. Also along the trail Rusty Blackbirds, White-throated Sparrows, and Winter Wrens were singing, and several Wilson’s Snipe were winnowing overhead. As I was backing out from my house later in the morning a Merlin landed right beside the car carrying a junco in its talons. The presence of the Merlin explains why earlier the birds at my feeder burst into the air resulting in the death of a Fox Sparrow by hitting my window. At Sawyer’s Creek on Duoro 3rd Line a Moorhen was seen swimming and a Purple Finch was singing. I saw a Sandhill Crane just south of Sawyers Creek, and later, another flying high over Cty Rd 44. On Cty Rd 46 just north of the junction with Cty Rd 47, a pair of Virginia Rails responded to a tape by walking out to the roadside. On Sandy Lake Rd I saw a Pine Warbler and a Northern Ribbon Snake. In total I had six sightings of Wild Turkeys with groups ranging from a single bird to thirteen birds. | various (see email) | Tony Bigg |
| April 24, 2011 | In typical April fashion, the backyard bird chorus today was quite impressive, even at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Among the voices were flickers, robins, mourning doves, grackles, goldfinches, siskins, house finches, and juncos. Our coltsfoot and hepatica have been in bloom now for a few days. The flowers on the Red Elderberry are almost open. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| April 24, 2011 | The female Red-bellied Woodpecker that I reported on January 17 was joined this past week by a male. They are now a couple and have set up a home in our back woods. I can't wait to see the babies this summer; hopefully they will come to the feeder with their parents. | The Glen [Westview Dr.] near Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| April 21, 2011 | Today, I saw my first Barn Swallow sitting on the clothesline. The Coyotes have been very vocal the last couple of nights. | Hastings | Don and Paul Q |
| April 16, 2011 | Tonight, my mom, my dad, and I went to look for salamanders on Camp Line and Birch View roads and we came back with spectacular results. Our total was around 70-80 individuals. There were about 25 spotted salamanders, around 55 blue spotted, and one sadly roadkill eastern newt. The highest concentration was on Birch View road. Camp Line road only had 10 blue spotted salamanders. There were many peepers and leopard frogs. I did get to help about 20 blue spotted salamanders cross the road. There were many peepers and leopard frogs as well. Frog numbers totalled about 10-15 spring peepers, 1 wood frog, l0 leopard frogs, and about 5 green frogs. | Birch View Road and Camp Line on east side of Clear Lake | Luke Berg |
| April 15, 2011 | This morning there was a mixed flock of about 10 Cedar and 8 Bohemian waxwings in my backyard. | Benson Ave, Peterborough | Luke Berg |
| April 13, 2011 | I just saw my first Chipping Sparrow at Lakefield College School. There are also many Winter Wrens at the trent nature area. | Lakefield College School | Luke Berg |
| April 12, 2011 | This evening, in the roadside ditch at the junction of Lakefield Road and Woodland Dr. (just N of Trent Univ.) the Spring Peepers, Chorus Frogs and Wood Frogs were all calling in good numbers. | Lakefield Highway | Colin Jones |
| April 12, 2011 | I was just watching my first Fox Sparrow of the year visiting my feeder here in Warsaw. | Warsaw | Maureen Smith |
| April 12, 2011 | This morning during my dog walk at the Trent University Nature Area (Pensier trail) I saw the following species: Eastern Phoebe, 100+ Tree Swallows, Northern Flickers, 2 calling male Brewers Blackbirds (heard and seen), Yellow-rumped warbler, Golden and Ruby crowned Kinglet, a singing Winter Wren. Luke Berg | Trent University Nature Area | Luke Berg |
| April 12, 2011 | Yesterday afternoon (April 11) on my way home, I saw a NORTHERN REDBELLY SNAKE on the Rotary Trail just N of Trent Univ. This morning (April 12 ), I did a little birding along Old Norwood Road and Division Road and had the following of note: GREEN-WINGED TEAL – a pair in the pond on Old Norwood Rd between Burnham and Drummond Lines AMERICAN KESTREL – three birds in total at various locations WILSON’S SNIPE – two winnowing overhead of the wetland on Division Rd just E of Indian River Line YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER - Old Norwood Rd just E of Drummond Line NORTHERN FLICKER – same location as the sapsucker TREE SWALLOW – several at various locations, including a pair checking out a nesting box along Old Norwood Rd. a little W of Hwy 28 SAVANNAH SPARROW – on singing on Dummer-Asphodel Rd between Carlow Line Rd and Cty Rd 38 SWAMP SPARROW – several singing in the wetland on Division Rd just E of Indian River Line There were also SPRING PEEPERS calling at several spots – I didn’t hear any Chorus Frogs though although it was still pretty cool in the a.m. | various (see email) | Colin Jones |
| April 11, 2011 | Today, while checking out the loons on Little Lake, we saw many swallows flying over the lake. They were quite far away but they looked like Tree Swallows. On April 10, we saw two Wood Ducks in Cavan Swamp on Hooten Road. | Little Lake and Hooten Road | Dave and Sherry Hambly |
| April 11, 2011 | Did a quick drive around Duoro Twp this afternoon and had a Greater Yellowlegs in the Rosmar (Bolton) Farm pond on the 8th line of Duoro and 2 Fox Sparrows on Centre Rd. between the 7th and 8th. It was fun watching a Ruffed Grouse cross the 3rd line in full display. Didn't see the female but she must have been around! I also had Eastern Phoebe in 4 locations. On Saturday night, I went compensated by heard many, many American Woodcock and one Northern Saw-whet Owl was calling near the 3rd line of Douro and Centre Rd. Anne | Douro Township | Anne Anthony |
| April 10, 2011 | Around 11:00 a.m., I watched for about half an hour a Barred Owl catching frogs in our small pond on our property . The owl used a tall deadwood as a perch. A Blue Jay kept close to the owl and when the owl caught its prey, the jay would swoop in on the owl. My daughter went for a jog at about 4 p.m. and came upon a Fisher crossing the road. | 20 minutes north of Buckhorn – County Rd. 507 | Joanne O'Heron |
| April 10, 2011 | Today, while hiking in Millbrook, I observed a Mourning Cloak butterfly. | Millbrook | Don Finigan |
| April 9, 2011 | Today, we observed Eastern Garter Snakes in 2 mating balls just off the eastern part of the longer trail in Burnham Woods. The balls were about 3 m apart, one ball had 6-10 snakes (you try counting them!)the other was smaller, perhaps 4-8 with some moving back and forth between the two. I do'nt know if this is a common sight in the Spring, I've certainly never seen it before. Trish Beales | Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park | Trish Beales |
| April 9, 2011 | With the 14C temperatures today, the clusters of Silver Maple flower buds have opened fully on many trees, giving the trees a hazy appearance. Small numbers of Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins (less than five of each) have been coming to our feeder all week. The male American Goldfinches at the feeder have almost completed their moult from winter to breeding plumage. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| April 8, 2011 | During a sketching outing in the schoolyard today, my class found Silver Maple flower buds opening up and the stamens already protruding. We also found one Crocus in full bloom, tiger lillies starting to emerge from the ground, and lots of midges in mating swarms despite 10 C temperatures. It has always amazed me that midges can fly at such cool temperatures, often close to the freezing point. Bohemian Waxwings were flying about, too. | Marina Blvd | Drew Monkman |
| April 8, 2011 | Today, we saw a flock of 20 turkeys in a field on the south side of Pinehill Road north of Fowlers Corners. These turkeys put on quite a show with several of the toms displaying their tails and vivid blue heads. As we were driving by the pond on Sawyers Creek where it comes into the Otonabee, an Osprey swooped down and dove into the pond. As we drove by Trent U a Cooper's Hawk flew across the road and landed in a tree about 50' in. And we saw a Porcupine in a tree to boot at another spot! | various | Dave and Sherry Hambly |
| April 8, 2011 | I spotted a Bald Eagle flying north over Division Road, just south of Douro at the beginning of March. Not sure of the exact date. My wife spotted a Bobcat in our backyard at about 8:30 a.m.on March 28th. That evening there where many vultures in our area. I also spotted the two Sandhill Cranes and the Northern Harrier on March 31 as Maureen Smith did. On April 6th, on Douglas Rd. Warsaw, I spotted what I believe was a Peregrine Falcon in a tree on top of a ridge and today, April 8th, on my way to work, I saw a pair of the falcons flying over a field on the Warsaw Road. | Warsaw | Mark Anderson |
| April 8, 2011 | Along the Parkway Trail at the water retention pond just east of Walmart, I observed 3 male Mallards verbaly harrassing a Red Fox as it patrolled the shore line. The fowll just stayed out of reach of the fox but would move to deeper water when the fox stoped to face them. The fox also flushed a Killdeer.This was about 0730hrs. 15 minutes later again on the same trail between Chemong and Fairbairn I saw hundreds of Bohemian Waxwings. They filled the tops of three trees as they awaited their turn to drink from some melt water. They flew when disturbed by cyclists but on my return about 90 minutes later they were back drinking about 100 metres further down the trail. It was quite a sight and I got lots of pics. with my wifes point and shoot. | Peterborough | Don Finigan |
| April 7, 2011 | On my bike ride home today from Peterborough to Lakefield, I saw two Belted Kingfishers at the Sawyer Creek outlet (Lock 25) along River Rd. Also, I ran into Peter Mills along the Rotary bike trail near Trent U. and he heard a single Chorus Frog calling a few times in the flooded fields just N. of Trent as well as Spring Peepers last night on campus. | Otonabee River and Trent University | Colin Jones and Peter Mills |
| April 7, 2011 | I've seen three Common Loons on Little Lake the past few days. Sometimes they are quite close to shore near the Art Gallery and the parking spots on the south side. It was great fun to watch one of them scare off another one - a bit of hollering and a lot of running by the one scared off. It literally ran along the top of the water for some distance. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Sherry Hambly |
| April 6, 2011 | This morning I saw what must have been close to 300 Bohemian Waxwings perched in trees along Barnardo Ave, near St. Paul Street. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 6, 2011 | The Red-bellied Woodpecker is at our feeder today. Hope he stays around! Two Pileated Woodpeckers are also regular visitors right now. | Otonabee River South at Cedar Bank Road | Eva McFaul |
| April 4, 2011 | There was an Osprey sitting on its nest on Scriven Line just south of Cty Rd 2 this afternoon. All the other nests (~15), I viewed were empty. | Scriven Line | Anne Anthony |
| April 4, 2011 | I just saw my first Osprey of the year today on my way to school. It was flying downstream towards lock 25 on the Otonabee. | Lakefield | Luke Berg |
| April 3, 2011 | Today, Ethan Huner and I went in search of waterfowl for most of the afternoon. We started at Little Lake where duck numbers were down significantly from days earlier. The usual suspects including Ring-necked, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser and Hooded Merganser were present. We then moved on to Mathers Corners where the flooded field is quickly drying up. A pair of Mallards and Am. Black Ducks were present along with many Ring-billed Gulls. We spoke with a landowner at the end of the road who estimates the number of heron nests in the rookery to the southeast to be 100 - whether the number is this large or not it must be quite large based on the number of herons I have seen flying to and from the area in the past. He had also seen the partial albino Red-tailed Hawk that we saw earlier in the week, however we did not see it today. It is a beautiful bird with almost a complete white back contrasting the red tail. Our last stop was at Serpent Mounds* where we found that most of Rice Lake in that area is free of ice. Duck numbers were in the thousands. Heat waves and a scope duct-taped (oops!) to a tripod made viewing the distant birds difficult. Species seen included Redhead, American Wigeon, Common Loon, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked, Mallard, and American Black Duck. I wouldn't doubt that more time and a functional scope could find additional species. *Note: Serpent Mounds is under construction and posted with No Trespassing signs. Large machinery construction is likely on weekdays. | Little Lake, Mather's Corners, Serpent Mounds | Travis Cameron |
| April 3, 2011 | Today at about 13:30, a small group of 6 Tree Swallows flew north past the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons. The north pond of the lagoons is still frozen, and the south pond is about 2/3 ice-free. Very little was there; 6 Buffleheads and 6 Mallards. | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons on County Road 33 | Bill Crins |
| April 3, 2011 | This morning at Miller's Creek Conservation Area on the 7th Line of Smith-Ennismore, I saw three Sandhill Cranes flying. They were in the cow pasture to the left of the entrance. On Emerald Isle Rd.in Ennismore, I had a female Northern Harrier. | Bridgenorth and Ennismore | Bill Snowden |
| April 2, 2011 | Yesterday Dave and I saw two Sandhill Cranes in a field just south of the Birdsall Wildlife Area (2 pics). We also saw Pintail Ducks at Mather's Corners, along with the species seen by Don Sutherland. We also saw lots of Common Mergansers at several points along the north shore of Rice Lake. We also came across a Turkey Vulture eating a dead animal on the side of the road. When we stopped it flew into a nearby tree just a few feet away and stayed there for a few minutes - unfortunately not long enough for me to get a pic. Last wednesday I saw a Merlin sitting near its nest in a pine tree in Little Lake Cemetery (pic). I also had fun watching a pair of Hooded Mergansers fishing on Little Lake (pics). About a week ago we saw the Red-necked Grebe just above lock 24/25 (pic). About two weeks ago I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing over 3000 Tundra Swans at the Aylmer Wildlife Area (pic). Copy and paste the following link in your browser to see my pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/salal/sets/72157626291454793/ | various | Sherry Hambly |
| April 2, 2011 | Lulled into thinking that it would be more spring-like, today I toured around the eastern side of the county, north to Sandy Lake and south to Hastings, and then along Peterborough Rd 2 to Hwy 28. It was cool and windy and most shrub thicket swamps and marshes were still completely to partially ice-covered. I saw Killdeer and Eastern Bluebird in several places, 4 Great Blue Herons standing on nests in a heronry on the east side of Peterborough Rd 46 southwest of Methuen Lake, and a Red-shouldered Hawk north of Round Lake. I stopped at several marshes and swamps that were ice-free, but heard no frogs except for a single Spring Peeper calling slowly and intermittently from a shallow grassy pond on the Sandy Lake Rd., and saw no Midland Painted Turtles. I saw a single Mourning Cloak on the Sandy Lake Rd. I stopped at Mathers Corners to check the waterfowl in the flooded corn field. There were 17 American Black Ducks, 28 Mallards, 2 Canada Geese and about 40 Ring-billed Gulls. Rice Lake is still ice-covered, but much of the ice is dark and so the lake may start opening up in the next few days. I checked about a dozen Osprey nests, but saw no Ospreys. | various | Don Sutherland |
| March 31, 2011 | On our way home from work at approximately 4:30 p.m. my husband & I spotted 2 Sandhill Cranes feeding in a field just west of Douro 2nd line on the south side of Cty Rd 4. A little bit further towards Warsaw a Northern Harrier was hunting low over the fields on the north side of Cty Rd 4. I love Spring! | Warsaw Road | Maureen Smith |
| March 31, 2011 | This morning, there was a single White-throated Sparrow in my backyard in Lakefield. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 31, 2011 | This morning I saw the same Wild Turkeys as Tony (March 30) displaying in the corn field at Parkhill Rd and Ackison Rd. There were about three males and six or seven females. The males all had their tail feathers spread out widely. | ||
| March 31, 2011 | At 6:02 a.m. a Common Loon announced his arrival on Buckhorn Lake. It's probably the single one who always arrives first. A Great Blue Heron flew in yesterday, too. Since the ice started breaking up, we've seen several Common and Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads and 2 Ring-necked Ducks. | Buckhorn | Toni Sinclair |
| March 30, 2011 | Taking advantage of the nice weather for a change I walked the rail trail between Villiers Line and Cameron Line. I heard five Ruffed Grouse drumming and one Killdeer flying over. A creek runs alongside the trail for most of the distance. At one point I saw a large dark bird fly across the creek and disappear into the brush on the trail side. My small dog, running ahead of me as usual, got to the spot and looked over the bank. Immediately a drake Wood Duck started thrashing about in the water achieving his wish of scaring the dog away. As the drake flew away the female appeared from nowhere, flew away and then landed, watching. I circled round to the far side of the creek and worked back to the same spot. The female started calling and I could see a hole in the bank no more than two feet above the water level. Would the ducks be nesting in such a spot? In the evening I watched Wild Turkeys lecking in a cornfield on Ackison Road, just south of the Omemee Rail Trail. There were six males displaying and twice as many females. I also listened for American Woodcock at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary. The first bird started calling at 7:44 pm. | Keene, etc. | Tony Bigg |
| March 30, 2011 | We are on the north shore of Sturgeon Lake. Saw a pair of Bald Eagles in a tree on Muskrat Island all day yesterday (Mar 29,2011). I have never seen Bald Eagles here before. | Sturgeon Lake | Dennis Callan |
| March 28, 2011 | Today, I saw a Northern Harrier fly over a field north of Cty Rd 2 and Cty Rd 35. | Mather's Corners | Rick Stankiewicz |
| March 25, 2011 | Turkey Vultures have been flying low over Aberdeen Ave. at Bethune for the last few days at around 4-6 p.m. Last night there were 22 of them! They have been making a kind of chirping sound. | Aberdeen Ave. | reported to Anria Loubser |
| March 23, 2011 | Both on Monday, the 21st, and this morning, my friend and I spotted three Eastern Bluebirds along the roadside by Six Foot Bay Golf Course (west of Buckhorn). There are some bluebird boxes near there, so I expect they are returning birds. | Buckhorn, Ontario | Toni Sinclair |
| March 22, 2011 | Today 13+ Turkey Vultures circled over Stony Lake. They were very high and gradually moving north. | Boshink Narrows, Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| March 20 , 2011 | There was an Osprey sighted near Perrytown north of Port Hope today. | Port Hope | Paul Jones |
| March 20, 2011 | Today, I saw and photographed a pair of Trumpeter Swans on the Otonabee River at Lock 23 (between Lakefield and Trent University). | Otonabee River | Colin Jones |
| March 21, 2011 | |||
| March 18, 2011 | Although they are common, I haven't heard any mention of these new arrivals so I thought some might be interested to know they are around. North of Rice Lake, the fields have had Killdeer in them for the past few days. As well, a Kestrel showed up in Assumption (Old Keene Road) south of Peterborough last week and this morning a male was displaying to a female in the wetland near the railroad tracks on Television Road. There was also a really sad looking Great Blue Heron standing hunched up on the still frozen river/creek that is on Television Road. This afternoon there was a Turkey Vulture soaring over the Trent athletics field. No injured athletes for it though. There are still Pine Siskins on the Trent campus near the athletics building on the west side of the river. There was also an Eastern Meadowlark singing in a field east of the river, north of the new buildings being built. With American Crows busy building nests today, spring is definitely nearing. | various | Ben Walters |
| March 18, 2011 | This week we were "flocked" by Common Redpolls. We have lived here since 2005 and this is the first time we've seen them here. As of last weekend, we also sighted (in our backyard) the first robins, grackles, red winged blackbirds of the season. | Sturgeon Lake | Susan Staniforth |
| March 18, 2011 | A quick check of the pond at Mathers Corners produced very few birds, but there was 1 Northern Pintail, 1 Northern Shoveler and 1 Ring-necked Duck. (best viewed from Drummond Line south of Cty. Rd. 2) The heronry at the south end of Drummond Line had 4 herons on nests and there was a Killdeer calling from the field to the west as I was scoping the herons. | Mathers Corners (west of Keene) | Anne Anthony |
| March 18, 2011 | Driving east on Highway 7 at dawn at the Madoc exit, I saw two Great Blue Herons flying west. What a wonderful sight. | Madoc | Joanne O’Heron |
| March 16, 2011 | The Trumpeter Swans have returned! Very exciting. Let's hope we'll have some babies! | Kent's Bay, Hiawatha | Sharon Simkins |
| March 16, 2011 | This morning behind the house (Westbrook Drive) at 10:50 a.m. Kathy found a flock of about 40 Cedar Waxwings in the tops of the trees. Yesterday Martin observed one Common Grackle at Young's Point, and Kathy had a couple near Fleming Campus. This morning several were in the Westbrook Drive neighbourhood. Robins have been calling for about a week and today there was a flock of 15 American Robins passing through Westbrook Drive. | Westbrook Dr, Peterborough and other locations | Martin and Kathy Parker |
| March 15, 2011 | Tonight I heard a Merlin screaming at the corner of Rogers and Sophia streets in East City, and yes, also I heard Red-winged Blackbirds at the university. | Peterborough | Erica Nol |
| March 15, 2011 | I did not see, but heard, my first Red-winged Blackbird of the season when filling up my bird feeder this morning. I live about 10 kms past Flynn’s Corners on Cty. Rd. 507, north of Buckhorn. | Flynn's Corners (Buckhorn) | Joanne O'Heron |
| March 15, 2011 | Today, my wife spotted our first American Robin of the "spring," sitting on our neighbour's deck railing. | Peterborough | Don Finigan |
| March 13, 2011 | There was a bit of excitement in our front yard this afternoon. All at the same time, we saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a downy and a hairy, a Common Grackle and a flock of goldfinches.. The goldfinches have stayed around our feeder all winter..a first here. A couple of months ago I was astonished to see a young White-tailed Deer on our driveway! Lots of wildlife in this neck of the city. | Algonquin Blvd, Peterborough | Mike Barker |
| March 13, 2011 | We saw a Bald Eagle on our neighbour's property. It was perched in a tree for about a half hour, at about 9:00 am. We live on the east side of Omemee, south side of the road. | Omemee | Trudie Kroon & Bruce Flemons |
| March 12, 2011 | There was an Eastern Screech Owl calling at 8:30 p.m. on Ford Crescent, RR 1, Cavan. | Cavan | Ken Rumble |
| March 11, 2011 | Today, I saw a flock of about 18 Canada Geese flying over the north end of the city. I also saw a Raven in the same location. | Marina Blvd, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 10, 2011 | There were also three Ring-necked Ducks today on the Otonabee River between the campground and the arena in Lakefield. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 10, 2011 | A pair of Hooded Mergansers were on the Otonabee River between Locks 23 and 24. The Red-necked Grebe was still present at the same location and kept chasing the mergansers when they approached too close. The grebe would dive and surface close to a mergasner then flutter across the water towards the merganser. A male Ring-necked Duck was present on Little Lake yesterday and today. Several American Robins were calling this afternoon along Westbrook Drive. | Lakefield and Peterborough | Martin Parker |
| March 9, 2011 | Around noon today there was an adult Bald Eagle flying around the Trent campus, first near the rec centre field and then north of the bridge. On monday at the Trent Nature Area, the Barred Owl was still hunting the roadside (University Rd.) and there were 15 Bohemian Waxwings at the entrance to the parking lot. (N.B. I saw what was probably the same eagle flying over the Otonabee near Hilliard and Water at noon today, as well. D.M.) | Trent University | Ben Walters |
| March 9, 2011 | I live on Creekwood Dr., off Spillsbury, backing off Harper Woods. As I write this at 10 minutes to 6 on Wed., our neighbourhood is swarming with American Crows, and I mean swarming, even in this storm. There maybe several hundred roosting, facing the wind, flying about and giving one a feel that Alfred Hitchcock my be at work. | Creekwood Drive, Peterborough | Phil McKeating |
| March 5, 2011 | A flock of approximately fifty Common Redpolls visited my feeding stations in the Bethany area this morning. | Bethany, Ontario | Gilles d'Agenais |
| March 5, 2011 | With the rain and mild tempertures today (5C), a small number of Ring-billed Gulls were flying about downtown Peterborough. | downtown Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 5, 2011 | A lovely day for ducks, and other water birds! I found Martin Parker’s Red-necked Grebe today on the Otonabee River between Locks 23 and 24, near the old bus barns. Also today the first Hooded Mergansers were above Lock 25. On Thursday the first Buffleheads flew in, also above Lock 25. Yesterday a flock of eight Canada Geese ventured up above the bridge in Lakefield where the Lesser Scaup still holds court. The Pied-billed Grebe was with the Buffleheads and about forty Common Goldeneyes and ten Common Mergansers on Thursday. | Otonabee River near Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| March 4, 2011 | Today about 11 a.m. at a small pond at a private residence on Deramore Trail, just off Curve Lake Rd close to Buckhorn Rd., a Bald Eagle was diving at a flock of ducks. I watched for about 30 seconds until the eagle moved off into the distance away from the pond. The dducks had flown away. | Curve Lake Road | Joanne O’Heron |
| Feb.28, 2011 | I saw my first Horned Larks of the spring today on Cty Rd 2 just east of Bailieboro. They normally show up in the last week of February somewhere in the county. This year they only just made it. | Bailieboro | Tony Bigg |
| Feb.27, 2011 | At about noon today, there was a winter plumage Red-necked Grebe on the Otonabee River between Locks 22 and 23. The number of Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers number are increasing on the river especially above and below Lock 26 (Lakefield). | Otonabee River, Lakefield | Martin Parker |
| Feb.22, 2011 | I saw the most amazing thing this morning. At 12:45 today, I was driving north on Towerhill Road, just past the intersection with Milroy Drive, and I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Over the house on the opposite side of the road, at first glance I thought I saw a plane, but then I saw it was not one but two mature Bald Eagles circling at about 100 ft over the houses and the sports fields behind them. I got out of my car and watched them for about 5 minutes, kicking myself for not having my camera with me! | Towerhill Road, Peterborough | John Whitehead |
| Feb. 20, 2011 | Today, at around 4 p.m. I saw 2 swans flying west towards Buckhorn on Lower Buckhorn Lake. I was not able to tell for sure if they were Trumpeter (most likely) or Tundra Swans. | Lower Buckhorn Lake | Rose Mary Rosada |
| Feb.16, 2011 | Today, there were huge numbers of snowfleas on the snow along the trails of the Kawartha Nordic Ski Club. I saw them on both the Beaver and the Trillium. | Haultain, north of Woodview, Ontario | Drew Monkman |
| Feb. 15, 2011 | I saw a small flock of about 10 American Robins yesterday in Jackson Park, happily drinking from an opening in the creek. However, today, when I came home at about noon, there was a huge flock (approx. 50) of Bohemian Waxwings in the maple tree in my backyard. There might have been some cedar waxwings in amongst them but many of them had the reddish patch under their tails which, I believe, is an identifying mark of the bohemian. It was pretty exciting but they didn't stay long, so I'm glad I didn't miss them. | Jackson Park, Peterborough | Joanna Primavesi |
| Feb. 13, 2011 | I have always been hoping to see a Bald Eagle in our area. Today, on our way home from church, there was one on Wallace Point Rd, just before the four corners at Stewart Hall. The eagle picked something up from the roadside and flew into a tree. It was such a thrill for me. I have always wanted to see a bald eagle in the wild. | Wallace Point Road | Eva McFaul |
| Feb. 6, 2011 | This weekend, we had the pleasure of watching a Barred Owl over several hours, just outside our living room window. He had found a rabbit near our compost bin and was enjoying his feast despite our presence and curiosity. It was a real highlight for us to watch him! | Fifth Line, Smith-Ennismore Township | Anne Morawetz |
| Feb.4, 2011 | There was an adult Red-shouldered Hawk in a tree over county road 10 about 100 m south of the 10/7A intersection at Cavan this morning at about 7:30. It was attended by three crows. | Cavan, Ontario | Scott McKinlay |
| Feb. 3, 2011 | Students at King George Public School, who have been studying raptors, were thrilled today to get a great view of an adult Bald Eagle that flew right over the playground. When the kids hollered out, "Hey, there's a Bald Eagle!" their teacher's reaction was "Yah, right." Well, as it turns out, the kids were right. | King George Public School, Armour Road | students at King George Public School |
| Feb.2, 2011 | We have a female red-bellied woodpecker at the suet feeder. She has been here for 3 mornings. Never settles for long. The dozens of blue jays control the area. She shared the 2-sided suet feeder with the hairy so we know they are the same length. | Kawartha Park, Clear Lake | Sandra and Richard Burri |
| February 2, 2011 | We had a Carolina Wren at our feeder on the front veranda at 20 Benson Ave. The bird appeared at 11:20 a.m. (N.B. What is probably the same bird has been frequenting a feeder on Manning Avenue at the home of Barry Kinsey. It has been coming fairly regularly since late fall. D.M.) | Benson Avenue, Peterborough | Luke and Noah Berg |
| Feb.1, 2011 | Today during ski practice at Lakefield College, I saw an immature Bald Eagle circle over the ski track and then fly up river along the Otonabee. | Lakefield, Ontario | Luke Berg |
| Jan.29, 2011 | Thought you would like to know that we saw an absolutely beautiful Bald Eagle this morning. It was flying south over the Otonabee towards Peterborough. We have seen them here before - very exciting! | River Road South, Peterborough | Anne Worrall |
| Jan. 29 , 2011 | Two Northern Cardinals were in full voice this morning, inspired no doubt by the bright sunshine and relatively mild temperatures. Chickadees, too, were singing enthusiastically. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Jan. 23, 2011 | An adult Cooper's Hawk made a kill at the feeder in my yard today. | Farmcrest Ave, Peterborough | Lynn Spencer |
| Jan. 23, 2011 | A lone female Wild Turkey visited our backyard today on the edge of Peterborough. | Champlain Dr, Peterborough | Dawson Bick |
| Jan.21 , 2011 | I just came home from work to find a Northern Goshawk devouring what appears to be a Mallard just at the edge of the river here in Warsaw. Very exciting.. I was able to get a little bit of video footage of it. | Warsaw, Ontario | Maureen Smith |
| Jan.21, 2011 | There were 12-15 Bohemian Waxwings in our backyard at Lock 19 today, plus on the river a Pied-billed Grebe, a Common Goldeneye and 3 Black Ducks with the Mallards. A couple of days ago a Bald Eagle flew over heading North along the river. | Lock 19, Otonabee River, Peterborough | Trish Beales |
| Jan.21, 2011 | I have both a male and female Red-bellied Woodpecker coming to my feeder. Perhaps it augers well for a spring nesting. Co-incidentally, both my brother in Port Hope and my friend in Warkworth, have female Red-bellieds at their feeders, too. | Keene, Ontario | Michael Gillespie |
| Jan.21, 2011 | Yesterday, I was birding with my dad on Amherst Island..Here is a species list: ON THE FERRY: American coot 1, Canada goose 2,Mallard 4, ON THE DRIVE TO OWL WOODS: Sharp-shinned hawk 1, Cooper's hawk ?, American starling 50+, Snow bunting 30, Mourning dove 50+, Rock pigeon 30, White-crowned sparrow 2, House sparrow 15, American kestrel 2, Bald eagle 3, Red-tailed hawk 1, Rough-legged hawk 3 or 4, Trumpeter swan 2, Canada Goose 500+, American tree sparrow 10 OWL WOODS: Black-capped chickadee 50+, Boreal Chickadee 1, Downy woodpecker 1, White-breasted nuthatch 1, Northern cardinal 1, Ring-necked pheasant 2, Barred owl 1 Long-eared owl 3, Northern saw-whet owl 3 There was a Northern hawk owl seen at house #4455. We did not see any Snowy Owls, although some have been seen there this year. | Amherst Island, across from Millhaven, Ontario | Luke Berg |
| Jan.19, 2011 | There is a Northern Cardinal singing (first of the year, for me) this morning (0720h) in our backyard on John Street in the Avenues area of downtown Peterborough. (N.B. I heard a cardinal singing in late December of 2010 on Maple Crescent. Apparently they've been known to sing every month of the year. However, I'd never heard one in December before. D.M.) | John Street, Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| Jan. 17, 2011 | Last winter, we had a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a male, who stayed all winter and left in the spring. This year we have a female Red-bellied. | The Glen [Westview Dr.] near Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| Jan.15, 2011 | I had an adult Cooper's Hawk in the yard today. It perched on our fence and proceeded to pick apart and devour a small bird it had caught. | Montcalm Drive, Peterborough | Margo Hughes |
| Jan.15, 2011 | We, too, have had a Red bellied Woodpecker hanging around here for the last month. | Bethel Road, Emily Township | Doug Lawson |
| Jan. 11, 2011 | A Red Bellied Woodpecker has been frequenting our feeder for a few days. I also saw a Snowy Owl today. This is the 2nd one this winter. Just before Christmas there was a Cormorant in some open water in front of our neighbours home. We watched it one day as it did not look like it was going to make it - appeared not to be able to fly.. The next morning - I missed it - our two resident Bald Eagles and their two young ones made short work of the Cormorant | Gannon's Narrows, Cty Rd 16, next to Gannon's Narrows Conservation property | Jim Watt |
| Jan. 6, 2011 | One afternoon during the Christmas holidays, we noticed a robin-like bird land in the yard. It was about the same size as a robin, with a black head and beak, an orange breast, and a distinctive black V on the chest. It was a Varied Thrush. It drops by at least once a day. This is a very unusual bird to find in this area. (note: several turned up in 2008, as well. D.M.) | Round Lake, north of Havelock | Jacquie Andrew |
| Jan. 3, 2011 | A Bald Eagle was sited at Upper Buckhorn near the Buckhorn Yacht Harbour. The bird was on the ice and very close to open water. It appeared through the binoculars that he was feasting on a fish. Magnificent bird! | Buckhorn Lake | Derry Fairweather |
| Jan.1, 2011 | Over the last week at Little Lake, I've seen 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Glaucous Gull, 1 Greater Black-backed Gull, 30 American Robins, 6 Common Mergansers, and 20 Common Goldeneyes. | Little Lake | Randy Smith |
| Jan.1, 2011 | Terrible weather conditions of incessant rain and thick fog did not deter 22 hardy birders from attending today`s OFO (Ontario Field Ornithologists) trip in the Peterborough area. Despite the weather, there were some good sightings : 30 Bohemian Waxwings close to Lakefield College in Lakefield; 100 + Snow Buntings on a manured field near Stony Lake on County Road 6; 20 Evening Grosbeaks at the Drain house feeders on Co. Rd. 6; 2 flocks of Wild Turkeys; Coopers, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed hawks, American Kestrel; Pileated, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers; Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers on the Otonabee River south of Lakefield; American Tree, White-throated and Song sparrows at f eeders on Scollard Drive in Peterborough. Dave Milsom | Lakefield and area | Dave Milson |
2010 |
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| December 31, 2010 | We woke at 8:30 a.m. to the sound of three beagles chasing a Coyote in the middle of Lower Buckhorn Lake. Hunters appeared but were not successful in shooting the coyote who wandered across the lake. | Lower Buckhorn Lake | Rose Mary Rosada |
| December 31, 2010 | Today, I saw a Lesser Scaup (perhaps the same one that was seen during the Peterborough CBC on Dec 19th) on the river in Lakefield between the campground beach and the marina. Also, flying down the lake and over the Lakefield Marsh was a flock of about 50 Snow Buntings. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| December 31, 2010 | At or near my feeders over the past 3 days have been Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Song, White-thr. and White-crowned sparrows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Northern Shrike, Cooper's Hawk and many more common birds. | Scollard Drive off Cunningham off Armour Rd. opposite the zoo in Peterborough | Dave Milsom |
| December 28, 2010 | All fall and thus far this winter, our suet and peanut feeders have been popular with Downy, Hairy, and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. The big Red-Bellied comes several times a day. The smaller Downy and Hairy have to back off and wait for their turns when he arrives. | Montcalm Drive, Peterborough | Bernadine Dodge |
| December 26, 2010 | There was a Merlin in our backyard today, perched on the pool fence. | 244 Patricia Crescent, (off Fairbairn St., just north of Lily Lake Road) | Lowell Lunden |
| December 24, 2010 | I finally had some Common Redpolls (3) at my feeder in Cavan today. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| December 21, 2010 | I saw a Bald Eagle today in front of our cottage in a pine tree. | Lower Buckhorn Lake | Rose Mary Rosada |
| December 17, 2010 | There has been a Pied-billed Grebe on the Otonabee River in Peterborough (just north of the train bridge near the Holiday Inn). We saw it again this morning. (Note: This species is quite rare in the Kawarthas in winter, but does occasionally turn up on Christmas Bird Counts. D.M.) | Otonabee River | Rian Dickson |
| December 16, 2010 | This morning I watched a Glaucous Gull flying up and down the Otonabee River just south of Lakefield. I also saw a Pied-billed Grebe on the far shore near the first islands south of Lakefield. On Tuesday Dec 14 I saw an Ermine (Short-tailed Weasel) cross the path in front of me near the car park in the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary. I thought that was the last of it but then it popped back out and stared at my small dog. It summed it up and then decided it was too big for a meal and disappeared into the brush. It was one of the few moments when the sun was out and the pure white fur with the black tip on the tail looked spectacular. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| December 15, 2010 | 50 + Bohemian Waxwings 2510 Bensfort Rd. Highland Park Cemetery. Also 5 Common Goldeneye on river beside Little Lake Cemetery. | Peterborough | Ken Rumble |
| December 11, 2010 | This morning, December 11, there were at least four American Robins at the corner of Norwood Terrace and Glencairn Avenue. Three were calling. My wife, Kathy, also had an Eastern Chipmunk at the feeders iin the backyard yesterday. | Westbrook Drive, Peterborough | Martin Parker |
| December 10, 2010 | This afternoon, we were out walking the perimeter path on the farm with the dogs when we were suddenly amazed to see a young white-tailed buck leaping across the field beside us. He disappeared behind the old fieldstone barn. But then, about one minute later, we were literally struck dumb to see a very healthy looking brush wolf (coyote) running in the same direction as the deer. The dogs were too low and missed the entire thing. | Bland Line, Mount Pleasant | Darienne McAuley |
| December 10, 2010 | Today there was a large flock of Bohemian Waxwings on the Old Keene Road south of the village of Assumption. There was also a very large (possibly) Cooper's Hawk at Trent University that flew over the science complex parking lot today. I regularly see a male Cooper's Hawk hunting the birds feeders in this area but this one was presumably a very large female. I wasn't looking at it through binoculars but it's size was verging on what I would think was a Northern Goshawk and maybe it was. | various (see posting) | Ben Walters |
| December 10, 2010 | Sightings of winter birds are definitely on the increase. Today I had a flock of Cedar Waxwings on the 7th Line of Smith west of Miller Creek. Anne Anthony and Jerry Ball had a flock of Bohemian Waxwings containing a few Cedar Waxwings behind the Beer Store in Bridgenorth. At the south end of the Bridgenorth Trail I had a flyover Common Redpoll. At the west end of the 7th Line of Smith I saw a small flock of Pine Siskins, and on the 11th Line of Smith I found a flock of about thirty Snow Buntings. On December 3rd, in Bridgenorth, I watched a Merlin (31cm) fly up from the road in front of me, carrying a Mourning Dove (also 31cm). He alighted on a power line and proceeded to feast on it. | various (see posting) | Tony Bigg |
| December 8, 2010 | There was also a flock of over 300 Snow Buntings and 2 Lapland Longspurs on County Road 2 just east of Baillieboro today. There were also 7 Red-tailed Hawks between Baillieboro and Bensfort Bridge. However, it is the first year in about 5 years that I haven't seen harriers and kestrels in regular locations along this stretch of road. A huge numbers of gulls was on the ice at Bensfort Bridge but I didn't go down to look through them. | Baillieboro | Ben Walters |
| December 8, 2010 | Today at Boschink Narrows on Stony Lake, some new birds for the fall included Evening Grosbeaks, a Northern Shrike and a mature Bald Eagle. | Boschink Narrows, Stony Lake (Take Northey's Bay Rd. south to Fire Route 10 and follow to lake.) | Rob Welsh |
| December 5, 2010 | I was walking my dogs today at the Trent Nature Area and I saw a Northern Saw Whet Owl. | Trent University | Luke Berg |
| December 4, 2010 | This morning I witnessed a large flock of Common Mergansers on the water in front of my place feeding on minnows. Probably about 200 ducks. I live on the Harrington narrows between Chemong and Upper Buckhorn. The interesting thing was that there were quite a number of gulls actually attacking the ducks trying to steal their minnows. The duck would dive to escape this maneuver. It was very fun to watch. | Harrington Narrows between Chemong and Upper Buckhorn lakes | Jim Doolittle |
| December 2, 2010 | We're hearing lot of Coyotes at our farm this year; in fact, we hear them nightly. Actually the Coyotes were trying to entice a dog belonging to one of our neighbors to come and play a couple of months ago. One Coyote was full out in the open and my neighbour could see a couple more behind the trees. We've also noticed there are very few Deer Mice. Normally we catch about 25 mice during October. This year only 5. | Bland Line, Mount Pleasant | Darienne and Ed McAuley |
| December 2, 2010 | I received a report that a pair of Bald Eagles were seen today on Fox Island, across from Curve Lake First Nation. Eagles have nested near here for the past few years. | Curve Lake First Nation | |
| November 28, 2010 | This morning I took my dog for a walk along one of the rail trail sections south of Peterborough. At one point my dog ahead of me started barking at the frozen ditch alongside. As I came up to him I could see where the ice was opened up and a Beaver had been. There were plenty of Beaver tracks around, crossing the trail in a couple of places. In the wood behind the ditch more than twenty large poplars, one about two feet in diameter, had had the bark chewed away to a height of about three feet. A little further on the ditch flowed out off a marsh over a Beaver dam. Near the trail in the marsh there was a Beaver lodge, and again the dog ahead of me stopped by the lodge and I could see that he was listening to something, turning his head from side to side. When I reach him I too could hear the sounds. It was Beaver kits mewing inside the lodge – something I had never heard before. The only interesting birds of the day were an American Kestrel on the wires beside Hwy 7 east of the Hwy 28 junction, a flock of about 20 Wild Turkeys about 1km south of the Duoro arena on Hwy28 (this was the fourth time I had seen this flock in the same area in the last month), and one Ruffed Grouse on the rail trail. | Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| November 21, 2010 | I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the Peterborough Zoo. | Peterborough Zoo | Ian Shanahan (via Chris Risley - posted on OntBirds) |
| November 11, 2010 | Today, at 12:21 pm, I am watching a purple finch feed at my bird feeder. | Peterborough | Luke Berg |
| November 8, 2010 | A quick count of the ducks on the lagoons this afternoon showed about 280 Bufflehead, 40 Lesser Scaup, 20 Common Goldeneye, 8 Ring-necked Duck, and 10 Mallard. Fair numbers of Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers can also be seen on the river between Trent and Lakefield. I also saw a late Clouded Sulphur butterfly flying by the lagoons. | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons, Block Road (Cty Rd 33), Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| November 3, 2010 | This morning, at about 8:15 a.m., I saw about two dozen Wild Turkeys perched in the trees at the north end of the huge corn field at the northwest corner of Ackison and Parkhill roads. | Ackison Road | Drew Monkman |
| October 9, 2010 | Today, I saw an Eastern Phoebe land on the wire just outside our sunroom. It sat there for a mintute or two and then flew off. | Oriole Crescent, Peterborough | Pierre Gilbert |
| October 6, 2010 | Today on Boundry Rd in Ennismore, I saw 25 Rusty Blackbirds and my first American Tree Sparrow of the season. | Boundry Road, Ennismore | Randy Smith |
| October 5, 2010 | Tonight at 6:15 p.m., two Sandhill Cranes flew over my house at 406 Gifford Drive in Ennismore. | Gifford Drive, Ennismore | Randy Smith |
| October 4, 2010 | I saw an Eastern (Rufous-sided) Towhee this evening around 6 p.m. He was eating on the ground under my bird feeder, which is located near thicket like shrubs at the back of the property. It was feeding alongside Dark-eyed Juncos and Mourning Doves. This is the first time I've seen one so I quickly checked my Audubon Handbook. I observed through binoculars just to make sure I was correct! | Oriole Crescent, Peterborough | Pierre Gilbert |
| October 3, 2010 | Today, whilst leading a PFN morning walk we found a Ring-necked Duck just above Lock 23, and seven Least Scaups in the Lakefield Lagoons. Also of note we found two flocks of Rusty Blackbirds. This morning a female Common Merganser was resting on a rock just south of Lakefield. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| October 1, 2010 | Today, my wife, Liliana, and I saw a single Peregrine Falcon at about 5:00 p.m. on George Street United Church. The bird was on the southwest side of the church tower. | corner of George and McDonnel streets | Mitch Brownstein |
| October 1, 2010 | Today, three White-crowned Sparrows (two adults and one immature) fed among the 20 or so White-throats. Several juncos were also present. | Maple Crescent | Peterborough |
| September 28, 2010 | Today, the first Dark-eyed Juncos of the fall arrived at our feeder. | Maple Crescent | Peterborough |
| September 26, 2010 | The two Peregrine Falcons reported in thePeterborough Examiner of September 25 were seen this evening. This time, they were perched on the top of George Street United Church. Apparently, they took off and flew out of sight almost immediately. The birds had previously been seen on Mark Street United Church. | George Street | Andrew Lipscombe |
| September 26 , 2010 | Today, two female Purple Finches were at our feeder. Fall seems to be the only time I see these birds in the city. According to the winter finch forecast, this species is expected to be completely absent from Ontario this winter. I also saw two southward-bound Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in the yard. | Maple Crescent | Peterborough |
| September 20, 2010 | Tonight, at dusk, I was standing in a field and a large group of birds appeared. They were diving for insects overtop of my flock of sheep. To my amazement they were Common Nighthawks. There were more than 20 of them. I was able to get a definite identification as the thickly barred wings on the underside were very apparent and nothing really comes close to them in size and shape(other than a Whip-poor-will). And of course they have a distinctive flight pattern. | Millbrook | Ryan Van Loon |
| September 19, 2010 | There was a lot of bird activity along the Trans-Canada Trail this morning between Jackson Park and Ackison Rd. At least 10 Gray Catbirds were calling from the shrubbery. There were also large numbers of White-throated Sparrows, along with lesser numbers of Golden-crowned Kinglets and Dark-eyed Juncos. As often happens in the fall, Swamp Sparrows were calling periodically. We also saw two Wood Ducks. | Trans-Canada Trail between Jackson Park and Ackison Rd. | Drew Monkman |
| September 15, 2010 | It was a successful year on Buckhorn Lake for the Bald Eagles. It looks like two eaglets were fledged this year. I last saw the adult female around Aug 15 and the adult male around Aug 22. They seemed to hang around later than last year. I saw one eaglet on the big island in Buckhorn Lake for the last time around September 6. | Buckhorn Lake | |
| September 11, 2010 | A Bedstraw hawkmoth, Hyles gallii, visited my garden today where it gathered nectar from sedum. The appearance and behaviour of this species almost suggests a hummingbird. It was caught briefly and photographed. | South Monaghan, 2nd Line at Otonabee River | Joe Kenney |
| September 9, 2010 | This morning I watched a Peregrine Falcon flying low and to the south over the Quaker Park Tennis Club by the Hunter Street Bridge. | Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| September 6, 2010 | Despite two hours of looking in my "usual" spots near Peterborough, I was unable to find any Monarch caterpillars for my classroom. This seems strange, given that the adults have been fairly common this summer. I eventually found a few near the shore of Lake Ontario near Port Hope. | Fraserville | Drew Monkman |
| August 30, 2010 | This morning I watched a large, female Cooper's Hawk catch and simply stand upon a Mourning Dove in our neighbour's driveway. What was strange, however, was that another dove, possibly the victim's mate, landed on the driveway beside the hawk and walked past it, almost as if checking out what had just happened to its partner. A few minutes later, the hawk flew off to enjoy its meal. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| August 15, 2010 | On my way into work at 6 a.m. this morning, I spotted an albino American Crow. I was driving south down Highway 7out of Peterborough between Parkhill Rd and Lansdowne St.. It was not quite as big as the other crows and a little leaner, as well, but totally pale. The bird was on the side of the road. | Highway 7 between Parkhill Road and Lansdowne St. | Ron Clarence |
| August 10, 2010 | I've been able to take pictures of an albino Common Grackle. The bird and its familty were around for a couple of days earlier this month. | Matchett Line north, Otonabee Township | Harv Bell |
| August 10, 2010 | While driving south on Hwy 115 at the intersection of Hwy 35, my wife and I saw a pure white American Crow. Presumably this is an albino crow. There was no mistake that it was a crow, but its legs and beak were pure white. | Highway 115 at the intersection of Highway 35 | Anne and Colum Diamond |
| July 3, 2010 | The final count for the recent Sunderland Monarch Butterfly Count was 186. Average for previous 13 years is 112.6 with a high of 388 in 2007 and low of 10 in 2004. So 2010 is well above average. Sunderland is located north of Oshawa. | Sunderland, Ontario | James Kamstra (compiler) |
| July 6, 2010 | Jerry Ball, a local butterfly expert and enthusiast, reports having observed 48 record-early species of butterflies so far this year. On average butterflies are emerging about 12 days ahead of schedule. He notes that European Skipper, a species that is usually at its most abundant right now, is already pretty much finished. Jerry reports good numbers of Monarchs (e.g., 30 individuals in a day). | Peterborough County | Jerry Ball |
| July 5, 2010 | Did you ever wonder what happened to the Cliff Swallows that used to nest under the bridge joining the east and west banks of Trent University? For a few years a small number nested under the road bridge that is presently being worked on. This year a thriving colony has set up under the new walking/cycling trail bridge by the rowing club. About thirty nests can be seen under the bridge and most of them now have young peering out of the domed clay nests. | Trent University | Tony Bigg |
| July 3, 2010 | On a drive down to Port Hope today, I saw two Monarch Butterflies along Highway 28 and two more in the town of Port Hope. One was arriving from having probably just crossed Lake Ontario. I also had a Monarch on Purple Coneflower blooms in our garden on July 2. | Highway 28 south and Port Hope | Drew Monkman |
| June 28, 2010 | Today I heard my first cicada of the summer calling. This is the earliest I've ever heard these insects call. | Edmison Heights Public School, Royal Drive | Drew Monkman |
| June 28, 2010 | My wife Dale & I went out for a boat ride on Buckhorn Lake. As we passed through Harrington Narrows and just past Curve Lake there is a small island where the Trent Severn Waterway splits into two directions. We noticed a big bird perched on a dead tree. I stopped the boat, and we confirmed that the bird in the tree was definitely a Bald Eagle! Unfortunately we hadn't brought our camera. After awhile, we saw the Eagle take off. What a sight! | Buckhorn Lake | Robb and Dale Wood |
| June 21, 2010 | Purple Coneflower and Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) are now in bloom in some neighbourhood gardens. At least one variety of hosta has been flowering for several days now. | Westbrook Drive, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 18, 2010 |
Eastern Bluebirds are nesting in Smith-Ennismore Township. There must be young in the nest, given the amount of food the parents are delivering. Images of the birds can be seen at: http://www.glenallenphotography.com/p202720605 |
Smith-Ennismore Township | Glen Alen |
| June 17, 2010 | American Toad tadpoles, that we raised in the classroom, have now reached the adult stage and no longer show any tail at all. They are about 1/2" in length and very dark in colour with a few lighter speckles. | eggs were laid on a pool tarp on McCrae Drive in Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 16, 2010 | Lilies, such as Tiger and Stella d'Oro, are now in bloom. Local strawberries are ripe, as well, a full two weeks ahead of the average date, according to the owner of Caza Berry Farm. | Edmison Heights Public School, Marina Blvd. | Drew Monkman |
| June 15, 2010 | We have a pair of trumpeter swans on Kent's Bay. They are nesting in the swampy end of the Bay! We would certainly like to see them come back, even with their bugling during the wee hours of the day. | Kent's Bay, Otonabee River, near Hiawatha First Nation | Sharon Simpkins |
| June 15, 2010 | According to the website "Science Daily" (June 11, 2010) — A warmer Arctic climate is influencing the air pressure at the North Pole and shifting wind patterns on our planet. We can expect more cold and snowy winters in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America. Continued rapid loss of sea ice will be an important driver of major change in the world's climate system in the years to come. "While the emerging impact of greenhouse gases is an important factor in the changing Arctic, what was not fully recognised until now is that a combination of an unusual warm period due to natural variability, loss of sea ice reflectivity, ocean heat storage and changing wind patterns working together has disrupted the memory and stability of the Arctic climate system, resulting in greater ice loss than earlier climate models predicted," says Dr Overland. "The exceptional cold and snowy winter of 2009-2010 in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America is connected to unique physical processes in the Arctic," he says | http://www.sciencedaily.com | |
| June 11, 2010 | Common Milkweed is in bloom. On average, we see the first blooms around July 1st! | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 10, 2010 | We now have two pairs of American Robins nesting in our yard. One nest is in a Burning Bush along the east side of the house, while the other nest is under the soffit on a nesting platform on the south side of the house - maybe 60 feet away! | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 6, 2010 | Aerial insectivores are doing well around here. I have one or more pairs of whip-poor-wills singing nitely. | Western end of Zion Line, near Millbrook | Jim Lloyd |
| June 8, 2010 | The Canada (Common) Elderberry in our yard has started blooming, at least three weeks ahead of average date. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 28, 2010 | This evening I heard a Common Nighthawk, my first of the spring in Peterborough. Black Locust and Ox-eye Daisy are in full bloom, a full two weeks ahead of their average flowering date. Black Cherry has already finished blooming! | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 22, 2010 | A good sized Black Bear (looked like a female) was taking a drink at a very small pond on the north side of County Road 8 near Side Road 5, close to the village of Douro this afternoon. We watched as it drank then stood on its hind legs observing us before sauntering slowly back into the bush behind the house. | County Road 8 near Side Road 5, close to the village of Douro | Ann and Larry |
| May 21, 2010 | We have seen a great crested flycatcher several times this week on Birchview Rd. near McCrackens Landing. | McCrackens Landing, Stoney Lake | Lynne and Len Cotton |
| May 13, 2010 | This morning, there were 6 Black Terns at the Lakefield Marsh. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| May 12, 2010 | Today, I was birding just off of Stewart Line, west of County Rd. 10. At least three Blue-winged Warblers were calling and seemingly on territory. | Stewart Line | Drew Monkman |
| May 11, 2010 | We observed a large flock of barn swallows adjacent to a hay field and forest edge a few kms outside village of Bethany last early evening just as the sun was setting - perhaps as many as a hundred barn swallows swooped in the sky above us presumably gobbling up insects in the air between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. | Bethany | Gilles d'Agenais |
| May 7, 2010 | This evening at about 19:15, Don Sutherland and I noted a large number (150+) of Chimney Swifts swirling about over Charlotte St. in Peterborough. By 19:25, virtually all of them had entered a chimney in the White House Hotel on Charlotte St. It was quite an impressive sight to see a large number of Chimney Swifts zipping into this chimney at high speed. Bill Crins | Charlotte Street, Peterborough | Bill Crins |
| May 8, 2010 | This morning, I visited the Cavan Swamp Wildlife Area (North side off of Parkhill/1st Line). A Rose-breasted Grosbreak, Purple Finches (male and two females), Kingfisher, Yellow Warbler, and a Sora (heard) were observed. Three male Bobolinks and several Kestrels were also seen on 5th Line East of Chemong. | Parkhill Road west | Robert Craig |
| May 7, 2010 | Blue-headed Vireo in the Warsaw Caves CA. Canada Geese goslings on Sawyer’s Creek at Duoro 3rd Line. | Warsaw area | Tony Bigg |
| May 6, 2010 | Today's high winds, which made cycling a head -down ride, probably concentrated a large flock of swallows at Omemee pond. Five species were present with Tree Swallows being most numerous and good numbers of Barns as well. 3 Caspian Terns also struggled in the wind. Bill McCord | Omemee | Bill McCord |
| May 6, 2010 | Bruce Kidd, a farmer in Douro/Dummer Township reports that his full complement of 30-40 Barn and Tree Swallows have now returned. | Douro/Dummer Townships | Bruce Kidd |
| May 4, 2010 | Solitary Sandpiper in a small pond on the Blezard/Villiers lines section of the old rail trail in the south of the county. Upland Sandpiper back in their usual fields on Cty Rd 38 north of Hwy 7. A good number of Bank Swallows in the gravel pits on Cameron Line just north of Cty Rd 2 | various | Tony Bigg |
| May 4, 2010 | Clouded Sulphur on the Blezard/Villiers rail trail. Silvery Blue on the Blezard/Cameron rail trail. | Blezard Line | Tony Bigg |
| May 3, 2010 | I saw a Red Admiral butterfly alight on our purple sandcherry at the patio. (Note: I have also seen 3 or 4 Red Admirals in our yard this spring. It may be a flight year for them. They do not show up every year.) | Peterborough? | Michael Ecob |
| May 1, 2010 | Sugar Maple leaves are mostly fully open. Lilac almost in full bloom, too. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 30, 2010 | Butterflies: –Chryxus Arctic, Hoary Elfin on Sandy Lake Rd., Dreamy Duskywing on FR 68, Juvenal’s Duskywing on Hubble Rd, Olympia Marble on Sandy Lake Rd, FR 68, and Hubble Rd. | Various | Tony Bigg |
| April 18, 2010 | Red Trillium, White Trillium, and Blue Cohosh were almost in full bloom today near Buckley's Lake. This is at least three weeks earlier than the average flowering date. | 5th Line of Douro | Drew Monkman |
| April 13, 2010 | Three Fox Sparrows were feeding on the ground under my feeder today. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| April 12, 2010 | Today, I found a West Virginia White Butterfly on Charlie Allen Rd. (north of Flynn’s Corner on Cty Rd 507). | Buckhorn | Tony Bigg |
| April 12, 2010 | My husband and I (both experienced birders who have seen peregrines elsewhere in Canada) saw a Peregrine Falcon flying northward over our home on Old Young's Point Road today around supper time. The tail and wing shapes were distinctive as was the wingbeat pattern. In addition, my husband had his binoculars with him and was able to confirm the sighting. He was not able to say if it was Eastern or Western race, however. | Old Young's Point Road | Sheryl Smith |
| April 12, 2010 | This morning I found the remains of an Opossum on Crescent Street in Peterborough. | Peterborough | Ken Rumble |
| April 11, 2010 | Lori and I walked the dogs in Petroglyphs Provincial Park at around mid-day today, It was a cool start (@5C), but was getting warm by the time we returned to the car. The highlight was two Pine Warblers singing near the park gate at Northey’s Bay Rd. (Al Dextrase reported hearing a probable PIWA earlier in the week in Peterborough). Other birds included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Chipping Sparrow, and Purple Finch (several). Three Mourning Cloak butterflies and many bee flies (almost all Bombylius major) were the conspicuous insects. Good choruses of Midland Chorus Frog (many locations) and Northern Leopard Frog (mainly in the large beaver pond west of the park entrance). Don Sutherland | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| April 11, 2010 | I saw a Savannah Sparrow today on the fence alongside the ”Quarry” golf club west of the causeway at Bridgenorth. | Bridgenorth | Tony Bigg |
| April 11, 2010 | There was a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in the trees above our house today at noon. We're located on Fireroute 40 near 6 Foot Bay Resort. They are the first I've seen here. Merlins come and go regularly. Also, I had a single sandhill crane flying over the Gannon Narrows Bridge on Saturday morning. | Buckhorn | Toni Sinclair |
| April 11, 2010 | I heard my first Common Loon of the year today on Lake Katchewanooka. | Lake Katchewanooka | Sheryl Smith |
| April 11, 2010 | On Sunday, April 11, about 30 people took part in the first PFN Sunday Morning Bird Walk of the spring. We first of all went to the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary where we saw and/or heard a good variety of species including Ring-necked Duck, Eastern Phoebe, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Field Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and large numbers of Tree Swallows at the boxes. On April 10th, an Eastern Bluebird was perched on one of the boxes, but we could not find it on Sunday. Afterwards, most of the group went up to the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons where the most noteworthy birds were Bufflehead (30+), Common Goldeneye (4), Ring-necked Duck (6), Lesser Scaup (8), Mallard, Gadwall (2), and Blue-winged Teal (2). | Trent University/Lakefield | PFN |
| April 9, 2010 | I watched 4 or 5 dozen swallows today in Lakefield, skimming around low over the water near the mouth of the river, opposite Isabel Morris Park. There was a strong, cold, west wind and it was overcast. I've recorded their arrival for 7 years, and this is the earliest. 2004 was April 13. I also record the first blooming of Coltsfoot at the bottom of my road. This year it was March 31. In 2007 it was April 20 ! | Lakefield | Judith Nicholas |
| April 8, 2010 | Albeit not rare and around for about a week now, there were 63 Tree Swallows hunting over the river and sitting on a powerline at Trent University yesterday. Seemed like a noteworthy sized flock to me. | Trent University | Ben Walters |
| April 8, 2010 | I had a Cabbage White (April 3) and a Spring Azure in my garden (April 6). This brings the county total to 8 species so far this year (Eastern, Green and Gray Commas, Compton’s and Milbert’s Tortoiseshells, Mourning Cloak are te others). Flowers: Coltsfoot has been in bloom for a while now. Others I noted yesterday are Whitlow-Grass (parking lot in Lakefield), Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Charlie Allen Rd), Common Field-Speedwell (garden), and Leatherwood (Charlie Allen Rd). Birds: I had a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in my yard on April 6 and another today on the old rail trail section between Villiers & Settlers Lines. I also had a pair of Blue-winged Teal on the same section. Yesterday I found a Rusty Blackbird on Charlie Allen Rd, and I also watched a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in my son’s garden in Lakefield. I saw one Sandhill Crane fly overhead on April 2 on County Rd 44, and photographed a pair at the junction of Birdsall Rd and Lakeshore Rd. on April 4. | various | Tony Bigg |
| April 7, 2010 | The first Chipping Sparrow of the year made a visit to one of our feeders. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| April 5, 2010 | Northeys Bay Road - Lots of amphibian activity during the rainy evening. Hundreds of Spring Peepers, dozens of leopard frogs, a few Grey Tree Frogs found on the roads. Also found 1 Red Eft (terrestrial juvenile Eastern Newt), and several Blue Spotted Salamanders and Spotted Salamanders. | Northeys Bay Road | Stewart Stick |
| April 5, 2010 | After an Easter Weekend with temperatures in the 20's, Hepatica was in bloom in our garden. Bloodroot, too, was almost in full bloom. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| April 4, 2010 | Yesterday morning we saw a Northern Goshawk circle over the canal at the Trent U Nature area. It landed in a wooded area on the West side of the canal. We also saw a Northern Shrike that has been singing for the past two weeks. Some of the other birds we saw were: Tree Swallows, Belted Kingfishe,r Osprey, Bufflehead, Hooded and Common Merganser, Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, and Eastern Phoebe. | Trent University | Luke Berg |
| April 4, 2010 | Burnham Woods - E.Garter Snakes are out and I've observed several breeding balls. | Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park | Stewart Stick |
| April 3, 2010 | The noisy merlins have returned to Nicholls Park, hopefully to nest again. This morning the male osprey was doing the sky dance flight high above the nest at the soccer field on Ashburnham. He was so high I probably wouldn't have noticed him except for the contant calling he was doing. The female cardinal is busy gathering nesting material and is building in one of the spruces. | Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| April 3, 2010 | This morning in the swamp next to the Otonabee on the Mervin Line (the road north of the airport) I found 4 species of woodpecker including a male red-bellied excavating a hole. It was also calling repeatedly. I saw one here last spring as well. (downy, hairy, flicker were the other three). There were also several male rusty blackbirds foraging in the flooded forest along with the red-winged blackbirds and grackles. There were also robins, goldinches, w-b nuthatches, brown creeper, song sparrows and lots of leopard frogs. At the river was a bufflehead and several common mergansers. Scott | Mervin Line | Scott McKinlay |
| April 3, 2010 | We took the dogs for a walk in Petroglyphs Provincial Park this morning. En route, we saw an Osprey flying up the Otonabee River at McDonnel St. In the park, there were lots of Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Dark-eyed Junco, and Red-breasted Nuthatch singing. We also saw a single Eastern Phoebe, and heard two Northern Flicker calling. Two Evening Grosbeak were heard calling in flight overhead. We also saw four Compton’s Tortoiseshells, 3 Commas, a single Mourning Cloak and 2 Archieris infans (The Infant – day-flying moth). There were lots of Wood Frogs, Chorus Frogs, and Spring Peepers calling at a number of locations and several ponds with a dozen or more Midland Painted Turtles each. Leaving the park, there was an Eastern Garter Snake alive-on-road on Northey’s Bay Rd. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| April 3, 2010 | This morning I took my dog for a walk along the old rail trail between Base Line and David Fife Line in the south of the county. The sun was just rising as I arrived and the area was alive with birdsong. Three Wilson’s Snipes were calling, doing their display flights, and one was even sitting on top of a Hydro pole. Two pairs of Osprey were disputing ownership of a nest right at the start of this section of the trail (east end). A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was doing its characteristic drumming on a dead tree, and several Eastern Meadowlarks were sitting up , singing, and taking in the first warm rays of the rising sun. A male Northern Harrier was coursing the open fields, two American Kestrels were sitting on the wires, and Killdeers were calling. Along the trail I saw one Ruffed Grouse and heard four others drumming. Whilst ‘pishing’ out two Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Fox Sparrow popped into view. Eastern Phoebes had taken up a couple of stations along the way, Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers were active in the trees. The high pitched calls of the Golden-crowned Kinglets could be heard in the cedars and a helpful pair foraged in the top of an open tree. On the route home I added two Tree Swallows, a Swamp Sparrow singing, and even the now common Turkey Vultures perched kindly right above the road in a dead tree. What a lovely Easter present!! | southern Peterborough County | Tony Bigg |
| April 2, 2010 | Jerry Ball and I found an Eastern Garter Snake today on Sandy Lake Rd. | Sandy Lake Road, south of Lasswade, Ontario | Tony Bigg |
| April 2, 2010 | There was a male yellow-bellied sapsucker in Cavan Woods (Cavan), as well as a group of golden-crowned kinglets. I also glimpsed a thrush, which I assume to be a hermit thrush, but did not get much of a look. Also mourning cloaks. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| April 1, 2010 | Today, with 21 C temperatures, the first Coltsfoot bloomed in our garden. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| March 31, 2010 | Last night, in the flooded fields at the southern edge of Lakefield, a few Chorus Frogs were calling. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 31, 2010 | This morning, there were two Fox Sparrows, at least one of which was singing, near the viewing tower at the Lakefield Marsh. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 31, 2010 | Today at 8:00 a.m.at the Trent Nature Area along the canal, there were 1 Tree Swallow, 2 American Wigeons and 1 Great Blue Heron. | Peterborough | Luke Berg |
| March 27, 2010 | I just got back from walking my dogs in the Trent Nature Area (canal side) and saw a Northern Mockingbird. | Peterborougn | Luke Berg |
| March 24, 2010 | Just after 8:00 a.m. this morning I watched a flock of Wild Turkey browsing in a field off of Driscoll Road in the city’s south east end. There were 13 birds in the flock with one dominant Tom who appeared intent on corralling his hens away from several juvenile males. When I came into view the females ignored me and continued foraging - the large male stopped feeding as he warily tracked me walking down the road. It brought back memories of being chased and embarrassed, a few years ago, by a big pet Tom that belonged to a friend of mine who keeps several pens on Base Line Road. | Driscoll Road, Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| March 24, 2010 | This morning, in the fields at the southern edge of Lakefield, there were three Eastern Meadowlarks singing. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 18, 2010 | Today, I saw a group of 5 Tundra Swans on Chemong Lake on the Ennismore side of the causeway. | Chemong Lake | Colin Jones |
| March 17, 2010 | This morning, my son Shan and I saw a Milbert's Tortoiseshell at the Lakefield Sewage Ponds. There were also 20 Ring-billed Gulls. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 16, 2010 | Today, my kids and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed up to Petroglyphs Provincial Park and had the following of note: Killdeer - one flying overhead; calling Brown Creeper - at least 6 in song along the main road; Red Crossbill - one calling in flight; Compton Tortoiseshell - this is the first butterfly I have seen this year; Big Brown Bat - one flying over Hwy 28 at Woodview | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Colin Jones |
| March 15, 2010 | This morning, a Song Sparrow was singing near the viewing tower at the Lakefield Marsh. Also, about 25 Red-winged Blackbirds were scattered throughout the marsh singing. The same number were also present on Friday (up from the 2 seen on Thursday). | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 12, 2010 | Today I saw about a dozen Common Grackles in several small flocks. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 11, 2010 | At 9:00 am this morning I saw two male Red-winged Blackbirds taking up their posts on the cattails in the Lakefield Marsh. A pair of Merlin was flying around the campsite with the male calling. A Killdeer flew overhead, also vocal. Four male and one female Hooded Mergansers, and a Pied-billed Grebe were on the lake. And the pair of adult Bald Eagles could be seen sitting by their nest out on the island. A Downy Woodpecker was drumming on a dead tree branch, Mallards and Canada Geese were already paired up looking for nesting areas. Spring is here! | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| March 11, 2010 | We had a Common Grackle at our feeder in southeast Peterborough this morning. (Note: Colin Jones also reported a grackle today from Lakefield. Temperatures today reached 14 C.) | Peterborough | Vic Henderson |
| March 10, 2010 | Today, I was in the upper parking lot of St. John's Anglican Church on Brock St and noticed that a picnic table below a tree was covered with wood chips and up the tree was a Pileated Woodpecker. He had removed the bark for about 12 inches up the limb and about 7 inches wide ! This was about 9 am . I watched him for 5 minutes, took his picture and he just continued to make the chips fly! At about 2 pm I returned and he was still at it, only he had cut a hole 12 inches x 7 inches x 7 in.deep and was still working away .I went home and brought my wife to have a look and he was stiil at it at 2.30 pm - what stamina ! must of had a head ache or a sore neck. I took a picture with his head in the hole! | Peterborough | Bob Hinton |
| March 8, 2010 | A lone, adult Ring-billed Gull was flying above Edmison Heights School this afternoon. It is the first I've seen this "pre-spring." | Marina Blvd, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 7, 2010 | I heard my first Mourning Dove of the year calling this morning. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 6, 2010 | Today, I saw a lone Sandhill Crane land right near the junction of the Old Keene Rd. (Cty Rd.#8) and County Road #2. It never made a sound, but it was neat to watch it glide in for a landing. | Keene | Rick Stankiewicz |
| March 6, 2010 | Birding conditions are excellent at Presqu'ile Provincial Park these days, with open water in much of Presqu'ile Bay as far inland as the calf pasture. There are several vantage points along Bayshore Road from which concentrations of waterfowl may be observed with minimal disturbance to the birds. Judging from the long-range weather forecast, hundreds of new migrants should appear this weekend. | Brighton, Ontario | Fred Helleiner |
| March 4, 2010 | Since Christmas I have had almost daily visits of a male Pileated Woodpecker to the suet in my yard. I live in a country setting with bush on either side. | Woodville | Ann Boyd |
| March 2, 2010 | Today, on Nassau Road in Peterborough, there were 100 Bohemian Waxwings. The Merlins are back at my house (near Inverlea Park), too. | Peterborough | Luke Berg |
| February 28, 2010 | Wow! I sighted a Bald Eagle today in the Young's Point area. It was in a grove of trees on the north side of Young's Point Road, just before Preston Road. The trees are on a hill and beside a farm with a brick bungalow. I was fortunate to have my camera with me, although I was some distance from this magnificent bird. | Young's Point | Deb Giroux |
| February 28, 2010 | Today, at around noon, I saw two Red-tailed Hawks out my back window sitting in a White Pine. | University Heights Blvd | Myranda Hawthorne |
| February 28, 2010 | This morning, I spotted two River Otters out on Buckhorn Lake. Looks like they may have been fishing near an unfrozen section of the causeway near Buckhorn village when a Common Raven arrived. One of the otters spent a few minutes shooing the raven away, who seemed very interested in whatever nibbles the otters had dragged onto the ice. | Buckhorn | Enzo DiMatteo |
| February 28, 2010 | Just an update on birds at my feeders. The Cooper's Hawk continues to harass my regulars, particularly the Mourning Doves. I have seen him chase them but have not seen him catch anything. I have American Robins from time to time and the Fox Sparrow continues to visit. | 1338 Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| February 25, 2010 | Using a trail video camera, Janet Flint was able to record a pack of three Coyotes making a nocturnal visit to her cottage property on Chemong Lake. She could hear them at times but never really thought that they would be on the property. She also has a Black-capped Chickadee with an entirely white head that has been coming to the feeder at the cottage for four years now! | Chemong Lake | Janet Flint |
| February 21, 2010 | Pre-nesting activity has begun at the House Sparrow nesting box in our backyard. We observed the female sparrow this morning "cleaning house." She was taking "beakfulls" of old nesting material from the nest, and then flying up to a nearby branch where she would drop the bits of grass and feathers to the ground. In the meantime, the male sat on top of the box and watched the proceedings. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| February 17, 2010 | This evening, I saw a Red Fox crossing Nassau Mills Rd. while I was coming home from the Trent pool. I spotted it at 8:33p.m. | Nassau Mills Road, Trent University | Myranda Hawthorne |
| February 14, 2010 | Early this morning I was walking on McNamara Road south of the city when I encountered a large flock of Snow Buntings. They wheeled and soared over the field putting on quite a show. When they landed on the snow-covered ground they seemed to disappear all together. They would then spring into view again after a few seconds and do it all over again – quite a sight!! | McNamara Road, Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| February 14, 2010 | Four Wild Turkeys emerged from our neighbour's backyard and slowly made their way along the frozen shore before venturing out across the open ice, first to a tiny island some 300 metres away, and from there on to the other side of the lake. A bizarre sight! | Buckhorn Lake, behind Buckhorn Lane North | Enzo DiMatteo |
| February 13, 2010 | Today at noon, I heard my first Northern Cardinal in song for 2010. I also heard a report of a bird that was singing on Feb. 9th in the city. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| February 11, 2010 | At about 1:00 p.m., I was able to watch a Barred Owl in Burnham’s woods. I have seen several of these owls so far in 2010 in roughly the same location near the top of the trail just before the downhill section of the path. I know there is more than one due to the differences in size. | Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park, Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| February 7, 2010 | Today, my wife and I saw a Northern Hawk Owl behind house no. 232 in Bailieboro on County Road 28. Later in the afternoon, it was perched on a telephone wire just north of the village. | Bailieboro, ON | Drew Monkman |
| January 29, 2010 | I saw an adult Bald Eagle circling over the river just below the Hunter Street Bridge this morning around 10:00 a.m. | downtown Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| January 27, 2010 | A single Bald Eagle has been observed the last 2 days flying around upper Buckhorn Lake close to the village. | Buckhorn, Ontario | Derry Fairweather |
| January 25, 2010 |
A pair of Bald Eagles has been turning up regularly on the Otonabee River below Lock 19 in the vicinity of Cameron and Park streets. They are regularly seen hunting ducks (mallards) which are quite abundant in this sector of the river. The eagles swoop down on the ducks which dive underwater to escape. However, eventually one of the ducks will tire and get scooped up in the talons of one of the eagles. The birds then proceed to pluck them apart on the ice. A crow fell prey to the eagles recently, as well. Last winter, as many as five eagles turned up in this area at once. |
Cameron Street at the Otonabee River | Bob Thompson |
| January 25, 2010 | A male Red-bellied Woodpecker has been at our feeder all winter. The bird only used to pass through in the spring and fall, but this winter he has stayed. |
Westview Drive, "The Glen" Pigeon Lake south |
Blair Hamilton |
| January 24, 2010 | I just had another visit from a Cooper's Hawk. It comes regularly in early winter and early spring but this is the first time I have spotted it in January. | 1338 Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| January 23, 2010 | I have a Fox Sparrow coming to my platform feeder that is about a foot off the ground. It is a large sparrow with heavy, russet streaking converging to a messy spot on its chest. The tail is russet. When it feeds, it kicks its feet backward in the pile of seeds I have put out. (This species is usually only seen briefly during fall and spring migration and almost never in winter. D.M.) | 1338 Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| January 22, 2010 | From Oct. 11, 2009 until today I have again seen a female Red-bellied Woodpecker on 63 different days. The sightings were all in my yard or at the feeders. She is feeding on suet and sunflower seeds. | South Monaghan township, about 2.5 km south-east of Squirrel Creek Conservation Area | David Harries |
| January 21, 2010 | I have now received reports of Red-bellied Woodpeckers that are coming to feeders in the Keene area, Hiawatha, Millbrook, lower Pigeon Lake, and Cordova Lake near Havelock. |
Keene area Hiawatha Cordova Lake Larmer Line, Millbrook Lower Pigeon Lake |
Michael Gillespie Leah Johnson Betty Maker Wayne Stovell Blair Hamilton |
| January 20, 2010 | There were 300 Bohemian Waxwings, 100 meters west of the 911 sign for 1468 7th line of Smith-Ennismore, Lakefield Township at 1 p.m. today. The trees were full. We returned at 3:45 and none were seen. No doubt they are not far away. Directions - From central Peterborough go north on Water St. Outside of town it becomes Lakefield Rd. At the 7th line turn left or west. Cross Buckhorn Rd almost immediately. Continue to #1468 and look around. | Lakefield | Bob and Mary Hartley |
| January 11, 2010 | Today, my mother and I saw a Great Horned Owl at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary when we took the dogs for an early morning walk. | Trent Wildlife Sanctuary, University Drive | Luke Berg |
| January 9, 2010 | While out for a walk this past Saturday in some woods just east of Peterborough, I spotted a magnificent Great Gray Owl. It seemed to very much at ease while watching me take pictures of it! During the 10 minutes or so that I watched the owl from quite close range, it divided its attention between watching me and scanning the area around us, looking for any signs of movement from potential meals! | east of Peterborough | Ed Lukaszewicz |
| January 6, 2010 | We have a Northen Mockingbird coming to our feeder regularly. | 1092 Sharpe Line, R.R.#3 Cavan | Verna Windrem |
| January 6, 2010 | Today I had a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in the yard. | Merino Dr., Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| January 2, 2010 | A Northern Goshawk came to check out our very active feeders on New Years Day . Happy New Year from Warsaw. | Warsaw | Maureen Smith |
2009 |
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| December 24, 2009 | A Red-bellied Woodpecker has been a regular visitor to our suet hanging on Dec.23 and 24th. | 2 miles east of Keene | Michael Gillespie |
| December 23, 2009 | Today at 1:10 p.m. we saw an adult Bald Eagle soaring over the Otonabee River near the Trent University rowing club. | Trent University | Jennifer Budgell and Luke and Noah Berg |
| December 22, 2009 | A Red-bellied Woodpecker that was visiting my feeder here in Warsaw in November has shown up again. We include corn in our feed and it seems to prefer that to anything else. | Warsaw | Maureen Smith |
| December 21, 2009 | This afternoon at 2:50 PM we saw a juvenile Golden Eagle flying SW over the Trent Nature Area (parking lot side)! | Trent Nature Area | Luke Berg and Jennifer Budgell |
| December 21, 2009 | Another drama is unfolding on the south shore in Hamilton Bay. A number of deer (6-8) ran out on the ice and then hit a large patch of late freezing perfectly smooth ice. They seem unable to get back on their hooves. The ice is questionable or I'd slide them off. I skated out to the loon location...a 3 metre circle of newly formed ice. No feathers but my guess is that the eagles plucked them from the water and flew away with them. | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| December 20, 2009 |
Peterborough Christmas Bird Count Highlights: A total of 51 species was found, plus 2 count period birds so far. New species – American Wigeon (It was seen at Driscoll Cottages, south of Peterborough.) Record number for species – Wild Turkey (87), Common Raven (5), White-brested Nuthatch (95) Equals record for species – Pied-billed Grebe (1), Ring-necked Duck (1), Cooper’s Hawk (5), Merlin (2), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2) Other species of interest included Bald Eagle (1), Red-tailed Hawk (39), White-throated Sparrow (1) and Brown Creeper (3). There were no Purple Finch, Pine Grosbeak, redpolls, siskins or crossbills. |
Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| December 19, 2009 | A deer carcass at Boschink Narrows had 4 coyotes, 3 eagles and a whole host of ravens and crows on it today. | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| December 15, 2009 | Today, we had a pair of Hooded Mergansers on the Indian River near 395 Sawmill Road, just north of the Warsaw Caves. We do have them in the spring and throughout the summer with their young, but they usually don't linger this late in the fall. | Warsaw | Jane Bremner |
| December 14, 2009 | Today there are two Common Loons trapped in a very small area of open water near the centre of Stony Lake. Two Bald Eagles are on the ice edge and are repeatedly trying to catch them. The loons quickly dive but I expect this will end badly for the loons. | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| December 11, 2009 | While in the Co-Op in Grafton a gentleman was discussing the sighting of a Cougar in the yard of a neighbour on Lyle St. | Grafton (east of Cobourg) | reported by Steven Watson |
| Dates of Christmas Bird Counts | The dates for the two local Christmas Bird Counts are Sunday, December 20th, Peterborough CBC, and Sunday, December 27th, Petroglyphs CBC. I would ask participants to let me know as soon as possible if they are available for either or both. As usual the compilations will be at Kelsey’s, opposite the Canadian Tire plaza on Landsdowne St. at 5:00p.m. Contact me at tanddbigg@sympatico.com or phone 1-705-652-7541. Newcomers to the area, and newcomers to birding, are welcome to participate. | Peterborough Area | Coordinator: Tony Bigg |
| November 22, 2009 | Activity of at our feeder has hit the annual November doldrums. Apart from the chickadees, all I'm seeing is half a dozen juncoes, a pair of Blue Jays, a Downy Woodpecker, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and two or three American Goldfinch. On Friday, a Cooper's Hawk made a brief appearance | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| November 21, 2009 | I saw my first Bald Eagle of the season today. It lumbered down the centre of the main body of Lower Stony Lake. We also have a flock of Evening Grosbeaks feeding on the stags of the sumacs. | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| November 20, 2009 | Today, at about 11:00 a.m., there was a Cackling Goose on the Otonabee River across from Peterborough Manor on Water Street. | Water Street | Luke Berg |
| November 12, 2009 | Today, there is a single Snow Goose hanging out with a large group of Canada Geese immediately above Lock 23 on the Otonabee River between Trent and Lakefield. | Otonabee River | Colin Jones |
| November 5, 2009 | I had an Osprey (adult) just downriver from Hastings today. Also a Great Blue Heron and two Hooded Mergansers. | Hastings | Geoff Carpentier |
| November 2, 2009 | Today I saw a Northern Shrike at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary. | Trent University | Luke Berg |
| October 25, 2009 | Today, at about 9:30 a.m. I saw a Cackling Goose mixed in with a group of Canada Geese on the Otonabee River under the Inverlea bridge on Parkhill Road east. | Parkhill Road and Otonabee River | Luke Berg |
| October 24, 2009 | Only a couple of White-throated Sparrows remain in our yard. However, junco numbers have increased to nearly a dozen. | Maple Cres, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| October 17, 2009 | On my walk today along the rail-trail from Jackson Park to Ackison Road, I saw and heard a number of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Dark-eyed Juncos, and White-throated Sparrows. One Rusty Blackbird flew over, making its "squeaky clothesline" call. Later, I saw a large flock of American Robins at Wallis and Parkhill. Two female Purple Finch have been visiting our feeder in recent days, in addition to several White-throats and Juncos. | Trans-Canada Trail | Drew Monkman |
| October 9, 2009 | This morning I watched a Sora walking around and feeding on water lily pads in the Lakefield Marsh. Nothing too unusual in that – but then the Sora swam across from one clump of lilies to the next. I have never seen a rail swimming before. Yesterday the same marsh and area had 3 Blue-winged Teal, 9 Wood Ducks, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Loon, White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and only one warbler- a Yellow-rumped Warbler. | Lakefield Marsh | Tony Bigg |
| October 8, 2009 | White-throated Sparrows are passing through our area in large numbers right now. We have a dozen or so in our backyard every day. I always make a point of spreading sunflower seeds on the grass at this time of year. Once you learn their high-pitched call note, you'll start hearing it everywhere these days. The first Dark-eyed Juncos are also arriving. I saw two yesterday morning. Today, I also saw a late Monarch Butterfly. It was flying due south. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| September 27, 2009 | Today, we saw our first Snapping Turtle hatchling of the year. It may have been from a clutch that we saw deposited in our gravel driveway on June 19, though it was raided by (presumably) a raccoon. We protected what was left (which wasn't much) with some wire netting over the top but the area shows no obvious sign of emergence. We saw none last year but our first encounter with newly hatched snapping turtles was two years ago when we saw seven over a few days safely making their way to the river. Inevitably they were recorded in my wife's journal as Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful and Doc! | Sawmill Road, North Dummer Township | Peter & Stephenie Armstrong |
| September | We trapped a live Opossum in Peterborough this month at Milltown Mini Golf behind the Swiss Chalet on Lansdowne Street. We had the trap set to catch skunks and we cought the Opossum instead. I let it go where we trapped it because they don't seem to be a threat of any kind. It was very timid and didn't want to leave the trap. We left it alone and finally after more that one hour it left the trap. | Peterborough | Barry Cross |
| September 19, 2009 | According to climatologist Dave Philllips of Environment Canada, the 19-day dry spell we have just had has been the driest September period on record for Peterborough. He also said that the past summer was only a degree cooler than normal and that rain was only 5% more than usual. | Peterborough | Environment Canada |
| September 15, 2009 | Late afternoon in our yard at Sawmill Road a gaggle of five Ruffed Grouse (greys), presumably a fully grown young brood, casually and calmly ambling across the short grass for a few minutes before the one in the vanguard scuttled off into the sedge and longer grasses to be followed in similar skittish fashion by the other four, though each in turn and in its own time. | Sawmill Road, North Dummer Township | Peter & Stephenie Armstrong |
| September 15, 2009 | The foxes have returned to the fairways of the Peterborough Golf and Country Club after an eight to ten week absence. They are resplendent in their developing Fall coats and look fit to take on the coming change of season. We watched one as it stalked some black squirrels that were foraging near the giant oak tree on the first fairway. The fox crept stealthily towards the squirrels, keeping the large trunk of the oak between himself and his potential prey. When he was spotted he ran on a tangent towards a small tree that was adjacent to the oak in an attempt to cut off any squirrels that attempted to flee in its direction. We could see that the fox was still using the large oak to block the sight lines that any of the squirrels might have as they veered towards the smaller tree. When they did see the fox they were now caught out in the open and had to make it back to the oak before the fox could run them down. We thought he had one of the squirrels until it managed to out manoeuvre the fox in a lightning ground chase. He managed to escape by jumping at the last possible moment onto the trunk of the oak. It was a close call for sure and the squirrels showed their anxiety by loudly protesting from the braches above. The fox’s strategy had almost worked – that little squirrel had the fright of his life and we got to see why “cunning” is such an apt term to describe the Red Fox! | Peterborough Golf and Country Club | Ross Jamieson |
| September 14, 2009 | There must have been considerable migration overnight because a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, four Purple Finch, four White-throated Sparrows, a Tennesee Warbler, and two Magnolia Warblers, turned up in our yard this morning. | Maple Cr, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| September 12, 2009 | Bird contact calls in the night sky were very noticeable this evening at about 10:00 p.m. There were obviously a lot of migrants passing overhead. | Maple Cr, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| September 1, 2009 | At about 7:15 this morning I watched a black wolf canter up the street and into a field just south of my home on Ojibway Dr. N. in Burleigh Falls. I thought I may have been seeing things, but I watched it for a few minutes as it casually explored then moved off to the east and into the forest. | Burleigh Falls | Linda Post |
| August 30, 2009 | Eacles imperialis (Imperial Moth) caterpillar crawling across the cement block patio at our home in Sawmill Road near Warsaw at about midday today. Temporarily posed it with an oak leaf to get some close-up photographs. | Sawmill Rd., Warsaw | Stephenie & Peter Armstrong |
| August 29, 2009 | Migrating warblers have been showing up in our backyard over the past week. This morning, an American Redstart and a Black-throated Green Warbler were present for several hours. Migrating hummingbirds are showing up daily as well. | Maple Cr, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| August 14, 2009 | Three Common Nighthawks flew over our house in Peterborough at 7:00 p.m. this evening, August 14th. They were heading southwest and presumably migrating. | Maple Cr, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| August 10, 2009 | Both a male and a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak have been visiting our feeder in recent days. However, they never come at the same time, making me wonder if the birds are indeed a pair. This is the first time we've had this species at our feeder during the summer months | Maple Cr, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| August 5, 2009 | Today, a Monarch Butterfly turned up in our backyard garden for the first time this year! | Maple Cr, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| August 5, 2009 | Brian Wales had a White-winged Dove in his garden today. He was able to photograph the bird. If you go to see it, give him a call first at 876-9375. | 412 London St. (just east of Park), Peterborough | Brian Wales |
| August 3, 2009 | On July 16, 2009 I found a young Merlin in our backyard, unable to fly. It was on the ground near a neighbour's feeder and I watched him for 30 minutes and no parents came. I picked him up and realized that it was fully fledged and had an injured left wing. I kept him two days and fed him scraps of beef and then transferred him to Dave Ascott, an MNR permitted raptor rehabilitator. Dave fed him, let him fly around and took care of him until today, at which point he called me to tell me the bird was ready to release. I brought it back to the same place where I found it and we opened the cage and away it flew, right back to the area near the feeders. Hopefully it will find some lunch or dinner and continue to terrorize the House Sparrows and Starlings frequenting the feeders. There was at least one nest of Merlin on our street and perhaps nest another closer to Queen Mary School. No shortage around downtown. Once a week I hear their high pitched calls (ki,ki,ki,ki). | Gilmour St. Peterborough | Chris Risley |
| July 30, 2009 | Today, we observed and photographed both a female and male Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis). This large, yellow moth has pinkish-brown patches. It is a member of the silk moth family. The female, which is larger than the male, can have a wingspan of as much as seven inches! | Upper Buckhorn Lake |
Bev & Wally Boam Derry & Nancy Fairweather |
| July 18, 2009 |
The annual Petroglyph Butterfly Count, organized and compiled by Jerry Ball, took place on July 18. Cool, wet weather this spring and summer are the most probable explanations as to why both the number of species and the number of individual butterflies were much lower than usual. 49 species and 2885 individual butterflies were recorded by the 11 participants. In 2008, 57 species were tallied along with 5148 individuals. The following are this year's results: eastern tiger swallow-tail (1), Canadian tiger swallow-tail (2), mustard white (8), cabbage white (22), clouded sulphur (31), pink-edged sulphur (7), bronze copper (2), bog copper (28), Acadian hairstreak (7), coral hairstreak (18), banded hairstreak (2), hickory hairstreak (1), striped hairstreak (1), summer azure (12), great spangled fritillary (32), Aphrodite fritillary (10), Atlantis fritillary (7), pearl crescent (5), northern crescent (145), eastern comma (5), green comma (1), grey comma (4), Compton tortoiseshell (1), mourning cloak (3), American lady (13), white admiral (15), viceroy (1), northern pearly-eye (43), eyed brown (105), Appalachian brown (5), little wood-satyr (1), common wood-nymph (5), monarch (29), silver-spotted skipper (3), columbine duskywing (12), Delaware skipper (14), least skipper (36), European skipper (1888), Peck's skipper (15), tawny-edged skipper (4), crossline skipper (4), long dash (11), northern broken-dash (8), little glasswing (1), Hobomok skipper (2), mulberry wing (20), broad-winged skipper (78), Dion skipper (1), Dun skipper (216) |
Count circle of 15 miles (24 km) in diameter. Centre of circle located in Petroglyph Provincial Park. Area includes Petroglyph Provincial Park, Jack Lake Road, County Road 46, Sandy Lake Road, Northey's Bay Road, etc. | Jerry Ball |
| July 27, 2009 | A Green Heron was observed at Six Foot Bay Golf Course in Buckhorn. | Buckhorn | Pat Edwards |
| July 27, 2009 | I saw two juvenile Sandhill Cranes walking on the alvar just to the south and east of Irwin Inn (south side of Stoney Lake) at 7:30 a.m. today. They were the size of full grown Great Blue Herons, about 4’tall, but BROWN, and walking around in an upland field. | Stoney Lake | Terry Rees |
| July 27, 2009 | Almost every morning at between 7:00 and 8:00 AM our foursome watches a pair of Red Foxes as they make their morning rounds at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club here in Peterborough. They appear to be hunting for the squirrels and rabbits that are common on the grounds, and we frequently see them with captured prey in their mouths. The last tufts of their winter coats have completely disappeared and they are lean and gaunt looking. It is not unusual to have them approach to within 20 feet, giving us cursory glances that briefly interrupt their focus before they continue on their way. | Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| July 27, 2009 | An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail appeared in our garden today, the first of the year. It spent its time on the Purple Coneflower and Joe-Pye Weed. This species flies later in the summer than the very similar Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| July 21, 2009 | I am sitting here, looking out our back window at 4 Red Foxes playing. Three days ago we had one, then two, but tonight there are four. I assume they are this years young but they are quite large. I live in town on Weller Street beside the hospital. In the 60 years my parents have owned this house, there have never been fox here. Fun watching them. | Weller Street, Peterborough | Anne Anthony |
| July 17, 2009 | I found an Eastern Milk Snake curled up in my woodshed (attached to the house) underneath a garbage can. The shed seams to be a favorite spot for snakes. I am located 6 km east of Havelock on Highway 7. | Havelock | Ulrike Kullik |
| July 17, 2009 | I have only twice in my career had the opportunity to come across an endangered species while on my way into work. The first time was about 17 years ago while driving to the East Gate of Algonquin Park and driving up to a Peregrine Falcon standing on the roadway, right on the centreline. Then, this morning at 8:15 a.m., as I walked to Robinson Place in downtown Peterborough and I looked up at the historic Clock Tower in Peterborough Square and there is another Peregrine Falcon! This time I got the pictures to prove it. What a way to start the day! | Peterborough Square | Rick Stankiewicz |
| July 17, 2009 | Today, at Jackson Park, my family and I saw a Red-Tailed Hawk. It was probably guarding its nest which we saw below the hawk. A blue jay was flying to the nest but failed to get there. After that, the jay attacked the hawk by grabbing at its neck and head. The hawk was unhurt and did not seem to care. It was calling for a while before it flew off. | Jackson Park, Peterborough | Riley Young |
| July 9, 2009 | A pair of Merlins have been present in the area of Dufferin and Ross streets for at least the last two months. There is a large nest high up a spruce on the northwest corner of the intersection. Today, my son was able to get a good look at one of them that had splayed itself out on a roof top (sunbathing?). | area of Dufferin and Ross streets in Peterborough | Ivan Bateman |
| June 28, 2009 | Several dozen Showy Lady's-slippers orchids were in full bloom today east of Warsaw. | Warsaw | Drew Monkman |
| June 24, 2009 | This morning at about 7:00 a.m., I saw and heard two Sandhill Cranes. They were calling back and forth. | 4th Line of Douro, half way between Centre Line and the dead-end of the road | Leo Condon |
| June 13, 2009 | A Pine Siskin showed up at our feeder in Peterborough today. It was the first I've seen in the yard in several weeks and a very late sighting for this species. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 11, 2009 | Jerry Ball found an American Avocet today at the Aspinal's Farm on Johnson Dr. Directions: Take Monaghan Road south, under the Bypass. It becomes Johnson Dr when it swings west and follows the bypass. Johnson jogs left, then right and then on the north side opposite house #1111 there are several small ponds in the cow field. The Avocet was in these pond. (N.B. The bird was still there on June 13.) | Johnson Drive, Peterborough | Jerry Ball |
| June 4, 2009 | I heard and saw a Whip-poor-will on the Rotary Trail, just south of Thomas A. Stewart high school today around 9:30 pm. | Peterborough | Ichora |
| June 4, 2009 | At least two pairs of Common Nighthawks were flying over the fields across from Camp Kawartha (east of Camp Line Road and south of Birchview Road) tonight. The males were doing their diving display and producing the whoosing "hoooov" sound at the bottom of each dive. | Clear Lake | Drew Monkman |
| June 4, 2009 | Today, a Virginia Rail skittered across the Rotary Trail ahead of us near the crossing of Douro 8th Concession. | Douro 8th Concession | Jane Bremner |
| May 31, 2009 | Today, we saw two Sandhill Cranes in a farmer's field next to #3211 on County Road 6 (formerly Stoney Lake Rd). | Stoney Lake Road | Lynne and Len Cotton |
| May 31, 2009 | Today, I went for a walk in the Trent University Nature Reserve and saw 1 Northern Mockingbird on the canal side. | Trent University | Luke Berg |
| May 30, 2009 | I had 2 summer adult Sandhill Cranes today just outside of Keene on Cty Rd. 2 in first farm field on left. They are difficult to see as they blend in nicely with the soil from the field. This was at 6:00 pm. | Keene | Sarah Petrasek |
| May 30, 2009 | Blackpoll Warbler singing in the yard this morning | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 28, 2009 | I had a "summer adult" Sandhill Crane today on my property. | 2902 County Road 38, Warsaw | Didi Anderson |
| May 23, 2009 | Migrating Blackpoll Warblers were calling from the trees as hundreds of people milled about at the annual Gilmour Street Garage Sale. | Peterborough | Chris Risley |
| May 14, 2009 | A female Rose-breasted Grosbeak showed up at our feeder today. I also had reports of males today, as well, at two separate feeders in the west end of Peterborough. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 13, 2009 | I saw two Sandhill Cranes today soaring high over Highway 7, just west of Ski Hill Road in Omemee. | Omemee | Gavin Hunter |
| May 10, 2009 | In Cavan Woods this morning, I had 10 new year birds including: male Scarlet Tanager, Vesper Sparrow, Nashville Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, CommonYellowthroat, Ovenbird, Solitary Sandpiper, and Willow Flycatcher ("whit" call). | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| May 7, 2009 | I heard my first American Toads of the year "trilling" this evening in the west end of Peterborough. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 7, 2009 | White Trilliums are now in bloom in many areas including Champlain Heights Woods and Buckhorn. | Peterborough and Buckhorn |
Aidan Hickie-Bentzen Andy Curtis |
| May 7, 2009 | This evening I visited a spot where a heron had been observed starting to nest back in March. At the time there was only one nest observed. Now there are at least 7 nests. Great Blue Herons were seen on several of the nests. Hermit Thrushes were singing away in the woods along with the occasional Black and White Warbler's rusty sounding whistle. | Trent University Nature Area | Jennifer Budgell |
| May 6, 2009 | Both Least Bittern and American Bittern were calling in the Lakefield Marsh this morning at 7:30 a.m. The Least Bittern was at 11 o’clock looking out at the marsh from the Doug Sadler tower. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| May 2, 2009 | Today, in Cavan Woods, there were black-and-white warblers, northern waterthrush, black-throated green warblers, and great crested flycatchers. Today I also saw an American redstart. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| May 1, 2009 | I saw an Opossum today dead on the road near the junction of County Road 10 and Highway 115. | Millbrook | George Joncas |
| May 1, 2009 | At dusk tonight, my wandering eye checked the feeders and what should appear comfortably perched in the big pine tree but a mother Black Bear and her little cub. She looked at me, 3 ft. away and quickly unfurled herself, slid down the trunk, and lumbered across the yard to the back bay. The little cub slid farther down the tree, and then raced up another trunk and waited. Mother returned about 20 minutes later and the two of them disappeared to the north. I guess we will have to learn to live with them Today the feeders come down - except the little niger seed one which is covered with finches. Wood Ducks are in the back pond where the old turtles are sunning. No sign of the new baby turtles. | Kawartha Park on Clear Lake | Sandra and Dick Burri |
| May 1, 2009 | This morning I saw my first Chimney Swifts of the year (about six) flying above the intersection of Hunter and George in downtown Peterborough. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 30, 2009 | Today I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker on Geraldine Avenue in Peterborough. At the Trent Nature Area on the canal side, there were Spotted sandpiper (1), Fox sparrow (2), Palm warbler (5), Yellow-rumped warbler (10) and Pied-billed grebe (3). They were 15 feet away from me! | Peterborough and Trent Nature Area | Luke Berg |
| April 30, 2009 | At least two and possibly three American Bitterns and two Soras were very vocal at Millers Creek (7th line of Smith-Ennismore, 1 km east of Bridgenorth) this morning (5:45 to 6:15 a.m.). Also a single Virginia Rail was calling from the Lakefield Marsh at 7:15 a.m. A Warbling Vireo was singing in the small woodlot behind the Doug Sadler tower. | Lakefield area | Tony Bigg |
| April 29, 2009 | I saw an Eastern Kingbird this morning at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary. There were also Palm warblers (3) Whip-poor- will (1 heard), House wren, (1) Winter wren (1), and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1). | Trent Wildlife Sanctuary | Luke Berg |
| April 29, 2009 | Today, there were two Northern Shovelers in the second pond of the Lakefield sewage lagoons, together with many of the regular ducks. There was no sign of the Barrow’s Goldeneye either on the river or in the lagoons. | Lakefield sewage lagoons | Tony Bigg |
| April 28, 2009 | We had a few new birds show up this morning in the yard; 2 male Baltimore Orioles, a White-crowned Sparrow in the brushpile, and a Yellow Warbler in lilacs. I mentioned in my last posting about the straggling American Tree Sparrows at my place. There was at least one still present Sunday evening, but I believe they are finally gone now. | Young's Point Road | Myles Falconer |
| April 28, 2009 | At the Trent Nature Area on the canal side today, I saw Pied-billed grebe (2) - Green heron (2) doing courtship display - Yellow-rumped warbler (15) - Hooded Merganser (1) - Female Ring-necked pheasant (1) - Brown Thrasher (1) - Northern Mockingbird (1) - Caspian tern (2) two weeks now - Blanding's turtle (1) | Trent Nature Area | Luke Berg |
| April 27, 2009 | At 9:30 this morning the male Barrow’s Goldeneye was just north of Lock 25, Sawyer’s Creek, south of Lakefield. A good flight of migrants arrived last night. New arrivals were two Solitary Sandpipers by Duoro 9th Line south of the first farm south of Cty Rd 4 (Warsaw Rd), Black-throated Green Warblers and Yellow Warblers in the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary west of the parking lot, a Northern Waterthrush east of Lock 23, and White-crowned Sparrows at my feeders in Lakefield. The Caspian Terns are still on the canal area seen from the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary blue trail west of the parking lot. | Lakefield / Trent University | Tony Bigg |
| April 27, 2009 | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons - Bufflehead (55) - Ring-necked duck (11) - Common goldeneye (16) - Barrow's goldeneye (1) - Lesser scaup (3) - Greater scaup (6) - Common loon (1) - Greater yellowlegs (1) | Lakefield | Luke Berg |
| April 27, 2009 | On April 25, my parents had a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at their bird feeder on University Rd.. Today, across the road from their house, they heard a male Ovenbird on territory. | University Road, Peterborough | Peter Burke |
| April 26, 2009 | On the rail trail north of Trent University yesterday, we had Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, a single Bank Swallow. There were also heavy choruses of Chorus Frog, Spring Peeper, Wood Frog and Northern Leopard Frog. On our return to the parking lot on the north side of East Bank Drive there was a single Bohemian Waxwing sitting in the top of a flowering American Elm. | Trent University | Don Sutherland |
| April 25, 2009 | This afternoon, I found a male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE at the Lakefield Sewage Ponds in Lakefield. The bird was swimming in the first pond (the one nearest the road) with Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Ducks and Lesser Scaup. To reach the Lakefield Sewage Ponds take Hwy 28 N (formerly Highway 134) of Peterborough to County Rd 33 and turn left. Drive approx. 1km - the driveway leading to the sewage ponds is on the left (S side). Park at the side so not to block the gateway. | Lakefield | Bill Crins |
| April 25, 2009 | This morning my son and I observed a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker feeding in the large spruce tree in our front yard on Riverview Heights in the city’s south east end. It continued from where it left off last summer by excavating at an ordered set of holes around the trunk of the tree. This fellow has been a regular visitor to our neighbourhood for several years now. | Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| April 25, 2009 | The Bloodroot in my garden was in full bloom today, along with Hepatica. Coltsfoot is in full bloom, too, along roadsides throughout the area. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 25, 2009 | A Red-bellied Woodpecker is coming to my feeder near Lasswade, east of Aplsey. | Lasswade (County Road 46 at Lasswade Road) | Linda Fierheller |
| April 22, 2009 | This morning, a Brown Thrasher foraged in the leaf litter in our garden. A few metres away, female Red-bellied Woodpecker fed on suet. This bird has be an irregular visitor to our feeders since Dec 17. Also present is a single Fox Sparrow, a dozen Pine Siskins, and five Purple Finches, along with the other regulars. Common Redpoll and American Tree Sparrows appear to have moved on. | Mt. Julian (Stony Lake) | Michael Butler |
| April 21, 2009 | A male Purple Finch visited our feeder today. It was the first male of the year. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 21, 2009 | I don't if many others still have American Tree Sparrows around their feeders, but today I still have about 10-12 hanging out in the bushpiles and eating crack corn. I thought it was getting rather late for these birds. Also of note, yesterday I had a small flock (~6-8) Bohemian Waxwings on the west side of the Otonabee River just north of Champlain College at the Trent U campus. These are presumably some of the same group of birds I have seen at this location almost all winter long. | Young's Pt. Road and Trent University | Myles Falconer |
| April 19, 2009 | I saw my first Chipping Sparrow of the year this morning at my feeder. The Fox Sparrow is still present in our yard and singing non-stop. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 18, 2009 | A quick trip to Little Lake yielded Common Loon - 1 Double-crested Cormorant - 6 (beautiful "double crests" on some of them) Lesser Scaup - 2 Mallard - 4 Bufflehead - 7 Northern Flicker - 2 (at Little Lake Cemetary) Eastern Phoebe - 3 (at the Ecology Park) Black-capped Chickadee - 3 Pine Siskin - 8 (at the Ecology Park) Northern Cardinal - 3 Dark-eyed Junco - 2 and Song Sparrow - 5. I saw no Tree Swallows at Little Lake. | Little Lake | Chris Risley |
| April 18, 2009 | This morning, I checked out the Lakefield Marsh and the Lakefield Sewage Ponds. At the sewage ponds (I only checked the first pond) there were quite a number of ducks as follows: Bufflehead - 150 Ring-necked Duck - 50 Lesser Scaup - 20 Common Goldeneye - 6 Hooded Merganser - 1 There was also a Savannah Sparrow singing in the field beside the lagoons. At the Lakefield Marsh there were fewer ducks with only about 20 Ring-necked, 6 Bufflehead, and a few Mallards. The best duck was a single male Northern Shoveler. A couple of Swamp Sparrows were singing in the marsh and several female Red-winged Blackbirds were also present (these are the first females that I've seen although the males have been back for a while). The lack of Tree Swallows (only a few at the lagoons and none seen anywhere else) is disturbing. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| April 17, 2009 | Today (1730h -1815h) while walking the dogs along the rail trail north of Trent U, we heard several strong choruses of Northern Leopard Frog, as well as strong choruses of Chorus Frog, and lesser ones of both Wood Frog and Spring Peeper. We also heard and saw a Hermit Thrush. | Trent University | Don Sutherland |
| April 16, 2009 | I had my first Savannah Sparrow singing in the backyard field today. | 1798 Young's Pt. Road, Lakefield | Myles Falconer |
| April 15 , 2009 | Also, the frogs the Wood Frogs are quacking like crazy today. The Eastern Bluebirds have come back to our vineyard again for the third year. Also, saw the first Tree Swallows arrived today, circling the bluebird box. We also observed nesting activity on the part of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers in our woodlot. | Omemee | Scott Sargent |
| April 15, 2009 | This morning at about 6:30 AM I watched two Ospreys carrying nesting materials to the man-made nesting platform in front of the Federation of Anglers and Hunters building on Guthrie Drive in the city’s south end. A few minutes later I observed three White-tailed Deer feeding in a harvested soya bean field west of McNamara road. These deer can be seen most days in roughly the same location if one arrives between 6 and 7 AM. | Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| April 15, 2009 | I have had a White-crowned Sparrow at my feeder yesterday and today. | Merino Dr., Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| April 14, 2009 | I saw a Wild Turkey hen race across the bike path at the edge of Jackson Park (between the Parkhill bridge and Bonaccord St.) | Jackson Park, Peterborough | Laura Gardner |
| April 14, 2009 |
At Trent University Nature Area - Canal Side: Caspian Tern 2; Ring-necked Duck 2; Greater Scaup 2; Tree Swallow 25 At Trent University Nature Area - Parking Lot side: Eastern Bluebird 1 On Benson Avenue in Peterborough: Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 |
Trent University Peterborough |
Luke Berg |
| April 13, 2009 | Common Mergansers and Ring Necked Ducks 100's; Double-crested Cormorant 1; Great Blue Heron 1; Hooded Merganser 2; Greater Scaup; Lesser Scaup; Northern Flicker 2; Pileated Woodpecker 1; Bufflehead; Common Goldeneye | Serpent Mounds Provincial Park on Rice Lake | Luke Berg |
| April 12, 2009 | I saw a Sandhill Crane today flying over my house and heading towards the river. | Omemee | Gavin Hunter |
| April 12, 2009 | Winter finches are still coming to the feeder. Today, there were a half dozen or so Pine Siskins and one Common Redpoll. Two Fox Sparrows and several juncos were also present. On April 10, a female Purple Finch showed up briefly. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 11, 2009 | Green Winged Teal -3 female and 4 male; Bald Eagle 2; Wood Duck 12; Eastern Blue Bird 4; Mute Swan 2; Great Blue Heron 2; Northern Harrier 2; Turkey Vultures 7; Red Tail Hawk 5 | Near Ganaraska Rd. and Stone House Rd. | Luke Berg |
| April 9, 2009 | Today and Wednesday there were 3 Greater Yellowlegs on County Rd. 2 south of Bensfort in a very large flooded field on the east side of the road. Also there are still three Osprey hanging out together where County Rd. 2 turns west at the shore of Rice Lake. Two are usually in one nest and one bird is in the nest on the neighbouring hydro pole. The "third wheel" has been building up the nest to the west all week. It will be interesting to see how long the third individual sticks around. The birds in the eastern nest are usually paired. There are many Northern Harriers and Kestrels along this stretch of road and Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds here and there. | Rice Lake area | Ben Walters |
| April 9, 2009 | A Barn Swallow was among a large group of Tree Swallows over the Otonabee south of Lakefield today. One Greater Yellowlegs was in the flooded field at Cty Rd 4 and Duoro 9th Line, also today. | Lakefield area | Tony Bigg |
| April 9, 2009 | I heard my first White-throated Sparrow of the spring migration. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 8, 2009 | This morning two Brown-headed Cowbirds appeared for the first time at our platform feeder on the Otonabee River south of Landsdowne street. A male American Goldfinch appeared in full breeding plumage for the first time just before lunch. On Tuesday evening, a female Red-winged Blackbird made an initial appearance. | Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| April 5, 2009 | This afternoon at Serpent Mounds, on the north side of Rice Lake, we had several thousand Lesser Scaup and a few hundred Greater Scaup (Approximately 80-90% Lesser). We also had 300-400 American Wigeon although there may have been more (There were ducks as far as the eye could see and it really makes one wonder how many tens of thousands there could be on the lake right now). There were 1000+ Ring-necked Ducks and ~200 Common goldeneye. There were smaller numbers of Redhead (~50-100), Common Mergansers (100-200), Bufflehead (~100) and Canvasback (~50). Surprisingly, there was probably less than 20 Mallards and similar numbers of Black Ducks. We were able to find less than 10 Pintail and 2 Northern Shoveller drakes and 1 hen in the mix. There were 3 Coots close to the beach at the park. Also in the park was an early Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and many creepers along with a several Golden-crowned Kinglets. There were also some cormorants hanging out by their nests near the park's south beach. Just outside of the park (approximately 0.5km north) we had a few Tree Swallows and a late Northern Shrike. On the first road to the right after leaving the park there was a very vocal Red-bellied Woodpecker. Also of interest was a partial leucistic Red-tailed Hawk on Duncan rd. (2 roads west of Serpent Mounds road) and 12 Pintail, a black duck/mallard hybrid drake, and a Green-winged Teal in a flooded field on Drummond Line. There were three Osprey at a nest near Baillieborough and two Kestrels on County Road 2 north of Baillieborough. Serpent Mounds Park is south of Keene on Serpent Mounds Road which intersects County Road 2. The park is currently "CLOSED" so I am not really sure if you are supposed to go in or not (My disclaimer). When it is open it costs $8.00/car. | Rice Lake area | Ben Walters |
| April 5, 2009 | This morning I saw my first Osprey flying over 6 Foot Bay Road and later another one at Gannon Narrows. "Our" single Common Loon has returned, but the pair that usually inhabits this area hasn't turned up yet. | Buckhorn | Toni Sinclair |
| April 4, 2009 | A pair of Osprey showed up on the nesting platform at the Cty. Rd. 2 and Old Keene Rd. today. | Keene | Rick Stankiewicz |
| April 4, 2009 | A Fox Sparrow made a brief appearance in our yard this morning. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 2, 2009 | There were three male Rusty Blackbirds singing across the road from my place today. | 1798 Young's Point Road, Lakefield | Myles Falconer |
| April 2, 2009 | This morning we had also had a Tree Swallow, checking out the usual swallow nesting box in our back yard. There is also a singing Eastern Bluebird in the neighborhood, an Eastern Phoebe showed up yesterday, and a couple Chorus Frogs started calling from the wetland here on the 7th Line Smith last Saturday. | 7th Line of Smith Twsp near the Otonabee River | Carrie Sadowski |
| April 1, 2009 | Today I saw several Rusty Blackbirds at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary. This evening, I observed 12 Blue-spotted Salamanders and two Spotted Salamanders crossing the road on Camp's Line near Birchview Road | Trent University and Stony Lake | Luke Berg |
| April 1, 2009 | Today , I observed my first Tree Swallows (5) of the year, calling in flight over the Avenues area of downtown Peterborough. There are Pine Siskins in song all over the downtown area, usually in yards with at least one, dense planted spruce. No doubt these birds are paired and are nesting. | Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| March 31, 2009 | Cathy Darevic and I had our first Osprey of the year today. It was flying along the Otonabee in the vicinity of the East City baseball diamond nest of last year. | Peterborough | Simon Dodsworth |
| March 30, 2009 | Whilst doing an Earth Day walk in Lakefield on Saturday evening (March 28) our party came across a Leopard Frog hopping along the side of the road in Lakefield (9:10 pm). Earlier in the evening I heard several American Woodcocks around Trent. One was right at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary car park; about five were calling in the area of the baseball park off Nassau Rd, and two were calling just north of the campus by River Rd at the power lines. | Lakefield and Trent University | Tony Bigg |
| March 29, 2009 | I only had time for a quick check this evening, but 1 Blue-spotted Salamander crossing the road near my house at 8:45 p.m. (~ 8 km west of Buckhorn) heading north towards the breeding pond. I didn't see any Spotted Salamanders. I heard no frogs. Snow patches in the woods here are still fairly extensive, despite the rain. | Buckhorn | Martyn Obbard |
| March 29, 2009 | The warm temperature (+5 C) and rain triggered some salamander migration this evening from a hardwood stand, across Mt. Julian - Viamede Road Road, to a known breeding pond (44.5789, -78.1482). At 8:40 pm I counted 28 Blue-spotted and five (yellow-) Spotted Salamanders crossing a 100 m stretch of the road. Some photos here : http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=vernal%20pool&w=28113115%40N00 I heard no frogs. | Mt. Julian (Stony Lake) | Michael Butler |
| March 28, 2009 | At around 7:30 p.m., Simon Dodsworth, Rob Craig and I heard a few Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs calling from the wetland along University Road. A Great Horned Owl was also perched atop a dead tree in the marsh, too. | University Road, Peterborough | Colin Jones |
| March 28, 2009 | While cleaning up the backyard, I was visited by a flock of 25 or so waxwings. The sound seemed a bit off, so when I took a closer look I noticed about 10 of them were Bohemian Waxwings. They appeared to be feeding from the swollen Silver Maple buds. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| March 28, 2009 |
Today at approximately 5 p.m. I observed a Painted Turtle sunning himself on a log in the marsh at the end of North School Rd. in Young's Point. (Note: temperature today reached at least 15 C. The snow has been almost entirely gone for almost two weeks, at least in the city of Peterborough. D.M.) |
Young's Point | Ernie Basciano |
| March 28, 2009 | Today, we walked the dogs in Petroglyphs Provincial Park. Five singing male Pine Siskins were heard and after watching a pair for about 10 minutes the female was observed gathering and carrying nesting material to a nearly completed nest ~5-6m up in a 8-9m young White Spruce. Near the entrance kiosk, a Common Raven pair was observed at their nest, ~12m in a White Pine. Also heard/observed were a displaying male Northern Goshawk, a pair of Merlin (near park entrance) and about a dozen Brown Creepers. Lots of vocal Red-breasted Nuthatches (most paired), White-breasted Nuthatches and chickadees. Also observed were a single Mourning Cloak and a Comma (Polygonia sp.) butterflies. No chorus frogs heard yet. Thicket swamps in the park are still ice/snow-covered, but outside the park, particularly along the South Stony Lake Rd. thicket swamps at many sites are now ice-free, and there should be some choruses following 25-30mm of rain forecasted for tonight. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| March 27, 2009 | This morning at about 10:15 AM my dog Willow and I came face to face with a large Wild Turkey beside the third green at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club. It walked out of a cedar clump right in front of us. Willow was off leash and gave chase for about thirty metres before the turkey took flight and soared up into the trees behind the seventh tee. Unlike Mr Carlson’s unfortunate turkeys on “WKPR in Cincinnati” “this turkey could really fly. | Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| March 26, 2009 | Today in Peterborough, I saw my first Northern Flicker of the year at Aylmer and Sherbrooke Streets. | Peterborough | Randy Smith |
| March 26, 2009 | On Stony Lake, increasing numbers of waterfowl can be seen from the bottom of Dunford's Road, northeast of Burleigh Falls, about 1.5 km south of Hwy 28. Present today were: Bald Eagle 1 (subadult); Canada Goose 15; Mallard 8; Am. Black Duck 2; American Wigeon 3; Common Merganser 200+; Hooded Merganser ~50; Common Goldeneye 4; Bufflehead 2; and Ring-necked Duck 35. | Stony Lake | Michael Butler |
| March 26, 2009 | Half way down 6 Ft. Bay Road near Buckhorn there were 2 male Eastern Bluebirds on March 25. Today, there is also a female bluebird. Today on Buckhorn Lake, an Otter hung around most of the day. "Our" Great Blue Heron seems to have returned, wading along the shoreline. Around 5 pm there were at least a hundred Ring-necked Ducks, 1 American Widgeon, and several Hooded Merganzers. | Buckhorn | Toni Sinclair |
| March 25, 2009 | A Pied-bill Grebe, Mute Swan, very vocal Merlin, a few Ring-necked Ducks and a few Hooded Mergansers were at Little Lake today. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| March 25, 2009 | Near Woodview, there was a Red-shouldered Hawk circling over Hwy 28 with a rodent in its clutches. At our backyard feeder a female Red-bellied Woodpecker continues to be an irregular visitor. | Woodview | Michael Butler |
| March 23, 2009 | An Eastern Meadowlark was hovering over a pasture on the northwest side of Fife's Bay Road and Old Hwy. 7 today at around 11 a.m. | Peterborough | Everett Hanna |
| March 22, 2009 | At 2:30 p.m. today, my husband saw 2 Sandhill Cranes in a field on the south side of Stoney Lake Road, approximately 1 km east of County Road 40. | Stoney Lake | Maureen Smith |
| March 21, 2009 | I thought at first I had three really dark hawks above my feeders and went in for binocs. When I came out 14 Turkey Vultures rose out of the spruce tree, the first of the season for me. | Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| March 21, 2009 | This morning, I heard an Eastern Phoebe singing at the end of the cottage road below the locks in Lakefield. | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| March 20, 2009 | I saw a Turkey Vulture flying over Riverview Park this afternoon. | Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| March 17, 2009 | I regret to say that the Groundhog that was digging up my backyard last year has survived the winter. It was out sunning himself this afternoon. | Peterborough | Anne Anthony |
| March 17, 2009 | A quick check of the pond on the southeast corner at Mather's Corners on County Road 2 this morning (drive a bit south on Drummond Line for best viewing) yielded 3 Tundra Swans and 10 plus Northern Pintails. The Great Blue Herons were back at the heronry at the south end of Drummond Line. Look behind the last farm into the wood lot and a bit east. | Keene | Anne Anthony |
| March 16, 2009 | My husband and I were on a bike ride tonight and saw a Great Grey Owl on Irish Line, Ennismore. | Ennismore | Jennie Armitage |
| March 15, 2009 | Yesterday, my wife saw three Snow Geese flying over Webster Road east of Peterborough. I saw a Belted Kingfisher, a pair of Hooded Mergansers and a Beaver on Cavan Creek in Cavan. At Little Lake there was a pair of American Widgeon and two male Green-winged Teal in addition to the many Hooded and Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes. A pair of Redheads were on Little Lake yesterday (Saturday). | Cavan and Peterborough | Scott McKinlay |
| March 13, 2009 | Ducks at Little Lake today included Ring- neck Ducks, Common Mergansers, a Red-breasted Merganser, many Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes and Buffleheads. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Ken Rumble |
| March 13, 2009 | As I was walking my dog today along the trail on the south side of the Otonabee River between the cottages and the river, I passed three workers removing the remains of a large pine tree they had cut down. A small flock of White-winged Crossbills was scratching around the ground by the workers, under their trucks, and amongst the remaining debris eating the seeds from the scattered cones. My dog and I were able to stand within ten feet of them and watch. | Otonabee River | Tony Bigg |
| March 13, 2009 | I saw several Common Grackles today in downtown Peterborough. | Peterborough | Randy Smith |
| March 12, 2009 | Red-winged Blackbirds were observed today near the Trent University Wildlife Sanctuary. | Trent University | Luke Berg |
| March 10, 2009 | Several American Robins were in full song this morning on Princess Street, adjacent to the YMCA. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 10, 2009 | Janet Cobb reports seeing a swan March 6 and 7 on the east bank of the Otonabee between the railway bridge and the Millenium Place cafe (located just south of the MNR building). I saw the bird on March 10 and, based on the still immature plumage, I believe it to be a Tundra Swan. | Otonabee River, just north of Little Lake | Janet Cobb |
| March 9, 2009 | A Snow Goose was on Little Lake today with the Canada Geese. | Peterborough | Jerry Ball |
| March 8, 2009 | On Saturday, March 7, a pair of Merlins was heard/observed displaying over the Avenues area of downtown Peterborough. The male was flying high altitude circuits uttering the distinctive accelerating whinny, and periodically the female was flying over giving the sharp ‘pick’ call. This morning, Sunday March 8th, on our way to Petroglpyhs, we saw a male Merlin (the Inverlea Park pair?) perched atop a tall spruce at the northeast corner of Parkhill and Water Street. | Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| March 8, 2009 | At around noon today, while returning from a walk in Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Lori and I were very surprised to see two Mourning Cloak butterflies: 1 at rest on the pavement of Northey’s Bay Rd. 100m or so west of the park entrance, and the other on the gravel road shoulder (sipping road salt?) a little farther west along the road, closer to the Eels Creek bridge. We also saw an Eastern Chipmunk run across Northey’s Bay Rd. about 250m south of its junction with Hwy 28. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| March 7, 2009 | This morning, a large flock of Canada Geese past over going north. They are the first I have seen this season. | Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| March 6, 2009 | At Little Lake Cemetery, there were 2 Ring-necked Ducks, several Goldeneyes and a very vocal Merlin . At Highland Park Cemetery, there were 50 or more Cedar Waxwings. | Little Lake and Highland Park cemeteries in Peterborough | Ken Rumble |
| March 6, 2009 | Our first Red-winged Blackbird showed up this morning in the yard. Singing with it were an American Robin, several American Tree Sparrows, American Goldfinches and a Northern Cardinal. A Song Sparrow was in the yard as well. Spring is near! | Young's Point Road, Lakefield | Myles Falconer |
| March 5, 2009 | Yesterday (March 4) a Great Black-backed Gull (3rd winter) was feeding on a dead carp on the ice just above Lock 22 north of Trent U. I also found a Porcupine feeding in a White Cedar tree in the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary, opposite the car park on the red trail. There was a lot of evidence of its feeding below other trees nearby with lots of green cedar leaves on the snow with scattered droppings. This morning I watched a Mink feeding by the bus barns on River Road. He was diving from the rocks into the Otonabee River presumably looking for crayfish on the river bottom. On Little Lake there were two male Ring-necked Ducks and eight Common Mergansers. In Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park, a noisy group of American Crows alerted me to a Great Horned Owl sitting in one of the White Pines. | various | Tony Bigg |
| March 5, 2009 | This afternoon at about 3:30, my wife and I saw two River Otters above Lock 23 on the Otonabee River. They were on the edge of the ice on the west side. The otters then slipped into the water, swimming and diving downstream. | Otonabee River | Vic Henderson |
| March 4, 2009 | A lone Red-necked Grebe was swimming in the Otonabee River in Lakefield this morning, behind the Hendren Funeral Home. | Lakefield, Ontario | Tony Bigg |
| February 25 , 2009 | Single Long-tailed Duck with Common Goldeneye and single Ring-necked Duck in the open water from the east side of Little Lake Cemetery. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Ken Rumble |
| February 25, 2009 | During a class trip to the Warsaw Outdoor Education Centre, we enjoyed looking at snowfleas (springtails) on the snow along the cross-country ski trails. | Warsaw, Ontario | Drew Monkman and students |
| February 24, 2009 | From Nov. 19, 2008 to Feb. 24, 2009, I sighted a female Red-bellied Woodpecker on 40 different days at my feeder/property. | South Monaghan township | David Harries |
| February 23, 2009 | I have had a single Yellow-rumped Warbler visiting my feeder all winter. Its preferred foods include nyger seed and other small seeds. The bird will take seeds directly from the feeder or from the balcony floor where they have dropped. | Murray St., Peterborough | Linda Heffernan |
| February 19, 2009 | I am being visited by Pine Siskins for the first time in many years. They are the only birds besides goldfinches that are able to hang upside down on my Niger seed feeder. As many as six Northern Cardinals at a time were visiting my sunflower feeder in early January, but they must be pairing off judging by recent visits of only two. | Rogers Street, Peterborough | Ivan Bateman |
| February 13 to 16, 2009 | Just a reminder that this weekend (Feb. 13 to 16), the Great Backyard Bird Count is taking place across North America. It serves to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds across the continent are this weekend. You basically just observe the birds at your feeder - or wherever you happen to be - for a minimum of 15 minutes and submit the results on-line. There are all kinds of different maps on the website broken down by species, region, etc. They show the results almost in real time. You can go back and look at previous years' results, too. Go to /www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ for the details. | ||
| February 9, 2009 | I heard my first Northern Cardinals of the year singing this morning at 8:30 a.m. I was standing in the parking lot Edmison Heights Public School on Marina Blvd. There were at least two birds singing. | Marina Blvd, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| February 7, 2009 | There was a Red-shouldered Hawk perched in a willow tree between my neighbors' backyard and Cavan Creek (east side of County Road 10, just north of Cavan intersection. It was there for at least half an hour giving very good views from my deck before some crows arrived and it flew off. I'm not sure if it is still in the area or not. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| February 3, 2009 | This afternoon, a small accipter sat in a tree in my yard. It was most likely a Sharp-shinned Hawk, although a male Cooper's can't be discounted. (The two species can overlap in size.) | Merino Drive, Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| February 2, 2009 | Today, I observed a Great Gray Owl on the road between Bridgenorth and Lakefield. | County Road 18 | Heather Watson |
| February 1, 2009 | While skiing up Jackson’s Creek trail this morning, a Winter Wren flew out from under an ice shelf and sat in a bush about 2 meters from me. It was between the concrete bridge in the park proper and the first wooden bridge to the west. I had about 2 minutes to have a good look before it flew back under the ice shelf again. | Jackson Park, Peterborough | Ben Taylor |
| February 1, 2009 | 10 Pine Grosbeaks with lots of Pine siskins and a few Common Redpolls. | Ford Cresent, RR#1 Cavan. | Ken Rumble |
| January 30, 2009 | Today at 2:00 p.m. I found observed a Snowy Owl in Millbrook. It was sitting on a telephone pole. | Millbrook, Ontario | Paige Young |
| January 30, 2009 | At 4:30 pm, I saw an adult Bald Eagle flying over the Little Lake Cemetery. Lots of Pine Siskins, too, at the feeder today on Ford Crescent in Cavan. | Peterborough and Cavan | Ken Rumble |
| January 28 , 2009 | In conversation today with Tim Dyson, I learned that a Bobcat was trapped in December north of Havelock near Devil's 4 Mile Road and Oak Lake. The trapper's name is Guy Kennedy. Pictures were taken of the animal. Although I've heard of sight records of this species in the County, this is the first time I've ever heard of a Bobcat actually being trapped here. | Oak Lake | Guy Kennedy |
| January 27, 2009 | While on the road south of Warsaw, about 100 metres south of the reindeer farm, I sighted a Great Gray Owl on Sunday, January 25. On January 26, six Common Redpolls were at my feeder in the front yard with some goldfinches. | Warsaw and Curve Lake | David Beaucage Johnson |
| January 27, 2009 | I saw a Merlin this morning fly across Marina Blvd near Water Street. There has been at least one bird in this area for several years now. | Marina Blvd, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| January 25, 2009 | I saw an adult Bald Eagle today, flying north along the Otonabee just south of Lakefield. | Lakefield | Drew Monkman |
| January 17, 2009 | There was an adult Bald Eagle feeding on a goose this morning. It was on the ice about 100 m below Lock 19. | Lock 19, Otonabee River | Trish Beales |
| January 17, 2009 | Finally a single Common Redpoll at my feeder in Cavan with all the siskins this morning. I also was visited by 44 Cedar Waxwings. I looked for bohemians in the flock but there weren't any. There was one with an orange band on the tail instead of the usual yellow. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| January 15, 2009 | We have a Red-bellied Woodpecker coming to our bird feeder this winter. We live on the Otonabee River below Lock 19, near Whitfield Landing. | Whitfield Landing, south of Peterborough | Bob and Eva McFaul |
| January 14, 2009 | I have had a male Red-bellied Woodpecker at my feeder for the last month. So pretty. | County Road 21, Millbrook | Claire Van Loon |
| January 13, 2009 | According to Karin Mundinger (see Jan. 5), who was talking to the head cougar biologist, Rick Rosatte, of the MNR, there was a Cougar sighting today east of Peterborough. There were deer nearby. | east of Peterborough | unknown |
| January 11, 2009 | I came across a deer kill at Boschink Narrows on Stony Lake today.Lots of wolves/coyotes around..and hence Bald Eagles. | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| January 10, 2009 | This morning, a flock of about 40 Pine Siskins descended upon our feeders. They were accompanied by one Common Redpoll and a couple of dozen American Goldfinches. These were our first siskins of the winter. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| January 8, 2009 | I came upon a boisterous flock of about 250 Bohemian Waxwings on and in the trees beside Holden Road, about a kilometer north of the 8th Line of Smith. | Bridgenorth, Ontario | Michael Butler |
| January 5, 2009 | At 9:30 a.m. today in Cannington, I saw a Cougar on the Beaver River. It was on the bank of the river and then on the ice getting a drink from the open water. I then went to my neighbors and we looked at it about 200 yards away through binocculars. | Cannington, Ontario | Karin Mundinger |
| January 1, 2009 | I saw a Cougar today by the Independent grocer at Television Road and Hwy 7. This is where an animal was seen in mid-December, so maybe it hasn't travelled very far and there is a possibility of finding more evidence in the future. | Television Road, Peterborough | Faye Sarah Ginies |
2008 |
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| December 31, 2008 | A Brown Thrasher is visiting the feeders at our cottage located at 1631 Kinsale Road which is on the west side of Gannon Bay (near Gannon Narrows), Buckhorn Lake. During the past few days we were there (Sunday 27 December to Wednesday 31 December, 2008), the thrasher appeared rather briefly, several times throughout the day, but its presence is not predictable. If you wish to try for this winter rarity, you are welcome to do so. The feeders are at the front of the cottage. The thrasher almost always appears from and retreats to the trees/brush on the left side (looking toward the bay) of the property. Also, about a dozen White-winged Crossbills were foraging on spruce trees at 1705 and 1713 Kinsale Road on the 30th and 31st December, and 50+ Pine Siskins were foraging on cedar cones at 1705. | near Gannon Narrows on Buckhorn Lake | Bryan Wyatt, Guelph |
| December 29, 2008 | A Great Horned Owl was seen today at noon along the gravel path running from the St. Joseph at Fleming parking lot at Brealey and Forster Avenue towards the main Fleming campus. It was perched in a White Pine. | Brealey Drive, Peterborough | Irene Rudd |
| December 27, 2008 | A male Yellow-headed Blackbird is coming to a feeder near Bridgenorth. It first showed up four days ago. According to the homeowner, Bob Pettifer, it often arrives in the company of grackles, starlings and two Red-winged Blackbirds. People are welcome to go out to see the bird, but Bob prefers you call ahead of time. Take County Road 18 north about 1 kilometre past Bridgenorth and turn right at Holden Road. The house is number 1295 and is on the left. Phone 292-9742. | Holden Road, Bridgenorth | Bob Pettifer |
| December 26, 2008 |
A Great Gray Owl was found dead north of Lakefield today. It was on County Road 6, 4 to 5 kms east of Hwy 28. Great Grays have started to turn up in eastern Ontario in recent weeks and may foreshadow a major flight southward from the boreal forest. For people reporting Great Gray Owls (or other dead raptors) who want to keep the bird (e.g. to have it mounted), under the provisions of the provincial Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act you must first bring the specimen to the local district office of the MNR to receive a possession permit. By law, taxidermists can only accept raptor specimens (or those of any other ‘specially-protected species) that are accompanied by a valid possession permit. In the case of the Great Gray, the corresponding district office is Peterborough, and Lorraine Norris (lorraine.norris@ontario.ca or 705-755-3361) is the contact. Lorraine was instrumental in compiling information on mortality of GGOW during the last invasion and ensuring that unwanted specimens made their way to the ROM. She is compiling similar information for Snowy Owls during the current irruption. (Thanks to Don Sutherland for this information. D.M.) |
north of Lakefield | reported by Robin McRobbie (bird found by her brother) |
| December 26, 2008 | We had an opportunity to watch a Cooper's Hawk devour a pigeon in our backyard this afternoon. | Riverview Heights, Peterborough | Ross Jamieson |
| December 25, 2008 | Just reporting that 2 very fat and healthy looking American Robins spent all of Christmas Day at my home in Peterborough chowing down small berries on many of my trees. | Peterborough | Randy Smith |
| December 23, 2008 | Environment Canada announced that 2008 has been the wettest year on record for Peterborough and area. A snowy winter, followed by a wet summer, produced 1,106 millimetres of precipitation as of December. The average for the year is 840 millimetres. | Peterborough | Environment Canada |
| December 22, 2008 | We still have the Eastern Towhee at our feeders; it is very reliable visitor. Also, for several days so far, it has now been joined by a White-throated Sparrow. If you want to see them, feel free to stop by: 46 Anne St., Millbrook. However, a call first would be appreciated (932-3167). | Millbrook, Ontario | Joe Nocera and Trina Fitzgerald |
| December 21, 2008 | While out with my camera, I came across a Pileated Woodpecker that was feeding on insects located in a telephone poll beside the road. The light wasn't great (in between snow storms), but I managed to capture a few images before it flew into the woods. | Johnston Drive, Peterborough | Glen Allen |
| December 21, 2008 | We went for a walk in Petroglyphs Provincial Park. Lots of bird activity, including Red Crossbill (2). While it’s easy walking on the road, the snow depth off-road is between 30 and 45 centimeters. On the way home there was an adult Bald Eagle sitting in a tree on the east side of Hwy 28 just north of the Coon Lake Rd., north of Burleigh Falls. | Petroglyph Provincial Park and Burleigh Falls area | Don Sutherland |
| December 20, 2008 |
Highlights of Peteborough Christmas Bird Count - Dec. 14, 2008 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 17 Common Goldeneye, 5 Cooper's Hawks, 43 Red-tailed Hawk, 2 Merlin, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, 1 Glaucous Gull, 886 Mourning Dove, 1 Screech Owl, 3 Great Horned Owl, 1 Barred Owl, 1 Short-eared Owl (new species for Count), 2 Northern Flicker, 9 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 Hermit Thrush, 33 American Robin, 9 Northern Shrike, 189 Cedar Waxwing, 4 White-throated Sparrow, 338 Snow Bunting, 1 Brown-headed Cowbird, 379 White Crossbill, 217 Pine Siskin 51 species in total (average = 50.5) |
Peterborough and area - a circle of 15 miles diameter centered at Chemong Rd and Sunset Blvd. | Tony Bigg (compiler) 29 observers in all |
| December 20, 2008 | On our way to Bobcaygeon at mid-day today, we stopped to check for the Northern Hawk Owl at Flynn’s Corner. It was conspicuous from a distance, sitting atop a leafless deciduous tree right beside the road on the east side of Hwy 507, directly opposite the gas station. | Buckhorn area | Don Sutherland |
| December 18, 2008 | I couldn't find the swans at mid-day today, but I did see at least three adult Greater Black-backed Gulls and 1 adult Glaucous Gull with all the Herring Gulls on Little Lake, directly north of the cemetery on the edge of the ice. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Scott McKinlay |
| December 17, 2008 | Two adult and one juvenile Trumpeter Swans were at Little Lake today along the east shore of the cemetary. | Little Lake, Peterborough | Travis Cameron |
| December 17 | A single Red-bellied Woodpecker attended our feeder this afternoon. This is the first one we've seen in the Township of North Kawartha. | Mt. Julian (Stoney Lake) | Michael Butler |
| December 16, 2008 | I was on a walk today at noon hour by the Otonabee, just below Lock 19, and I am sure that I saw a Bald Eagle. I had a long,clear look at it. The head was pure white, as well as the tail, and the body was dark brown. (note: This is probably the same bird as below. D.M.) | Lock 19, Peterborough | Andy Bowes |
| December 16, 2008 | A Bald Eagle was seen at 11:45 a.m. today flying south above the Otonabee River. | near Collison Beach at the bottom of Riverview Heights. | Ross Jamieson |
| December 16, 2008 | I observed a Northern Shrike, today, devouring a mole in our backyard. | Firwood Crescent. Peterborough | Brad Baker |
| December 15, 2008 | Great Blue Heron | Highway 36 near Burleigh Falls | Bill Rogers |
| December 13, 2008 | A Carolina Wren was in my yard today, seemingly taking dormant insects off the screen door and walls of the house. | 1010 Mississauga Road, Curve Lake (tel: 657-1061) | David Johnson |
| December 12, 2008 | 20 White-winged Crossbills | 733 Ford Crescent, RR#1 Cavan | Ken Rumble |
| December 11, 2008 | I saw two flocks of Snow Buntings, totaling about 150 birds, in the fields of Caza's Berry Farm, a few km south of Buckhorn, along Berrie Road. Each flock took flight, wheeled and landed at least once and it was evident that there were no Horned Larks or Longspurs present. Today there were two Bald Eagles, an adult and sub-adult, along Mt Julian - Viamede Road, north of Burleigh Falls, perhaps attracted by an unseen roadkill. Six or fewer Evening Grosbeaks continue to visit our bird feeder. | various (see Sighting) | Michael Butler |
| December 10, 2008 | At the Marshland Centre in Lakefield, we pished in a Common Redpoll that we heard. A very large flock (~200) of Pine Siskins was also there. At the very south end of the Old Young's Point Road, there was a flock of about 40 Cedar Waxwings with at least 4 Bohemian Waxwings mixed in. The flock was immediately south of the Elwood Hamilton Bus yards. Two Bald Eagles were perched further up the Old Young's Point Rd on the island just south of where Miller Creek empties into Lake Katchewanooka. | various (see Sighting) | Anne Anthony |
| December 9, 2008 | Great Blue Heron near the side of the road at a small river | off County Road 2 between Hasting and Keene | Randy Smith |
| Upcoming Peterborough Christmas Bird Count, 2008 | The 57th Peterborough Christmas Bird Count will be taking place on Sunday December 14, 2008. As usual we are looking for volunteers to participate in the event. The count is for a 24-hour period, but most participants only use the daylight hours. However owl counters are most welcome. The count takes place within a circle of 15 miles diameter centered at Chemong Rd and Sunset Blvd. The circle is split into nine sections and participants are put into groups to cover each area. Beginners will be with experienced birders to assist with identification of the sightings. The more eyes and ears, the more birds will be found The compilation of the results will be at ‘Kelsey’s’ (Landsdowne St opposite Canadian Tire) at 5:00 p.m. Let us hope the weather is better than the snowstorm we had last year!! Please contact Tony Bigg, CBC Co-ordinator, by e-mail at tanddbigg@sympatico.ca, or by phone at 705-652-7541 | Peterborough and surrounding area | Tony Bigg |
| December 6, 2008 | The feeders were busy during today's snowfall. A male Evening Grosbeak, the first of the season here, joined American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Blue Jays and American Tree Sparrows. Good numbers of Common Mergansers can be seen from most vantage points along the north shore of Stony Lake. White-winged Crossbills are very active in the area although none at the feeders. | Mt. Julian | Michael Butler |
| December 5, 2008 | 1 male Hooded Merganser and 1 Common Merganser | Little Lake | Randy Smith |
| December 3, 2008 | For those that like to keep a winter list of birds (Dec-Feb) they might like to know that the Eastern Towhee is still coming to Joe Nocera’s feeder in Millbrook (46 Anne St), and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been in Maureen Smith’s yard in Warsaw (652-7666) yesterday and today. For those that would like to travel a little further there is an American Avocet in the Rotary Park in Ajax . | various (see Sighting) | Tony Bigg |
| December 2, 2008 | At around noon, a flock of about 30 White-winged Crossbills alighted on a spruce in my front yard in Lakefield. They only stayed for about half a minute before taking of to the west. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| November 30, 2008 | We saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk on Lansdowne St. near Erskine Ave and a Cooper’s Hawk near the intersection of Chemong Rd. and Wolsely St. | Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| November 30, 2008 | While walking the dogs in Petroglyphs Provincial Park, we observed several small flocks of White-winged Crossbills (totally ~50 birds), a few Pine Siskins, and 3 Red Crossbills near the park entrance kiosk. Reasonable numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches and Golden-crowned Kinglets and a few Brown Creepers were also heard/observed. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| November 30, 2008 | Today, we had a sickly-looking male Brown-headed Cowbird at the feeder. Its feathers were a bit messed up and it seemed it couldn't fly very well. We also had a small flock (~10) of Bohemian Waxwings fly over the house heading south. | Young's Pt. Road, Lakefield | Myles Falconer |
| November 28, 2008 | I have a Song Sparrow coming to my feeder along with three White-throated Sparrows. | Merino Drive, Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| November 28, 2008 | I drove home in the direction of the snowy yesterday and also had no luck. I did find a couple of Kestrels sitting on wires, one in Assumption and the other just south of Bensfort Bridge. I also saw about 25 Bohmeian waxwings sitting in a hemlock tree at the coroner of Hwy.7 and Television Road as I sat waiting for the light to change. | Assumption, Bensfort Bridge | Ben Walters |
| November 28, 2008 | Today, we found a Rough-legged Hawk on Base Line, and Northern Harrier and Northern Shrike at the east end of Moncrief Rd where it meets Airport Rd. | Base Line and Moncrief Rd. | Jerry Ball and Tony Bigg |
| November 26, 2008 | Another dead Varied Thrush was found at a residence on Baptiste Lake near Bancroft on Nov. 25. One of my brother's co-workers at Bancroft MNR brought it in. | Baptiste Lake, near Bancroft | Travis Cameron |
| November 26, 2008 | At about 4:45 p.m., a female or immature Snowy Owl was seen on Base Line, east of Bensfort Road. | Base Line, east of Bensfort Road (south of city) | Ed Czerwinski |
| November 26, 2008 | A single Bald Eagle flying over Buckhorn Road (507) just N of Lakefield, a Northern Shrike just east of Peterborough at Donwood and several flocks of Snow Buntings from Keene to Peterborough. | various | Randy Smith |
| November 26, 2008 | I feed wild turkeys all year long and I now have a female peacock with them. This little lady seems quite happy being with them. I am wondering if she will be able to adapt to the winter? I would hate to see anything happen to her. I have no idea where she came from. Anyway, if she can tolerate winter, then its a bonus for me to watch her. | Dorothy Waugh | |
| November 24, 2008 |
Yesterday I found a bird that had flown into my window and was killed. I realized that it was a bird I had never seen before and pulled out my bird books. It was a Varied Thrush, although all three of the books I checked indicate that the range for this species is the west coast. I took several pictures of the bird and have placed in a baggy to freeze and preserve. We live on Lovesick Lake about a mile west of Burleigh Falls. (The last Varied Thrush in Peterborough County that I'm aware of was seen here in early 2001. It came to a feeder near Petroglyph Provincial Park for a week or so. One or two of these birds turn up most winters somewhere in Ontario. On November 26, the skin of the Lovesick bird was prepared by Michael T. Butler of Trent University. He will be sending it to the Royal Ontario Museum. The following are his notes: Windowkill Location: Peterborough County, Galway-Cavendish-Harvey Twp., 44.56195, -78.22391 Weight: 85 g Wing: 124 mm Fat: moderately heavy Gizzard contained fruit from Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) Skull fully ossified (after hatching year). Sex: male - Drew) |
Lovesick Lake | Dorothy MacDonald |
| November 23, 2008 | Close to 100 Northern Cardinals were seen feeding together on wild fruit along the rail-trail located just north of Crawford Drive in the south end of the city. It is common for this species to form flocks in the winter, but 100 is an unusually large number. | Crawford Drive area | Dan McWilliams |
| November 23, 2008 | For the past several days, we have had an Eastern Towhee at our feeders in Millbrook Seems a little late for it to still be hanging around. This bird seemed to show up at the same time as the many American Tree Sparrows that are now keeping our feeders hopping. | Anne Street, Millbrook, ON | Joe Nocera |
| November 23, 2008 | This morning we had a Northern Flicker (see Nov. 19) at our feeder on Gilmour St. It must be its sixth or seventh year of wintering here (assuming it is the same one, a male). We also have a White-throated Sparrow coming to the feeder along with the 10 or so juncos. Outside of town, yesterday I had an American Kestrel on Moncrief Line south of the Airport and a Northern Shrike on Moore Line just west of Hwy. 28. | see Sighting | Chris Risley |
| November 22, 2008 | Just beyond the borders of Peterborough Co., on Saturday and Sunday, November 22nd and 23rd, there were lots of White-winged Crossbills, lesser numbers of Pine Siskins and redpolls, a few Purple Finches and goldfinches, and even three Pine Grosbeaks. Most of the crossbills were in flocks (<60 individuals), but some appeared to be paired and one individual gave a short bout of song. There also was a lone female Surf Scoter at the west end of rapidly freezing Balsam Lake. | Balsam Lake area? | Don Sutherland |
| November 22, 2008 | A Pileated Woodpecker was observed hammering on a telephone pole at the corner of Charles and Burnham Streets. Another bird was seen at the corner of Homewood and Albertus. | see Sighting | Eric Monkman |
| November 21, 2008 | A White-throated Sparrow was busy scraffing seeds from under the Yew on this bitter cold morning and it seems to me he should be on his way south. Maybe I will have heavy feeders another winter. (Sue had two White-throated Sparrows stay all of last winter.) | Merino Drive, Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| November 19, 2008 | A Northern Flicker landed on a telephone pole on Alymer Street and was checking out a hole at the top. | Peterborough | Randy Smith |
| November 19, 2008 | Great Blue Heron at Beavermead Park Lagoon, Northern Harrier at Hastings, 25 CedarWaxwings near Campbellford and a Greater Black-backed Gull at Little lake Pier One. | various locations | Randy Smith |
| November 15, 2008 | I saw what I thought was a snowy owl land on top of a hydro pole this evening just outside my place of work on Fisher Drive. I work at Merit Precision Moulding. The patio where I saw him is on the north side of the building, first street on the right when you get on to Fisher Drive. | Fisher Drive, Peterborough | Janet Flint |
| November 12, 2008 | I found 4 Blue-spotted Salamanders today near the Trent University Nature Area. The site is off of University Road, about 1 km south of County Road 4. I had also found 3 Eastern Newts on November 8 in a beaver pond in the Ganaraska Forest Centre south of Peterborough. |
Trent University Ganaraska Forest Centre |
Luke Berg |
| November 11, 2008 | This morning I saw a flock of 9 male Red Crossbills in the tops of some cone-laden White Pines on the Galway Forest Access Road. The trees are 0.6 km west on the Access Road from the start at Highway 507. I drove a bit more along the road but didn't see anymore. Then on the way out I stopped at the spot again. I pished and then a flock of 11 male and female White-winged Crossbills showed up in the same tree tops! I was not seeing things. They were definitely white-wings. I also had a flock of 80 Rusty Blackbirds at Miller Creek. |
Highway 507 near Mississauga Lake 7th line of Smith-Ennismore |
Chris Risley |
| November 9, 2008 | A Cattle Egret was observed in a pasture alongside a herd of cows. (Exact location to be determined.) | Peterborough | Mike Taylor |
| November 1, 2008 | For the first half of this winter (November through early January), Environment Canada is expecting milder than normal temperatures from the Great Lakes eastward. Precipitation is expect to be near normal in the eastern half of the country. | ||
| October 28, 2008 | At approx. 11 a.m, I saw a flock of Eastern Bluebirds on the west side of 6 Ft. Bay Road (Buckhorn) in an unused pasture. There were about a dozen males flitting amongst the grasses and thistles. I didn't notice any females, but they would have been much less noticeable in a brown field. | Buckhorn | Toni Sinclair |
| October 23, 2008 | During a half hour bike ride at Petroglyphs P.P. this afternoon I saw no fewer than six Fox Sparrows. Also notable were several flocks of Red-breasted Nuthatches totaling more than 60 individuals. Two days ago (Oct. 21) I saw four Snow Buntings on Mt. Julian - Viamede Road. Cheers, Michael Butler Mt. Julian | Mt. Julian (Stoney Lake) | Michael Butler |
| October 17, 2008 | I saw my first American Tree Sparrows of the Fall today. Three of them were along the rail trail south of the city. | south of Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| October 17, 2008 | I saw an American crow like the one pictured in the Sibley field guide as it has all white primary and greater coverts as well as a white tail band (not in Sibley). Overall, this bird is quite a bit smaller than the other crows, particularly the beak. Anyhow, not overly exciting or rare but I thought photographers and other keen birders might want to know about it because it looks pretty amazing, especially in flight. | Trent University, near Lady Eaton drumlin | Ben Walters |
| October 16, 2008 | At about 6:00 PM last night while I was walking my dog in Burnham’s woods I saw a rather large owl perched in one of the trees. It was very close to me and I had a good chance to study it from the front and the back. As I walked around the tree it swivelled its head and watched me closely. It had a noticeable tail, very prominent circular discs surrounding yellow eyes and its body had vertical stripes. It had no ears that I could see. When I got home I went to my bird book and looked in the owl section to find that it was apparently a Great Grey. | Burnham's Woods (east of Peterborough) | Ross Jamieson |
| October 12, 2008 | Large flocks of Dark-eyed Juncoes showed up in our yard today. There were probably at least 30 in total. Several White-throated Sparrows were with them. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| October 5, 2008 | Three Trumpeter Swans turned up today on Best Road Pond. One of them wore a wing tag (050). | Mount Pleasant | Dan McWilliams |
| September 29, 2008 | Dan McWilliams, who lives near Mount Pleasant, reports the presence of thousands of Cepaea nemoralis or Banded Wood Snail around his house. This is an exotic species that is becoming increasingly widespread in southern Ontario. They were first seen here about 10 years ago. They are mostly nocturnal and eat many types of plant material, both dead and alive. They are also hermaphrodites, meaning a single snail is both male and female at the same time. They can mate many times in a season, especially when conditions are moist - like this past summer. They can be a fairly serious pest in gardens and also impact negatively on native snail and slug species. | Mount Pleasant | Dan McWilliams |
| September 27, 2008 | There are a huge number of warblers (~40) in my yard and adjacent yards in Lakefield today. Most of these are Yellow-rumped Warblers but there are also a few Nashville Warblers and one immature Northern Parula (which is getting late for this species). The main point of this message is that due to the weather system it could be an excellent day for birding today! | Lakefield | Colin Jones |
| September 27, 2008 | While walking the rail trail between Base Line and David Fife Line I saw large numbers of Palm Warblers, with some Yellow-rumped Warblers, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Blue-headed Vireo, and several Eastern Phoebes. In the fields by Base Line, Eastern Meadowlarks were singing and actively flying over the field. | Keene area | Tony Bigg |
| September 21, 2008 | On a day trip to Rathbun Lake today, large numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches were present, feasting on the abundant seed crop on the White Pines. There is a major southward movement of these birds underway right now. We also saw two flocks of 100+ Northern Canada Geese flying southward. Other birds of note included a Northern Parula, an Ovenbird, numerous Black-throated Green Warblers, two Black-and-White Warblers and several Yellow-Rumpeds. | Rathbun Lake near Apsley | Drew Monkman |
| September 14, 2008 | A Great Egret was sighted by my daughter at the end of Redmond Bay on Jack Lake. | Jack Lake, near Apsley, ON | Cate Kingdon |
| September 7, 2008 | The cold front that came in this weekend has triggered a lot of migration. This morning, there were numerous migrants in our backyard including white-throated sparrows (eating Canada Elderberry fruit), Wilson's Warblers, American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Red-eyed Vireo. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| September 1, 2008 | A beautiful Giant Eastern Cranefly found its way into my house today. It is at least 5cm wide at the wings. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| August 31, 2008 | Today, I visited the abandoned gravel pit ponds at the south end of Crowley Line. When I arrived there was a Giant Swallowtail flying around the parking area by the gate. No birds to speak of but there were lots of dragonflies and damselflies, including three or four Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata), a Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens) and either Tramea onusta or T. carolina. I couldn’t get close enough to it and didn’t have a net with me, but it had distinctly red bases for the wings and was one of the two species. | Crowley Line south of Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| August 30, 2008 | Despite more than two hours of concerted looking, I was only able to find four Monarch larvae on milkweed plants in the Fraserville area. All were very small. In 2007 and 2006, Monarch larvae were much more common and included both large and small ones. | Atchison Road, Fifth and Sixth Lines southeast of Fraserville | Drew Monkman |
| August 30, 2008 | There was a single Red-necked Phalarope on the south pond at the Lakefield sewage today for about 3 minutes, at around 2:05 p.m. I saw it at a distance from the south berm (it was on the north side of the south pond), then tried to get a different angle on it, and it was gone, not to be found again. | Lakefield Sewage Lagoon on County Road 33 | Bill Crins |
| August 29, 2008 | While hiking across granite barrens in the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site, we observed a very striking, large bee fly, Lepidophora lepidocera - photo here: http://flickr.com/photos/28113115@N00/2814530358/ We also saw numerous Five-lined Skinks, and singles of Northern Red-bellied Snake (DOR), Eastern Garter Snake, and Northern Ribbon Snake, photo: http://flickr.com/photos/28113115@N00/2813831435/ The few active birds included four Solitary Sandpipers on a drained beaver pond, and an overflying Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-eyed Vireos feeding fledged young. Michael and Martha Woodview | Kawartha Highlands Signature Site (to become Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park) | Michael Butler and Martha Allan |
| August 25, 2008 | These last few weeks I've been noticing the exceptionally heavy cone crop on White Pines. Many shrubs, too, have abnormally abundant fruit. These include Choke Cherry, Tartarian Honeysuckle, dogwoods and blueberries. As for ornamental trees, European Mountain-Ash is showing a very heavy crop of berries, too. | throughout Central Ontario | Drew Monkman |
| August 25, 2008 | We had about 30 Eastern Kingbirds at our place in Cavan Monday. I have never seen them in mass before. Beautiful to watch. (This would have been a migratory flock. D.M.) | Cavan | Cheryl Covert |
| August 25, 2008 | I watched about six Common Nighthawks migrating over County Road 8 near Cottesloe this evening. | County Road 8, Peterborough County | Drew Monkman |
| August 24, 2008 | With the cooler temperatures overnight, a great deal of migration activitiy appeared to have taken place. On Monday morning, the trees around my brother's cottage north of Kaladar were full of warblers - 50 or more - of at least 10 different species. As is usual during fall migration, they were in the company of chickadees. Numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches were quite high as well. | Big Gull Lake, Kaladar, ON | Drew Monkman |
| August 21, 2008 | While boating on the Otonabee River just north of the Wallace Point bridge on Thursday 21 August 2008, at 19:30 hrs., I saw four large, long-legged pure white birds roosting in a tree-top. They were approached by a large osprey which sent them into a fuss and they started dive bombing the osprey and chasing it off. After they had successfully driven the osprey off, they went back into the tree top. I think they might be Common Egrets. Is is likely that that is what they were or am I mistaken? Are common egrets known to be in this part of Ontario? (Yes, these egrets - now called Great Egrets - are regular late summer visitors to Peterborough County, especially south of the city. D.M.) | Otonabee River | Colum Michael Diamond |
| August 18, 08 | At 9 a.m.there was a single Great Egret in the construction ponds. | Mervin Line at Airport Road | Don Sutherland |
| August 18, 08 | A possible Black-billed Magpie was seen at Trent University this morning. The bird was with a flock of crows in the north parking lot on the west bank of the Otonabee. (Note: Stu lived in Calgary where the species is common and is therefore familiar with it. However, the magpie is usually never seen east of the Ontario/Manitoba border. D.M.) | Trent University campus | Stu Harrison |
| August 16, 08 | Jerry Ball found a Giant Swallowtail butterfly at the corner of Scriven Rd and the 4th Line of South Monaghan. On August 17th, Jerry and Tony Bigg found three Giant Swallowtails on Scriven Rd, two between the 4th and 3rd Lines, and one between the 3rd and 2nd Lines. | South Monaghan Twsp |
Jerry Ball and Tony Bigg |
| August 16, 08 | There was a single Great Egret in with the cattle in the pasture on the north side of Beardmore Rd. and three in the construction ponds at the southwest corner of Mervin Line and Airport Rd. No bands were seen on any of these egrets. |
Beardsmore Road Mervin Line at Airport Road |
Don Sutherland |
| August 14, 08 | Recent observations include Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Black-throated Blue warblers eating the berries on the Red-osier Dogwoods. Indigo Buntings on new growth along road. Several pairs nested this year and have done so for 4 or 5 years. | Stoney Lake | Rob Welsh |
| August 12, 08 | Many, many Common Nighthawks here tonight in Kawartha Hideway. | Buckhorn Lake | Jane Philpott |
| August 12, 08 | At about 10 p.m., a Northern True Katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia) could be heard in the vicinity of King and John Streets. | Avenues area of downtown Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| August 12, 08 | I observed an American Snout butterfly today. (This is only the second record for Peterborough County for this species. The first was on 28 July 1999 by Don Sutherland. It was seen on Sammy Island in Belmont Lake, northeast of Havelock. | just south of Peterborough | Jerry Ball |
| August 12, 08 | This evening, I counted 30 Common Nighthawks circling above the road. I had four sightings of Caspian Terns in the vicinity of Lakefield this summer from the beginning of June to the end of July. On July 27 whilst on a cruise on Stony Lake I saw three terns including one carrying fish in its beak. I suspect that they are still breeding somewhere on the lake. | from the end of Hwy 115, west along Hwy 7, and north on Hwy 28 | Tony Bigg |
| July 4, 08 | We had our first Monarch in the garden today. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| July 1, 08 | Margo Huges observed an Eight-spotted Forester (black with two white or yellow spots on the forewing and two white spots on the hind wing) in her garden. They are often mistaken for a butterfly because they fly during the day and visit nectar flowers. The host plants for the caterpillars are Virginia Creeper and grapevines. | Peterborough | Margo Hughes |
| June 26, 08 | I saw my first Monarch Butterfly of the year today. | Marina Boulevard, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 24, 08 | I am not sure if this would be new for Peterborough County but I found a Hooded Warbler nest right on the southern edge of the County this afternoon. It is in the Ganaraska Forest. As it is a Species at Risk and it has a nest with young I won't give the location information but I thought people would be interested to know about it anyways. | Ganaraska Forest | Ben Walters |
| June 21, 08 | Did you notice that it "rained" little toads on Friday night? That was around the MNR building on Water street. You could not even walk accross the parking lots without stepping on the poor little guys. (Note: According to Don Sutherland of M.N.R., this was due to a mass emergence of American Toads from a breeding pond. The man-made water-cooling pond on the south side of the MNR building is used by a large number of American Toads for breeding. Strong choruses of calling males could be heard there in early May. Toad tadpoles can metamorphose into toadlets in as little as 40-50 days and usually disperse from breeding ponds en masse on warm, rainy nights.) | Water Street at Charlotte in downtown Peterborough | Ernie Basciano |
| June 16, 08 | On Listowell Line in Ennismore today, I had an Upland Sandpiper ( always there ) and a Common Sipe sitting on the Hydro wires. Strange place for the snipe | Ennismore | Randy Smith |
| June 8, 08 | During a midmorning walk through Quackenbush Provincial Park today, we saw/heard a good mix of resident birds including Red-shouldered Hawk, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Yellow-throated Vireo (2 singing) and Cerulean Warbler (4 singing). Most of the common warblers were present, as well. We also found a Least Flycatcher sitting on a nest. | Quackenbush Provincial Park can be accessed by a trail leading south from Cty. Rd. 44, just east of the junction with Cty. Rd. 6, near the SE corner of Stony Lake. | Michael Butler and Martha Allan |
| June 7, 08 | This morning, both a Blackpoll Warbler and a Swainson’s Thrush could be heard singing in the Avenues area of the downtown. | Avenues area of downtown Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| May 26, 08 | A Common Nighthawk circled over my house in the west end of Peterborough at 6:30 p.m. today. It's the first I've seen/heard in Peterborough this spring. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 16 , 08 | A bike ride to and through a woodlot at Mt. Julian turned up a few interesting birds, among them: Red-headed Woodpecker (1), Eastern Wood Pewee (1), Yellow-throated Vireo (5+), Red-eyed Vireo (many), Black-and-white Warbler (2), Ovenbird (many), Northern Waterthrush (1), Common Yellow-throat (3), Yellow Warbler (2), Yellow-rumped Warbler (3), Pine Warbler (1), Cerulean Warbler (4 singing), Black-throated Blue Warbler (3), Blackburnian Warbler (1) Black-throated Green Warbler (10), Chestnut-sided Warbler (6), American Redstart (10+), Nashville Warbler (4), Tennessee Warbler (1), Golden-winged Warbler (?) (1 GWWA song heard on Reid's Road). The Ceruleans were in very good breeding habitat at a site we haven't visited before. | Mount Julian on Stony Lake | Michael Butler |
| May 14, 08 | Today I saw and heard a male Blue-winged Warbler on Co. Rd. 44, about 1.2 km east of the Cty Rd. 6 junction (near the south-east corner of Stony Lake), very close to the large wooden Douro-Dummer Township sign. Tony Bigg and Anne Anthony found a Blue-winged Warbler on June 6 last year, only half a km west of here. | Stony Lake | Michael Butler |
| May 12, 08 | Warblers in our yard yesterday included a male Chestnut-sided, drinking water from the birdbath, and male Nashville, preening itself in our blossom-laden Juneberry tree. Quite a beautiful sight! Today, a female Blackburnian was singing and came in quite close in response to pishing.. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 11, 08 | This morning, while alking along the trail bordering the west side of the canal, just south of Nassau Mills Road, oriole song was everywhere. Also calling were a Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbirds, Warbling Vireos and Northern Waterthrushes. There are some nice stands of wildflowers in the woods along this trail including Blue Cohosh. | Trent University | Drew Monkman |
| May 10, 08 | Working in the garden today, migrant birdsong was dominated by White-crowned Sparrows. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also singing. A Grey Catbird was in the yard, too, as well as a Baltimore Oriole. Our two Pin Cherry's are at their peak blossom as is our Juneberry. Dandelion is also at or close to peak bloom. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| May 9, 08 |
New migrants were evident in small numbers on each of the last two mornings. All sightings were around our home at Mt. Julian. May 8: Least Flycatcher (2), Blue-headed Vireo (1), Ovenbird (3), Nashville Warbler (3), Chestnut-sided Warbler (1), Palm Warbler (1), Yellow Warbler (1), Black-throated Green Warbler (4),Yellow-rumped Warbler (5) May 9: Baltimore Oriole (1), Yellow-throated Vireo (1) , Blue-headed Vireo (1), Nashville Warbler (2), Black-and-white Warbler (2), American Redstart (1), Common Yellowthroat (1), Northern Waterthrush (1), Ovenbird (12+), Black-throated Blue Warbler (4), Black-throated Green Warbler (6), Blackburnian Warbler (4), Chestnut-sided Warbler (2), Yellow-rumped Warbler (7). Five Evening Grosbeaks continue to visit our feeders, along with 3-4 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, two Wood Ducks and 8+ White-crowned Sparrows. |
Mt. Julian, near Woodview | Michael Butler and Martha Allen |
| May 9, 08 | Today the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds returned. There are also many Baltimore Orioles being sighted in Youngstown subdivision in Ennismore. Our feeders are very busy at this moment. | Ennismore | Marilyn Emery |
| May 9, 08 | We have had a Harris' Sparrow at our feeder for the past three days. My field guides indicate that this sparrow winters in the central U.S. then migrates north to Manitoba/Saskatchewant. So, it would appear to be far east of its normal range. (Note: This is an extremely rare bird for our area and one of only a handfull of sightings over the years. D.M.) | Kawartha Hideaway, Buckhorn Lake | Jane Philpott |
| May 9, 08 | An osprey.was found today - dead with a broken wing. Apparently, just before I got there, another osprey swooped down and flipped the carcass over. Aggresion? Affection? There were no overhead wires present. I also saw 4 eagles this week. They were quite high, circling and drifting north. | Stony Lake - Fire Road 10D | Rob Welsh |
| May 7, 08 | As cool, damp weather continues, Amelanchier is at flowering peak throughout the city right now. I saw my first Chimney Swift flying over the Otonabee with numerous swallows early this evening. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 5, 08 | My first Ruby-throated Hummingbird arrived back today. | Cavan | Cheryl Covert |
| May 4, 08 | The PFN Sunday outing traveled this morning to the south-east of the county. On Blezard Line we were able to watch a Solitary Sandpiper from up close in a large flooded field to the west of the road. Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs were feeding together making the ID easy for the newer birders. At the base of Birdsall Rd we had a good look at a male White-winged Scoter. The woods just east of the Ouse River on River Rd were rich with spring flowers - many Red Trilliums, White Trilliums, Dutchman’s Breeches, Large-flowered Bellwort Sharp-leaved Hepatica, and Spring Beauty to name some. Earlier at the Lakefield Marsh I saw a Warbling Vireo and an Eastern Kingbird. The River Otter was again alongside the cattails in the marsh. | Rice Lake and Lakefield areas | Tony Bigg |
| May 3, 08 | Today, a culvert near the hamlet of Douro still contained large numbers of Canadian Worms (Aporrectodea tuberculata) swimming under the water. The worms average about 4" to 6" long. On April 21st, the mass was about 6' by 4' by 6" and probably included many thousands of individual worms. In one scoop of the hand, you could bring out a 100 or more. Whether this was some sort of mating swarm is not clear. The worms swim under debris, appear to go in and out of tunnels or burrows and even appear to be eating at times. This particular body of water dries up in the summer. | 5th Line and Centre Road of Douro in 2cd culvert north of the Centre Line | Randy Johnson |
| May 3, 08 | Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were singing on Maple Cresecent this morning and on Gilmour Street. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman, Erica Nol |
| May 3, 08 | Today, I flushed two separate Song Sparrows from their nests next to trails. One had 4 eggs, the other 5. | Cavan Creek | Scott McKinlay |
| May 2, 08 | A Baltimore Oriole appeared in our yard today. | Bethel Road, Emily Township | Doug Lawson |
| May 2, 08 | Pin Cherry and Juneberry (Amelanchier) are now in bloom in my yard. With the continued cool, wet weather, there were large numbers of swallows -mostly Tree Swallows - feeding over the Otonabee today between the zoo and Lakefield. In most sections of the river where I stopped (as far north as Lock 23), maybe two dozen swallows could be seen at a time. 50 or so birds were also feeding over the pond just north of the intersection of Water Street and University Heights Boulevard. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 1, 08 | The cool weather this week, with night-time temperatures a few degrees below zero, has temporarily slowed the progression of leaf-out. As we begin May, the maples are still mostly clad in flowers with leaves just beginning to emerge. The overall appearance is one of a green pastel gauze. There are still lots of White-throated Sparrows singing along our street. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 29, 08 | During the snow storm this afternoon, I was at the end of North School Rd in Youngs Point at the marsh, and there were lots of White Trilliums already in bloom. I don't think I have ever seen that in April before. I also got to view an American Woodcock today on her nest in a field off of River Road in Bobcaygeon.. | Young's Point and Bobcaygeon | Ernie Basciano |
| April 29, 08 | We are now seeing a Brown Thrasher and several White-throated and White-crowned sparrows at our feeder. A Wild Turkey crossed our lawn. | Lily Lake Road | Gord Mallory |
| April 27, 08 | Today, while walking the dogs in Petroglyphs Provincial Park, we heard an Ovenbird singing along the park road just north of the entrance kiosk. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| April 26, 08 | Today, while conducting chorus frog surveys in the Ennismore-Buckhorn-Nogies Creek area, I encountered Northern Waterthrushes at more than a dozen sites, a single singing Palm Warbler and a House Wren. Lots of herps: Midland Chorus Frogs (calling at 37 locations, some of which had been ice- and snow-bound last weekend), lots of Spring Peepers and Northern Leopard Frogs, Wood Frogs still calling at one site and Gray Treefrogs (calling), Later in the afternoon, along the rail trail north of Trent University, Lori and I saw and heard both a Yellow Warbler and a Black-and-White Warbler. | various locations | Don Sutherland |
| April 26, 08 | Today, while working in the yard, I heard and saw a Least Flycatcher (early be at least two weeks) and a Red Admiral butterfly. Ruby-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows were singing all day, as well. Unlike Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowneds respond well to pishing. One came within a metre of me. In the evening, while listening from our house, I heard a number of toads calling. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 26, 08 | At our feeders at Mt Julian (Twp. North Kawartha) we observed an influx of White-throated Sparrows, accompanied by our first White-crowned Sparrow. A single, lingering Evening Grosbeak was joined by four Pine Siskins and three Purple Finches. In the nearby woods we saw/heard Black-throated Green (2), Blackburnian Warbler (1) & Hermit Thrush (1). We also had two Caspian Turns on Stony Lake today - an early date. | Mount Julian, near Woodview | Michael Butler |
| April 26, 08 | We saw our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year. | Bethel Road, Emily Township | Doug Lawson |
| April 25, 08 | This morning, while cycling around the Forest Hill-Pinehill Dr. neighbourhood between Parkhill and Weller, in Peterborough, I encountered three Bohemian Waxwings (late date?) in a flock of 23 Cedar Waxwings on Fenwood Circle. (N.B. This is a very late date for Bohemians to still be in our area. They usually have left by mid-April at the latest. | Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| April 25, 08 | A pair of late Pine Grosbeaks has been visiting Paul Burke's feeder in Peterborough. One of the birds appears to be injured. It was still present on April 25. The other bird was not seen after April 15. These are about the latest records for Pine Grosbeak for the County in recent times according to Peter Burke. | Peterborough | Paul Burke |
| April 25, 08 |
The first tulips in our front garden (eastward facing) bloomed today. Some lawns in the city now have Dandelions in bloom. |
Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 24, 08 | Two Caspian Terns were sitting on a rock in the Otonabee River on Water Street just north of Hilliard in the small park where you can pull off. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 24, 08 | Jerry Ball and I traveled up to Sandy Lake Rd and area today and found five species of butterfly. Surprisingly the most numerous were Henry’s Elfin at 30 individuals. Jerry has never before seen more than two individuals in one year. We appear to have hit this butterfly at its peak this year. The other species were Mourning Cloak (30), Spring Azure (12), Brown Elfin (8), and Gray Comma (2). | Sandy Lake area, north of Havelock | Tony Bigg and Jerry Ball |
| April 24, 08 | As weather in the low 20s continues, flowers are completely out on all Norway Maples and some Sugar Maples. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 23, 08 | Today is the fifth straight day with temperatures in the twenties. The catkins are already piling up on the road under Carolina Poplars and fallen flowers litter the ground under Silver Maples. Leaves are almost out on lilacs, red elder and other early leafing species. Bloodroot is in flower in my garden as well as Pulmonaria. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 21, 08 | My first Yellow Warbler of the year was singing across from my place (1798 Young's Pt.Road, Lakefield) this afternoon. (Note: This may be a record early date, the earliest previous date being April 24th according to Sadler's "Our Heritage of Birds" - D.M.) | Lakefield | Myles Falconer |
| April 21, 08 | The flooded field at the corner of Smith-Ennismore Fifth Line and Centre Line resonated with calling leopard frogs, chorus frogs and several American Toads. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 20, 08 |
This morning, during an Earth Day nature hike at Lakefield Marsh that Jerry Ball and I led, we watched a pair of very noisy and pugnacious Merlins. Their nest is easily visible in a tree opposite house #51 near the Marshland centre. Tony Bigg had found the birds and nest earlier this morning. Other birds of special interest on the walk included a Spotted Sandpiper, an American Bittern, a Caspian Tern, a displaying male Northern Harrier, and a flock of six blue morph Snow Geese flying north. The eagles could also be seen sitting on their nest. At least one Green Darner dragonfly was observed flying along the edge of the marsh. This dragonfly was likely a migrant returning from the southern United States. The Green Darner is our only migratory dragonfly, although only part of the population migrates. The rest overwinter in the nymph stage. Forsythia appears to be in full bloom now in Peterborough. Today's temperature was about 24C. |
Hague's Point in Lakefield | Drew Monkman |
| April 20, 08 | Under the full moon and in the unseasonably warm temps, Jon and I heard 5 Anuran species calling simultaneously in our neighborhood: 1 American Toad, 2 Leopard Frogs, and full choruses of Wood Frog, Chorus Frog and Spring Peeper. (N.B. This is an extremely early date for toads. They usually don't call until the first or second week of May.) | Lakefield | Carrie Sadowski |
| April 19, 08 | I saw my first Broad-winged Hawk of the year, south of Havelock, and heard several Virginia Rails (also my first) north of Havelock. I also saw a flock of five Bohemian Waxwings in the business district of downtown Havelock. White-throated Sparrows singing in suitable habitat (though much of it still with extensive patches of snow) were heard at several locations, as well as a number of Purple Finches. | Havelock area | Don Sutherland |
| April 19, 08 | Jerry Ball and I watched the Lake Katchewanooka Bald Eagles feeding their two eaglets today. The eaglets appeared to still be all white and quite small, maybe Rock Pigeon size. We also recorded 8 Greater Yellowlegs in a vernal pond just north of Young's Point and at least 20 Mourning Cloak butterflies in various locations around Lakefield. Apart from two Northern Rough-winged Swallows, a Barn Swallow, and two Tree Swallows on the River, we saw only two other swallows all day. The absence of swallows so far this spring is quite worrisome. Chorus Frogs, however, seemed as common as ever and were heard calling from numerous locations. As for plants, Coltsfoot was in bloom along roadsides in various locations. Elms, Red Maples, Silver Maples, Trembling Aspens, Speckled Alder and White Birch are in full flower right now. Clear Lake appeared 95% free of ice today. Only a few ducks and loons were still lingering here. The temperature today hit 28C! | various locations near Lakefield | Drew Monkman |
| April 19, 08 | Both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were in a wet field at the corner of the Centre Line of Smith and the 5th (NE corner) this afternoon. Several Wilson's Snipe fly about also. | Centre Line of Smith | Anne Anthony |
| April 18, 08 | The Hepatica in my garden was in bloom today. | ||
| April 18 , 08 | This morning the ice on Stoney is very black and honeycombed in the main part of the lake. It is open from Burleigh Falls to Juniper and the Church and around the islands in Boschink Narrows. We've paddled since Wednesday. Many Common Mergansers and Ring Necks with small flocks of Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Goldeneye, Mallards and geese. Also a couple of Blacks,Wood Ducks, Osprey and Loons. I expect breakup this weekend. (Note: in 2007 the ice went out of Lower Stoney on April 20 and Upper Stoney on April 21) | Stoney Lake | Rob Welsh |
| April 17, 08 | While conducting surveys for Chorus Frog, I encountered individual, singing Pine Warblers at about a half dozen locations between Burleigh Falls, Buckhorn, Bobcaygeon and Bridgenorth. A Northern Rough-winged Swallow was with Tree and Barn Swallows over open water at Buckhorn, and Brown Thrasher and Eastern Towhee were encountered near Ennismore and Lakehurst and Buckhorn and Burleigh Falls. Also heard was a Blue-headed Vireo just north of Gannon Narrows, Field Sparrow (3 sites), Vesper Sparrow (2 sites), Savannah Sparrow and Swamp Sparrow. Lots of Chorus Frogs (40+ sites), but mainly south of the Shield edge. Snow (20-40cm depth) is still widespread in the woods and ice in the thicket swamps north of a line through Burleigh Falls, Buckhorn and Bobcaygeon. Similarly, good choruses of Northern Leopard Frog, Wood Frog and Spring Peeper at sites south of the Shield. . | Various locations | Don Sutherland |
| April 17, 08 | Jon and I encountered a Northern Redbelly Snake this afternoon crossing the gravel rail trail just a little north of Trent University yesterday. This area (about 500 m to 1 km N of the start of the trail at Trent) also presently has choruses of Chorus Frog, Wood Frog and Spring Peepers. | Trent University | Carrie Sadowski |
| April 16, 08 | This morning, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets could be heard singing in the Avenues area of downtown Peterborough. | downtown Peterborough | Don Sutherland |
| April 14, 08 | I just came back from a walk down the hill here at Trent, and there is a good chorus of Chorus Frogs presently calling from the wetland between MacKenzie House and Gzowski College. | Trent University | Carrie Sadowski |
| April 14, 08 | I was watching two Fox Sparrows, two American Tree Sparrows, and a White-throated Sparrow under and on the feeders, when suddenly a flash of colour under the pea tree caught my eye and it was an Eastern Towhee. It was the first time ever I have seen one here and such an interesting day to have them all together. | Merino Road, Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| April 13, 08 | This morning at about 9:35, a large Snow Goose of the blue morph flew into the flooded field at Mather's Corners with a group of about 20 Canada Geese. It was still there 10 minutes later when I left that location. | Keene area | Bill Crins |
| April 13, 08 | During an hour-long walk at Petroglyphs PP this morning, we heard Golden-crowned Kinglet (3), Brown Creeper (2), Red-breasted Nuthatch (4), Winter Wren (3), Hermit Thrush (2) and Eastern Phoebe (1), all singing. Except for a few open patches on south-facing slopes, lots of snow (20-60 cm – mid-thigh!) remains in many areas of the park. | Petroglyphs Provincial Park | Don Sutherland |
| April 13 , 08 | A Midland Painted Turtle was sunning itself on a log, at Miller’s Creek Conservation Area. | 7th Line of Smith-Ennismore Township | Tony Bigg |
| April 13, 08 | I heard Chorus Frogs calling this afternoon in a shrub swamp about 1 km north of the Trent University science complex, just east of the rail trail leading to Lakefield. | Trent University | Mike McMurtry |
| April 12, 08 | A couple Spring Peepers were calling tonight in the wet field behind our house. The weather was cold and wet. | Lakefield | Carrie Sadowski |
| April 12, 08 | Today at 21:10 there was a single Spotted Salamander [yellow spotted salamander] crossing the road near my house heading north towards the breeding pond (Sumcot Dr., off Allen's Rd. west of Buckhorn). Weather at the time was light rain and 3 C. There is still a considerable snow cover in the woods; about 2/3 covered in patchy snow which is at least 15 cm deep. | Buckhorn | Martyn Obbard |
| April 11, 08 | A White-throated Sparrow visited our yard today and was in full song for much of the morning. Several whitethroats overwintered on nearby Merino Boulevard this winter and one was briefly at our feeder in late March. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 10, 08 | As 'sparrow week' continues, four American Tree Sparrows were in our yard this morning, for the first time since the fall. This species is slowly making its way north to its breeding grounds on the tundra and should pass through the Kawarthas in large numbers these next few weeks. Junco numbers have increased this week, as well, as they, too, head northward. They can be heard singing throughout the neighbourhood. Also, a beautifully marked Fox Sparrow showed up briefly today. This species is well-known for its "double-scratching," kicking backward in ground litter with both feet to uncover food. This is what drew my attention to its presence. A Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow and four late Common Redpolls kept it company. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 10 , 08 | Tony Bigg also had a Fox Sparrow visiting his feeder today as well as a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the trees in his garden. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| April 9, 08 | Today at my feeder a bright and brillant male Fox sparrow - 1st of the season! | Peterborough | Randy Smith |
| April 9, 08 | Just heard my first Savannah Sparrow of the year singing in the back alfalfa field. In previous years, they usually show at my place between April 11th to 15th. So maybe birds will start showing up on time now (instead of weeks late). Of note, yesterday I had more small flocks of redpolls flying over and a late Northern Shrike terrorizing the feeders. | Young's Point Road | Myles Falconer |
| April 8, 08 | A Wilson's Snipe was displaying overhead early this morning just west of Omemee, on the north side of Hwy. 7. | Omemee | Everett Hanna |
| April 8, 08 | Four Common Redpolls were at our niger feeder most of today. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 8, 08 |
Along 6 Foot Bay Road - 1 male and 1 female Bluebird (far apart, so not necessarily a pair), a half dozen Swamp Sparrows and 2 Eastern Phoebes. |
Buckhorn area | Antonia Sinclair |
| April 7 , 08 | First Chipping Sparrow of the spring this morning on my feeder table beside the yews. | Peterborough | Susan Hill |
| April 7, 08 | I had one Common Loon and two Horned Grebes on Little Lake this morning. I also had my first Groundhog of the season on the 5th line of Douro near Strickland. | Little Lake, 5th Line of Douro | Anne Anthony |
| April 7, 08 | The Bald Eagle was working on his nest on Katchewanooka Lake today. The nest can be seen from the road at 1701 Old Young’s Point Rd, but it was difficult to see the bird from there. Looking back from where the stream crosses the road just north of there, the bird could be seen. | Old Young's Point Road | Tony Bigg |
| April 7, 08 | The two Greater White-fronted Geese were still at the south end of the flooded field at Mathers' Corners this morning and in addition to the hundreds of Mallards and Canadas we saw 40 Pintails, 8 American Wigeons, 4 Blue-winged Teal and abt 20 Blacks. An Osprey was on the nesting platform just west of Keene on Hwy 2. | Keene area | Peter |
| April 6, 08 | I drove up to the cornfield/pond south of the County Rd. 2 and Drummond Line (Mather's Corners) and aside from thousands of Canada Geese and hundreds of Mallards, I did see one pair of Northern Pintails. | Mather's Corners, Cty Rd. 2 | Rick Stankiewicz |
| April 6 , 08 | I visited Mathers' Corners pond this afternoon and saw a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese, a western species. There were at least two dozen pintails and a dozen or so blacks. | Mather's Corners, Cty Rd. 2 | Drew Monkman |
| April 6, 08 | Yesterday I heard my first local Eastern Phoebe of the year, along the 7th Line Smith. As well, this morning a pair of Tree Swallows were already checking out their nest box (they nest in our yard every year), which surprised me considering they just arrived to the area. This evening an American Woodcock was peenting & twittering in the field behind our house. Now I'm just waiting for the frogs to begin calling! | ||
| April 6, 08 | At noon today there were at least 4 Great Blue Herons standing on nests at the Sandy Lake colony. I heard a Winter Wren singing this morning (April 7) while I was walking the dog-off Allen's Road, west of Buckhorn. | Buckhorn | Martyn Obbard |
| April 6, 08 | Yesterday I heard my first local Eastern Phoebe of the year, along the 7th Line Smith. As well, this morning a pair of Tree Swallows were already checking out their nest box (they nest in our yard every year), which surprised me considering they just arrived to the area. This evening an American Woodcock was peenting & twittering in the field behind our house. Now I'm just waiting for the frogs to begin calling! | Lakefield | Carrie Sadowski |
| April 6, 08 | Amazing, right now at 1:15 p.m. there is a Mourning Cloak Butterfly on my platform feeder. It is black with a golden/beige outline on the outer wings. | Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| April 5, 08 | At Little Lake, at least 600 ducks were present with very large numbers (150 plus) of Hooded Merganser and Ring-necked Ducks. Bufflehead numbers seemed to have increased over last week. There were also small "flocks" of Pied-billed Grebes numbering about six individuals per group. I would guess there had to be several dozen grebes in all. I did not see any swallows at Little Lake. | Otonabee River, Little Lake | Drew Monkman |
| April 5, 08 | This afternoon there were 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers seen near the Indian River in Warsaw. Also there was an Osprey on its nest on Nicholson Road near Hiawatha First Nation. | Warsaw & Hiawatha | Anne Anthony, Maureen Smith |
| April 4, 08 | Letting the dog out has been profitable for me the last two mornings! Yesterday an Eastern Towhee greeted me with a ‘Cup-of-tea-ea-ea’, and this morning I first heard and then saw a Sandhill Crane fly over my house in Lakefield. The latter was flying towards Buckley’s Lake – its usual breeding area. | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| April 4, 08 | I have been observing 40-60 Tree Swallows over the Otonabee River at Trent University all week long. | Trent University on the Otonabee River | Everett Hanna |
| April 3, 08 | Despite near-freezing temperatures and a backyard still full of snow, about six midges were doing their up and down "yo-yo" mating flight in our backyard late this afternoon. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| April 3, 08 | Deer carcass about 150 yards East and North of April 2 sighting, close to shore, with mature Bald Eagle. | Stoney Lake | Fred Sneath |
| April 2, 08 | An Osprey was flying over the nesting platform by the dam slipway in downtown Lakefield at 2:00 p.m. today. Note that no Ospreys have yet been reported by the Hawk Watch at the Beamer CA in Grimsby (which monitors hawk migration on a daily basis.) | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| April 2, 08 | On Nicholson Rd and Lakeview we had a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, a male Northern Harrier, 4 Killdeer and 100's of robins. | SE of County Rd 2 | Jerry Ball and Anne Anthony |
| April 2, 08 | We saw a flock of crows on a deer carcass about 250 yards off North shore of Stoney, midway between Viamede and Anchorage. The birds moved off a short distance with the arrival of a wolf. Checking a few minutes later,the wolf was gone and the crows were back. | Stoney Lake | Fred Sneath |
| April 2, 08 | From the end of South Beach Road at Youngs Point (Clear Lake - 44.4863°, -78.2265°), we viewed the following this afternoon: 10 Canada Goose, 5 Mallards, 2 Black Ducks, 120 Ring-necked Ducks, 1 Canvasback, 5 Bufflehead, 75 Common Goldeneyes, 60 Common Merganser, 25 Hooded Merganser, 1 Belted Kingfisher: The Canvasback could be seen only by scanning the water north of Clearview Resort. | Young's Point | Michael Butler and Martha Allen |
| April 1st, 08 | " Last weekend, a flock of Bohemian Waxwings landed in a flowering crab tree we have in our yard and enjoyed the leftover apples. It was quite a sight. There had to have been about 20." | Peterborough | Glenis Burnie |
| April 1st, 08 | "I watched an Eastern Phoebe this morning, sitting in a bush flicking its tail, on Maniece Ave by the Liftlock Golf Club." | Maniece Ave. | Tony Bigg |
| April 1st, 08 | I had a Cackling Goose at Mather's Corners today amongst the 100+ Canada's, 4 Black Ducks and 7 Mallards. | Mather's Corners on County Road 2, west of Keene | Anne Anthony |
| April 1st, 08 | Yesterday morning, while walking my dog between Beavermead and Rogers Cove, I counted 12 Great Blue Herons along the shoreline. I've only ever spotted a single heron or pairs before, never such a large group in one place Most interesting was that they appeared to be 'attacking' smaller water birds. | Little Lake | Bill Skilton |
| April 1st | I observed several robins, today, eating Staghorn Sumac berries. This is considered a sort of last resort survival food, given their rather scant nutritive value. However, with snow still covering 80% of the ground, there is little other food. Today saw the first double digit mild conditions in over a month with a maximum of 12 C. | Royal Drive, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 31, 08 | "I photographed an early caterpillar taking a walk on the snow in the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday. I’m not sure of the identification but think it may be a form of Yellow Bear (Virginian Tiger Moth). Today I saw my first Common Loon and Belted Kingfisher for the year on the Otonabee River above Lock 25." | Trent Wildlife Sanctuary, Otonabee River, | Tony Bigg |
| March 29, 08 | At least eight Turkey Vultures are presently roosting in a row of Norway Spruce on Edgewood Road in the west end of Peterborough. The birds have been there for several days and roost here for a week or so every year during spring migration. | Edgewood Road | Vickie Martin |
| March 29, 08 | "I saw five Bald Eagles this morning. All five were close together..but two in particular were "dancing"-partial rolls,dips,climbing short stoops. No talon holds. It seems a little late for them to still be here, but there are still wolves killing deer. There have been two kills in the Boschink area of Stony Lake recently." | Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| March 29, 08 | "A male cardinal is coming regularly, sitting on our BBQ and then flying into our patio door. It does this for a good half hour back and forth. Even though it is a little annoying to listen to, we don't want to scare it away." (The bird is seeing its reflection and trying to drive the "intruder" away. DM) | Bonnie Patterson | |
| March 29, 08 | Duck numbers at Little Lake were particularly high this afternoon. After a quick count, I would guess there were at least 150 each of Hooded Mergansers and Ring-necked Ducks, 100 Common Mergansers, maybe 50 Common Goldeneye, and about 30 Bufflehead. I didn't have time to check all of the ducks carefully, so other species were probably present as well. | Little Lake | Drew Monkman |
| March 28, 08 | I found a freshly killed (still warm) Eastern Screech Owl on Division Rd. about 500m east of Hwy 28 at 7:10 this morning. There was still no sign of the Great Gray Owl near Old Norwood Rd and Burnham Line. A River Otter was on the ice by Lock 23 and the large bird on the dead carp by Lock 25 was again the immature Bald Eagle. Another immature Bald Eagle was sitting in a white pine on the island behind the beer store in Lakefield. | various locations | Tony Bigg |
| March 27, 08 | This morning, I saw a Killdeer on one of the new subdivision roads NW of Wildlark Dr. in the west end of Peterborough. It flew off towards Loggerhead Marsh which is now frozen but must have a few patches of open water. Where else does it find food? There certainly wasn't anything to eat on the paved road. | Wildlark Drive, Peterborough | Chris Risley |
| March 27, 08 | Kestrel and Northern Harrier | Moncrief Line (Airport Road) near Highway 28 south of Peterborough | Ken Rumble |
| March 27, 08 | Two American Woodcocks were calling and flying around the junction of Burnham line on Old Norwood Rd. at dusk. | Burnham Line east of Peterborough | Tony Bigg |
| March 27, 08 | "We have heard and seen a Merlin in Inverlea Park this spring. They are once again nesting in pine trees. Their call is disturbing us. This is the third year they have come to raise families." | Inverlea Park, Peterborough | Russell Macgillivray |
| March 27, 08 | There were a couple of Eastern Meadowlarks standing in the snow today on Bartlett Rd. which is off Highway 28. They were near 28. There was also 2 Kestrels in the vicinity. | Bartlett Road | Ben Walters |
| March 25, 08 | About 15 cm of heavy snow fell this afternoon and this evening. No major March thaw has occurred as of yet. Skiing conditions are still superb at Kawartha Nordic X-C ski trails at Haultain. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 25, 08 | At Lakefield Marsh, this morning, I saw a Great Blue Heron fly over. Red-winged Blackbirds were spread out all around the marsh giving their territorial calls. A few Common Grackles were also around, and one Northern Shrike sat near the viewing tower. In the river by the campsite there were 8 Common Mergansers, 8 Hooded Mergansers, 6 Buffleheads, 5, Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Common Goldeneyes, several small flocks of Canada Geese, and several pairs of Mallards. Yesterday I had two Common Redpolls at my feeder with a large flock of American Goldfinch. The Redpolls seem mostly to have left our area. Today my feeders have a mixed flock of Redwings, Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds as well as the normal suspects. | Lakefield Marsh, Deyncourt Street, Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| March 25, 08 | For at least the past five days, a Great Gray Owl has been present (and photographed) along Burnham Line near Old Norwood Road. To my knowledge, this is the first Great Gray seen in the Kawarthas this winter/spring and may mean there are others around or on their way. | Burnham Line | reported to Drew Monkman |
| March 25, 08 | In the last two days, Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls have moved on from our feeders. About 30 Evening Grosbeaks continue to visit, now in the company of male Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds. On Mount Julian Road, within a known breeding territory, we encountered our first Red-shouldered Hawk of the season. Over Burleigh Falls we saw a lone Turkey Vulture flying north. | Burleigh Falls area | Michael Butler |
| March 24, 08 | A pair of House Sparrows has already laid claim to a nest box in our backyard. The female has been spending most of today and yesterday removing nesting material that I assume has been there since last summer. I guess she's giving the place a makeover! A dozen American Robins were also in the yard late this afternoon, feeding on European Buckthorn berries. The snow is still about a metre deep in the backyard. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 24, 08 | In what's turning out to be the winter/spring of the Barred Owl, another bird has turned up, this time just north of the city. It has been sitting out in plain view in a backyard where there's lots of feeder activity and a large contingent of squirrels and chipmunks. It was present March 20th and 21st and then again today. | 5th Line of Smith Township | Sylvie Morgan |
| March 24, 08 | A Northern Saw-whet Owl made a stop-over on its northward migration today. It turned up in a tree in the front yard of a house on Gilmour Street in Peterborough. | Peterborough | Erica Nol |
| March 23, 08 | This morning I saw my first Common Grackles of the year along Wallis Drive. During a quick drive through of Little Lake Cemetery, a Song Sparrow, my first of the year, too, was singing. I also saw a flock of about a dozen Ring-necked Ducks in addition to the buffleheads, hooded mergansers and pied-billed grebes that were present. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 23, 08 | While preparing our Easter supper, we were treated to a short visit by an Ermine, also known as the Short-tailed Weasel. It was spotted by my daughter, Sophie . Still in its winter colouration, the weasel was pure white except for a black-tipped tail. Note that McCrea Drive, where the animal was seen, is within the city limits. | McCrea Drive, Peterborough | Sophie Monkman |
| March 21, 08 | Today, I saw one Trumpeter Swan on Lower Buckhorn Lake around the mouth of the Mississauga River. He stayed there for hours. | Lower Buckhorn Lake | Rose Mary Rosada |
| March 20, 08 | With spring's arrival today, Peterborough has recorded a record winter for snowfall - 304 centimetres. Although there are some gaps in local records, the snowiest winter previously was 302.7 cm in 1911-12. According to Dave Phillips of Environment Canada, 10 percent of the annual snowfall comes after the first day of spring, so there is more on the way. | Peterborough | |
| March 1, 08 | The first Turkey Vulture of the spring arrived today and is roosting in a row of tall cedars in the west end of Peterborough. Most years, as many as 10 vultures show up during spring migration and all roost together in the same stand of spruce. During the day, they are sometimes seen soaring over the west end. | Edgewood Road, Peterborough | Vickie Martin |
| March 14, 08 | I heard my first American Robin in full song this morning. There was also the most feeder activity in weeks - chickadees, both nuthatches, juncoes, house sparrows, mourning doves, cardinals, a downy woodpecker, and American goldfinches | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 14, 08 | This first day of mild weather (7 C) in along time also brought in some migrants. The first flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds arrived at the Kidd farm today. |
Douro/Dummer County Road 8 |
Bruce Kidd |
| March 14, 08 | Many Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, and Greater Scaup on the Lake today, along with 2 Buffleheads and 2 grebes (Pied-billed?) There were also crows carrying nesting material. | Little Lake | Ken Rumble |
| March 13, 08 | Bohemian Waxwings are still hanging around in the area. There were about 250 birds in the trees just south of the bridge in Lakefield today. Also the Pied-billed Grebe was below and a sub-adult Bald Eagle (head turning white) was above Lock 24 today. | Otonabee River and Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| March 8, 08 | A flock of at least 150 Bohemian Waxwings kept me entertained while I shovelled snow today. Many of them came down to feed on European Buckthorn in our yard. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| March 7, 08 | A Pied-billed Grebe was seen at noon, just below Lock 25. | Otonabee River | Tony Bigg |
| March 7, 08 | "Signs of spring today included a male Red-winged Blackbird at the feeder in our backyard in Cavan. When I went outside a few minutes later it was calling, as were a group of 4-5 robins in the neighbour's yard. While I was watching them picking tiny dried apples off the neighbour's ornamental tree, a group of 12 Bohemian Waxwings joined them. It was fun to see those two species feeding together." | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| March 6, 08 | For the first time this spring, a male House Sparrow sat on one of our bird houses and called repeatedly today, presumably to show ownership of the box and to attract a female. He has been hanging out around the box all winter, but today was the first actual singing. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Michelle Monkman |
| March 6, 08 | Two male Wood Ducks were seen just below the bus barns on River Road. | Otonabee River | Jerry Ball |
| March 4, 08 | A dead Barred Owl was found today below a bridge on a Trent Wildlife Sanctuary trail. The bird showed no signs of trauma. | Trent Wildlife Sanctuary | Ingrid Jones |
| March 4, 08 | "I heard the first Mourning Doves of the year calling this morning at around 7:30 a.m." | Peterborough | Everett Hannah |
| March 1, 08 | A Brush Wolf (Coyote) has been hanging out on the west side of Chemong Road, north of the Parkway Trail towards the Simmons subdivision. Instead of a howl, its vocalization is a high pitched scream. It has also been seen between Cabot Street. and the paved "Parkway Trail". It has a lame hind leg. | Simmons subdivision and Cabot Street | Mel Barns |
| February 28, 08 | "I looked out today at about 1:00 pm to see an exquisite Barred Owl staring back at me on my deck." | Morton Line, Cavan | Holly McBain |
| February 17, 08 | Immature Bald Eagle sitting on ice on west side of Otonabee River, 100 metres above Lock 25. Bird was seen at about 1:00 p.m. | Lock 25, Otonabee River | Drew Monkman |
| February 15, 08 | Pileated Woodpecker hammering on dead branch | McCrea Drive, Peterborough | Cy Monkman |
| February 14 , 08 | During my walk to work (MNR downtown) from East City this morning, I saw three flocks of American Robins, totalling about 125 individuals flying overhead and calling. I also heard full songs of 1 House Sparrow, 1 American Robin and 1 House Finch. | East City, Peterborough | Andrew Jobes |
| February 12, 08 | More signs of spring – within the last week I have seen a pair of Mourning Doves copulating on my bird feeder, pairs of Red-tailed Hawks sitting together in trees, and a Beaver on the ice at Haig’s Point in Lakefield. | Lakefield and area | Tony Bigg |
| February 11, 08 | On this cold, winter day, thought I would mention that yesterday, Feb.11, we had the first Horned Lark of the year on the farm, picking around among the cattle. |
Douro/Dummer County Rd. 8 |
Bruce Kidd |
| February 9, 08 | A House Finch was in full song at noon today in a tree in front of our house. First House Finch song of the new year for me. | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| February 6, 08 | Opossum - "this little guy sure looked cold and was not moving very fast when I saw him" | Harrington Lane, Ennismore | Randy Smith |
| February 5, 08 | First smell of Skunk for 2008 - at 6 a.m. this morning - foggy and mild (4 C) | Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| February 5, 08 | Two Pileated Woodpeckers observed excavating dead maples on Milburn Street in Edmison Heights. One hole over two feet long and six inches or more wide. Large chips all over the snow. | Milburn Street | Ron Fuller |
| February 2, 08 | 12 Cedar Waxwings in yard, feeding on European Buckthorn berries | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| February 1, 08 | Barred Owl seen in Ennismore | Ennis Road | Randy Smith |
| January 31, 08 | Mature Bald Eagle seen at 1:30 p.m. flying south | Cty Rd 6 and 8th Line of Dummer | Horst & Elke Vauth |
| January 30, 08 | On Jan 30 a 1st or 2nd year Bald Eagle was seen near Lakefield on River Road feeding on a carp laying on the ice. | River Road | Randy Smith |
| January 28 , 08 | I heard my first Northern Cardinal of the year singing this morning. | Marina Blvd, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| January 8 , 08 | With extremely mild temperatures of 12 C, a Woolly Bear caterpillar was found out on the lawn and active! These insects overwinter as caterpillars, spin a coccoon in the spring, and emerge from the coccoon in early summer as an Isabella Moth. | Peterborough | Mrs. Cain |
| January 5, 2008 | On the Petroglyphs Christmas Bird Count, 31 species were recorded, a little below the average of 35. Birds and numbers of interest included 9 Bald Eagles, 1 Golden Eagle, 2 Black-backed Woodpeckers, 5 Gray Jays, 403 Blue Jays, 87 Pine Grosbeaks, 393 Common Redpolls, and 113 Evening Grosbeaks. | Stoney Lake to Apsley area | many observers |
2007 |
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| December 25, 2007 | A flock of 40 Eastern Bluebirds was a nice addition to Christmas Day. | Stevenson Road, betweeen Gore's Landing & Harwood | Marilyn Taylor |
| December 20, 07 | Just a little report of the Wild Turkeys that walk my back deck with caution but also bravado. The largest count so far is 19 at one time, but we regularly have 12 to 16. These include 3 males and 13 females. One of the females pecks away at the sunflower feeder as if she's a chickadee! | Buckhorn | Wayne Stone |
| December 16, 07 |
On the Peterborough Christmas Bird Count, 33 species (plus 7 count period species) and 3264 individuals were recorded by 21 field observers. Due to the blizzard-like conditions, both of these totals are well below the averages for the last ten years of 53 species and 9328 individuals, and the lowest number of species since 1968. Winter ‘finch’ numbers were: 13 Pine Grosbeaks, 141 Common Redpolls (with 2 Hoary Redpolls seen during the count period), 77 American Goldfinch, 520 Snow Buntings, 325 Bohemian Waxwings, and 7 Cedar Waxwings. |
Peterborough | Tony Bigg and others |
| December 15, 07 | 100+ Bohemian Waxwings | Schneider Place, Peterborough | Shirley Gillespie |
| December 12, 07 | An opossum was observed this evening eating chicken skins on the back deck of a house in Omemee. | Omemee | John Sadler |
| December 4, 07 | Just before sunset today, an immature Bald Eagle traveled the length of Lower Stony, from west to east. That is the usual direction, based on past years. | Lower Stony Lake | Rob Welsh. |
| December 2, 07 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zORv8wwiadQ&feature=related Please take a look at this youtube video on climate change. It is the most compelling argument I've heard yet that the only logical and morally defensible decision is to take serious action now to address climate change. |
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| December 1, 07 | The Northern Flicker that has wintered for 6 or 7 years in the Avenues has returned a feeder on Gilmour Street, just west of downtown Peterborough. As well a Pileated Woodpecker has been seen twice on Homewood Avenue. in the past week. Singles or twos of Pine Grosbeak have also been around. | Gilmour Street, Peterborough | Chris Risley |
| December 1, 07 | Environment Canada is predicting the coldest winter in 15 years, due mostly to the influence of La Nina (lower-than-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean) which permits Arctic air to dominate the weather over Canada. | ||
| November 29, 07 | Great Horned Owl seen at dusk, sitting in one of the dead trees in the large wetland on University Road | University Rd wetland, just north of County Rd 4 | Ben Walters |
| November 21, 07 | Hermit Thrush and two White-throated Sparrows at feeder | Merino Road, Peterborough | Sue Hill |
| November 21, 07 | 350 to 400 Bohemian Waxwings near Gannon's Narrows. | The birds were on the tops of large trees along Myers Crescent. Myers Crescent is a short loop road off Kinsale Road which connects with Lakehurst Road about 100 metres south of the Gannon's Narrows bridge. | Bryan Wyatt, Guelph |
| November 19, 07 | An employee of the Peterborough Centennial Museum is quite confident he saw a Great Gray Owl sitting on a lamp post in east city (Peterborough). (This would be the first Great Gray reported in central Ontario this fall that I'm aware of. - D.M.) | Ashburnham Road (between the Liftlock and Maria Street) | sighting reported via Carrie Sadowski |
| November 18, 07 | The finch forecast for this fall/winter is spot-on, judging by the visitors to feeders at Mount Julian this week. They include Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, and Common Redpolls. Six Bohemian Waxwings foraging in a Red Cedar were present this morning. Pine Siskins and Purple Finches have been ABSENT for two weeks. | Mt. Julian (Woodview) | Michael Butler |
| November 18, 07 | Pileated Woodpecker hopping from car to car in a parking lot and pecking at the front windshields (N.B. most likely seeing its reflection in the glass and assuming another Pileated had entered its feeding territory) | parking lot (directly adjacent to Jackson Creek) belonging to three-story apartment building between McDonnell and Bonaccord streets in Peterborough | Patricia Klemm |
| November 18, 07 | "Yesterday, I drained our rainwater barrel and suddenly a male Pine Grosbeak and two females landed a foot away from me to drink the running rainwater!" | 17 km north of Norwood | Horst Vauth |
| November 16, 07 | Many Lilacs, European Buckthorn and Siberian Elm, along with a few Norway Maple and Silver Maple, have not yet shed their leaves. This is a very late date for these trees to still have leaves. | Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| November 14, 07 | 50 Snow Buntings flying over the Causeway at Bridgenorth today and 23 Wild Turkeys on the Harrington Line ennismore | Bridgenorth / Ennismore | Randy Smith |
| November 13, 07 | Pine Grosbeaks, both males and females, feeding in crabapple tree. Have been present for at least one week. | Cabot Street, Peterborough | Geoffrey Way-Nee |
| November 9, 07 | 35 Snow Geese (both white and “blue” individuals) flying overhead | Between Lakefield and Trent University. The birds may have landed on the Otonabee River | Colin Jones |
| November 8, 07 |
Pileated Woodpecker at feeder (Note: There have been a number of Pileated Woodpecker sightings in the city in recent days, especially along Parkhill Road between Monaghan and Armour - D. Monkman) |
Whitaker Street / Armour Road in Peterborough | Gord Smith |
| November 8, 07 | 12 American Robins, 10 Golden-crowned Kinglets, Winter Moth, many fresh beaver cuttings | de Pencier Trail on east side of University Road at Trent University |
Drew Monkman Jim Cashmore |
| November 4, 07 | Prickly Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus) a.k.a tumbleweed Has been "tumbling around the garden" | construction site on Cumberland Avenue | Hilary Tyne |
| November 3, 07 | 14 Pine Grosbeak, 14 Bohemian Waxwing, 8 Evening Grosbeak, 100s of Common Redpolls, 30+ Snow Bunting, 1 Lapland Longspur, 10 Eastern Bluebirds, 2 American Pipits | north end of Dear Bay on Upper Buckhorn Lake | Don Sutherland |
| October 31, 07 | Barred Owl | Jackson Park | Johanna Primavesi |
| October 28, 07 | Two Bald Eagles at Six Foot Bay Golf Course | Buckhorn Lake | Wayne Stone |
| October 28, 07 | 25 Common Redpolls, American Tree Sparrows, 200 Bufflehead, 30 Lesser Scaup, 20 Common Goldeneye, 2 Northern Shovellers | Lakefield Sewage Lagoon | Scott McKinlay |
| October 26, 07 | wild raspberries and wild strawberries in bloom as well as Pussy Willow flower buds opening | various locations | Tony Bigg |
| October 26, 07 | Cackling Geese (two), Merlin | Otonabee River | Tony Bigg |
| October 15, 07 | five Snow Geese were seen with about 100 Canada Geese. Small numbers of Snow Geese were also reported from several other locations in early October. | Buckhorn highway, south of the Selwyn lights | Wayne Stone |
| October 13, 07 | 23 Pine Siskins at feeder | Young's Point Road, north of Lakefield | Myles Falconer |
| October 13, 07 | Several people have been noticing plants re-blooming, apparently because of the extremely mild fall we've been having. These include Lowbush Blueberry. | High Falls (Eel's Creek), just north of Stony Lake | Michael Butler |
| October 8, 07 | an entirely white, albino Gray Squirrel was seen and photographed today | Franmore Drive near the Peterborough Golf and Country Club | Charles Hamilton |
| October 2, 07 | An opossum was observed shortly after midnight outside a house on Rice Lake. It quickly scurried up a tree. Screech owls - up to four at a time - are being heard regularly in this area as well. | SW end of Rice Lake | Bill Stone |
| September 15, 07 | Migrating white-throated sparrows have arrived in our yard right on schedule. Today at least six of them were in our Canada elderberry tree, eating the black berries. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| September 2, 07 | Dozens of Fringed Gentian in bloom | rail-trail between Highway 7 and Ackison Drive | Drew Monkman |
| September 2, 07 | Seven Great White Egrets and two Green Herons in ponds on Beardsmore Road. The egrets were in the pond when we arrived, but shortly after flew into a tree at the end of the pond. After about 20 minutes they returned to the pond. Lately there have been a number of wood ducks in both the south and north ponds. | Beardmore Road about 1 km from Airport Road. Beardmore Road exits off Airport Road to the east just south of the 115 overpass | Dave and Sherry Hambly |
| September 27, 07 | I photographed a male Red-bellied Woodpecker in my yard today. | South Monaghan township | David Harries |
| September 1, 07 | The past 3 nights we have seen Common Nighthawks circling and picking off insects about an hour before dusk... so I guess they are heading south .. a sure sign that fall is coming. | Buckhorn Lake at Kawartha Hideway | J. Philpott |
| August 26, 07 | Considerable fall migration today. Redstarts, Yellow Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak (eating elderberries), numerous Blue Jays, and several Purple Finch in yard. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
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August 4, 07
(all month) |
Giant Swallowtail on Echinacea in Peterborough garden. This is the first report of a Giant Swallowtail in Peterborough County. They do occur occasionally south of Rice Lake and west of here.
Snowy Tree Crickets calling every evening along Maple Crescent, Roper Drive and area. Seem more common than in other years. Monarchs regular at garden, mostly nectaring at Purple Coneflower and mauve coloured Phlox. Usually a Red Admiral present as well. |
Burnham Street Peterborough
Maple Crescent, Peterborough
|
Andrew Bigg
Drew Monkman |
| July 23, 2007 | For the last week or so, we have had at least six immature American Robins in the yard. They are all adult-size and feeding on their own but still heavily spotted. I'm wondering where they've come from, since I didn't see any small robin fledglings in our neighbourhood at all this spring. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| July 22, 2007 |
Michelle and I road out to Lakefield on rail-trail. Wildflowers dominated by Queen-Anne's-Lace and Tall Sweet Clover. Also fairly common and blooming were Viper Buglos, Common Milkweed (only a few still in flower), Black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye-Weed, Swamp Milkweed, White Water Lily and Early Goldenrod. Tartarian Honeysuckles, already laden with ripe red or orange berries were common as well. Dominant birds were Eastern Kingbird, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Cedar Waxwing and Song Sparrow. Saw two Black Terns at Lakefield Marsh. Counted about 15 Monarchs over the afternoon. |
Rail-Trail from Jackson Park to Lakefield and back | Drew Monkman |
| July 21, 2007 |
Petroglyphs Butterfly Count Five groups of observers found a total of 51 species of butterflies, a little above average, including two new species for the count – Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and Common Buckeye. The butterfly species seen were: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Mustard White, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Pink-edged Sulphur, Coral Hairstreak, Acadian Hairstreak, Edwards Hirstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed Blue, Summer Azure, Great Spangled Fritillary, Aphrodite Fritillary, Atlantis Fritillary, Silver-bordered Fritillary, Meadow Fritillary, Meadow Fritillary, Pearl crescent, Northern Crescent, Question-Mark, Eastern Comma, Gray Comma, Compton’s Tortoiseshell, Milbert’s Tortoiseshell, Mourning Cloak, Americam Lady, Common Buckeye, Red Admiral, White Admiral, Viceroy, Northern Pearly-Eye, Eyed Brown, Common Ringlet, Common Wood-Nymph, Columbine Duskywing, Least Skipper, European Skipper, Peck’s Skipper, Tawny-edged Skipper, Crossline Skipper, Long Dash, Northern Broken-Dash, Delaware Skipper, Mulberry-Wing, Broad-winged Skipper, Dion Skipper, Dun Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper, and Monarch. A total of 4177 individual butterflies were counted, of which 1799 were Dun Skippers. |
eastern end of Stoney Lake, the Petroglyphs PP, Apsley, and Sandy lake Rd | Jerry Ball, Tony Bigg |
| July 21, 07 | A pair of Sandhill Cranes were seen feeding in a field on Highway 507. | Highway 507 - 3 km north of Flynn's Corners near Charlie Allen Road | Haig Kelly |
| July 12, 2007 | J. Cooper reports having a woodpecker at their oriole feeder and wanted to know if it's unusual - Yes, it is unusual but certainly does occur. Lots of other birds will visit nectar feeders, too, including jays, wrens, buntings, chickadees and house finches. Bats may even give them a try. | J. Cooper | |
| July 10, 2007 | Spent morning leading a nature walk at Camp Ponacka on Baptiste Lake, just east of Bancroft. Milkweed was in bloom in profusion along cottage roads and monarchs were much in evidence. In one roadside section, maybe 100 feet in length, the boys caught (and released) at least 40 caterpillars of various instars. I've never seen such abundance of monarch caterpillars anywhere before. | Camp Ponacka, Baptiste Lake, east of Bancroft | Drew Monkman |
| July 9, 2007 | ciccada singing, Red Admiral butterflies common in garden | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 30, 2007 | a man fishing on the Otonabee River near the Hunter Street Bridge observed a large muskellunge catch and eat a half-grown mallard duckling | Otonabee River | Mario Hodder |
| May 24, 2007 | Black Cherry, and Red Osier Dogwood are now in full blossom. Willows are dispersing their wind-borne seeds. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 24, 2007 | First Canada Tiger Swallowtail, Dreamy Duskywing, Hoary Elfin and West Virginia White butterflies | various locations | Jerry Ball, Tony Bigg |
| May 23, 2007 | First Silvery Blue butterfly | various locations | Jerry Ball |
| May 22, 2007 | First Black Swallowtail, American Lady and Red Admiral butterflies | various locations | Jerry Ball |
| May 20, 2007 | First Chryxus Arctic and Juvenal's Duskywing butterflies | Jerry Ball | |
| May 19, 2007 | First Mustard White Butterfly | Jerry Ball | |
| May 15, 2007 |
A large wave of migrants appeared in the Kawarthas this morning. Between 8:00 am and 9:00 we tallied a fourteen warbler species singing and/or feeding within 100 m of our home at Mt. Julian: Black-and-white Warbler,Pine Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Parula Warbler, Ovenbird, Canada Warbler, and American Redstart. We also had Least Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Gray Catbird, Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos. Large numbers of migrants were also recorded in Peterborough. Six species of warblers, a veery, and six Rose-breasted Grosbeaks appeared at 51 Maple Cres. this morning |
Mt. Julian, near Stoney Lake
Maple Crescent, Peterborough |
Michael Butler and Martha Allen
Drew Monkman |
| May 15 - 17, 2007 | at least 10 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in our yard at the same time including five on the sunflower seed feeder together | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| May 15, 2007 | I have a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers coming several times daily, a pair of orioles, a pair of Cardinals, several pairs of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, 2 pairs of Downy Woodpeckers, several pairs of Hairys, a pair of White-breasted nuthatches, two pairs of nesting chipping sparrows, a pair of nesting song sparrows, a pair of nesting Phoebees and a pair of Robins. I still have a small flock of White-crowned sparrows hanging around daily. Hummers have been back for about two weeks as of today. Also a Brown thrasher singing on a daily basis and a house wren singing daily as well. I also see a Pileated Woodpecker about 2 times per week and hear it "laughing" often in the woods. | 12th Line of Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield | Kelly Dodge |
| May 5, 2007 | Northern Parula, Solitary & Spotted Sandpipers | Cavan (Cty Rd 10 at 7A) | Scott McKinlay |
| May 5, 2007 | Eastern Kingbird, numerous Nashville Warblers, amongst many other species. Plants in bloom included White and Red Trilliums, Trout Lily, Large-flowered Bellwort, Blue Cohosh, Solomon's Seal and Wild Sarsaparilla. Lots of bee flies, too - Bombylius major | 9th line of Smith Township | Peterborough Field Naturalists Sunday Morning Bird Walk with Martha Allen |
| May 4, 2007 | Two Least Flycatcher | Warsaw Caves C.A. | Tony Bigg |
| May 4, 2007 | Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (singing) | Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| May 1, 2007 | House Wren in song | Trent University | Andrew Jobes |
| May 1, 2007 | Yellow Warbler, American Bittern | Miller Creek C.A. | Tony Bigg |
| May 1, 2007 | Whip-poor-will | Stoney Lake | Tim Dyson |
| May 1, 2007 | Black-throated Blue Warbler | Jackson Park | Anne Anthony |
| May 1, 2007 | Ovenbird singing | Eel's Creek/Stoney Lake | Tim Dyson |
| April 30, 2007 | Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Stoney Lake | Tim Dyson |
| April 30, 2007 | Wild Turkey and nest containing 15 eggs - on May 3, the eggs had disappeared with no sign of predation, broken shells or turkeys in vicinity | Keene | Donald Howson |
| April 29, 2007 | Upland Sandpiper | Cty Rd 38 - N. of Hwy 7 | Tony Bigg |
| April 29, 2007 | First American Toads singing | West End of Peterborough | D. Monkman |
| April 29, 2007 | Many migrant White-throated Sparrows in yard | Maple Crescent, Peterboro | D. Monkman |
| April 29, 2007 | Black-and-White, Black-throated Green Warblers | Selwyn Conservation Area | Michael Butler |
| April 29, 2007 | 2 Northern Waterthush singing | Eel's Creek | D. Monkman |
| April 28, 2007 | Field Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Hermit Thrush, Broad-winged Hawks (2) | Camp Kawartha | D. Monkman |
| March thru May, 2007 | Red Crossbills breeding | Petroglyphs P.P. area westward along Northey's Bay Road | Tim Dyson |
| April 23, 2007 |
1st Amphibian Rescue Night - Spotted Salamander (many), Blue-spotted (many), Four-toed (1), Eastern Newt (many), American Toad (few), Leopard Frog (many), Spring Peeper (many). N.B. Amphibian Rescue Nights also on April 26th and 27th. Many Four-toeds on both of these dates as well as other salamander species mentionned above |
Stoney Lake area | Tim Dyson |
| April 21, 2007 | First Cabbage White Butterfly | Jerry Ball | |
| April 24 to 30 | Many Merlins paired, copulating, and using old crow nests in White Pines all around Stoney Lake | Tim Dyson | |
| April 22, 2007 | First Mourning Cloak and Eastern Comma butterflies | Jerry Ball | |