Sightings

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. Location: various locations Observer: Randy Smith

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 Read more…

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. Location: Read more…

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 Read more…

A Cattle Egret was observed in a pasture alongside a herd of cows. (Exact location to be determined.) Location: Peterborough Observer: Mike Taylor

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. Location: Observer:

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

I saw my first American Tree Sparrows of the Fall today. Three of them were along the rail trail south of the city. Location: south of Peterborough Observer: Tony Bigg

At about 6:00 PM last night while I was walking my dog in Burnham

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. Location: Maple Crescent Observer: Drew Monkman

Three Trumpeter Swans turned up today on Best Road Pond. One of them wore a wing tag (050). Location: Mount Pleasant Observer: Dan McWilliams

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

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. Location: Read more…

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 Read more…

A Great Egret was sighted by my daughter at the end of Redmond Bay on Jack Lake. Location: Jack Lake, near Apsley, ON Observer: Cate Kingdon

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. Location: Maple Crescent, Peterborough Observer: Drew Monkman

A beautiful Giant Eastern Cranefly found its way into my house today. It is at least 5cm wide at the wings. Location: Lakefield Observer: Tony Bigg

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 Read more…

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. Location: Atchison Road, Fifth and Read more…

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

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. Location: throughout Central Ontario Read more…

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.) Location: Cavan Observer: Cheryl Covert

I watched about six Common Nighthawks migrating over County Road 8 near Cottesloe this evening. Location: County Road 8, Peterborough County Observer: Drew Monkman

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 Read more…

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 Read more…

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 Read more…