September 2010

Today, the first Dark-eyed Juncos of the fall arrived at our feeder. Location: Maple Crescent Observer: Peterborough

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 Read more…

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. Read more…

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

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. Location: South Monaghan, 2nd Line at Otonabee River Observer: Joe Kenney

This morning I watched a Peregrine Falcon flying low and to the south over the Quaker Park Tennis Club by the Hunter Street Bridge. Location: Peterborough Observer: Tony Bigg

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. Location: Read more…