| Date | Sighting | Location | Observer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 31, 2012 | Having enjoyed a “four pecker” morning ( Pileated, Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied), I was relishing a record-species feeder day. Although this was not to be ( 13 species in total), we did enjoy the presence of seven Northern Cardinals at the feeder at one time. Over my longish career of birding, I have never seen more than a pair together at one time. How uncommon is this sighting? (Some cardinals flock up in winter and only visit a handful of feeders, if indeed any at all - D.M.) | David Fife Line, Keene | Michael Gillespie |
| Dec. 31, 2012 | This afternoon, I had a flock of about 16 Pine Grosbeaks in the spruce trees in my yard. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Dec. 30, 2012 | I was too busy to let you know that I had a visit at the suet from a Northern Flicker on Dec. 24th. I also spotted a Cooper's Hawk twice that day. Today when I went out my door, I noticed feathers blowing on the snow. When I looked over the fence into the back yard I could see the spot in the snow where the strike took place. I then found the spot under a tree where a Mourning Dove was consumed - I assume by the Cooper's Hawk. The hunter was definitely a bird as there were no tracks leading to either spot. | Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| Dec. 30, 2012 | Nature Sightings at Gannons Narrows.... Lately, it has been a beehive of activity around here. We have Otters year round - they love my neighbours old boathouse as do the Beavers that have their litters under the old dock boards. With the North Shore across from us now in the hands of TSW - a gift from Mr. Chase in his will - it is a freeway for the wildlife. The pond in ORCA's Gannon Narrows Conservation Area which is on two sides of our property has two bank Beavers wintering there. Christmas day we stood on the road by the pond and watched the Beaver watching us for about 10 minutes before we left. Until these last two days of minus 10C the pond was open along the shore. The bird life is amazing with many species of birds visiting our feeders. Just about every day I put up the Ruffed Grouse when walking the dogs. There is a large flock of ducks wintering in the open water on the East side of the Gannon Narrows Bridge and I believe that is where the Bald Eagles are dining. We see one of them just about every day. We feel very special to be part of their lives. | Gannon's Narrows, Selwyn Township | Jim Watt |
| Dec. 29, 2012 | A Bald Eagle was trying to take a fish from an Otter on the ice in front of my neighbour's boat house. The Otter, however, was able to scamper down the hole in the ice with the fish. | Gannon's Narrows on Buckhorn Lake | Jim Watt |
| Dec. 28, 2012 | This week I spotted a (at least 1) Coyote on my pond in the mornings and afternoons. It was very fearless. There were also crows, raptors (I couldn't identify), etc. A couple of days ago, I looked at the island on the pond and spotted a ribcage. It was the carcass of a young buck, which had been drawing scavengers of all kinds, from all directions, for days. I dragged it to the woods because there were far too many predator tracks close to the house for me to let it stay there longer (i.e, both Coyote and Red Fox tracks on the stairs beside the house and all around, including scat). | Bethany | Paul Anderson |
| Dec. 28, 2012 | A Barred Owl has been in our neighbourhood since at least early December and frequents a spruce tree in our backyard. We believe he is feasting on the local rabbit, squirrel and possibly stray cat population. Our backyard borders Olympus Park, specifically the forested area. We have found evidence of his feedings in our backyard and the vicintiy of the park. | Olympus Park, Peterborough | Shawn and Kaylee Mowry |
| Dec. 28, 2012 | At 6 a.m. this morning, when it was still quite dark, Emily and I saw a rainbow around the Moon! There was a kind of “ice fog” in the air, but obviously it was enough, combined with the light of the full moon, to create a full rainbow, all around it. The colors were quite vivid and spectacular, something I had never seen or even heard of. (Note: Rick Stankiewicz writes..."a lunar halo is more common than most people would think. They can be quite striking and will usually be about 22 degrees from the Moon disk. It is similar to a solar halo and is connected to moisture laden clouds and the right angle of light. They are pretty neat. I have seen lots of them over the years, but they are not predictable." | Highway 115, Millbrook | Eric Monkman |
| Dec. 28, 2012 | I saw a Coyote crossing the ice at Gannons Narrows about noon. He stopped by the green channel marker and headed back – good move as the current is pretty good from there to the red marker on the south side so the ice would be very thin at best. Lots of tracks on the ice last night. | Gannon's Narrows on Buckhorn Lake | Jim Watt |
| Dec.27, 2012 | Today I had the pleasure of watching a spectacular display of eagle behaviour. An adult Bald Eagle flew into a pine tree in front of our property at Gannon Narrows. It was not sitting comfortly in the tree and we could not see if it had anything in its talons. It then flew about 100 yards out onto the ice and began devouring a bird. Feathers were flying everywhere. Then, along came a second adult eagle but there was no way the first one was sharing. We watched the picnic on the ice for about 15 minutes. Fantastic. | Gannon's Narrows on Buckhorn Lake | Jim Watt |
| Dec. 25, 2012 | Today we had the pleasure of watching two dozen Common Redpolls at our feeders. There was also a single White-throated Sparrow in a flock of a dozen juncos. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Dec. 24, 2012 | A Barred Owl, likely attracted by small mammals, in turn attracted to the bird feeders maintained by the Peterborough Field Naturalists, was seen at noon today, Christmas Eve, near the 'Bird Feeder Trail'. Little Lake is still more open than ice-covered, but there are increasing numbers of larger gulls and winter ducks, including Commmon Merganser (11), Common Goldeneye (7), Ring-necked Duck 91) and Bufflehead (1). Happy Christmas! | Ecology Park and Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 23, 2012 | We have a great variety of birds coming to our feeders including redpolls, chickdees, juncos, Blue Jays, doves, Hairy Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, nuthatches and siskins. | Sharpe Line, 1 km west of the Ida corners near Cavan | Pam and Paul Money |
| Dec. 22, 2012 | Today, I spotted and photographed two Bald Eagles quite a piece off up the lake. I only saw them the one time and recognized them after seeing them in Alaska this past summer. | Fife's Bay, Chemong Lake | Nancy Cafik |
| Dec. 22, 2012 | The 27th Petroglyphs Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 22, 2012. The temperature was around -5 degrees Celsius for most of the day but there were strong winds all day (including early in the morning) and periods of light snow at times. Most species were sparse this year due to a lack of natural foods but there is little doubt that the strong winds also contributed to the low numbers. Participants: 30 Total species: 39 (second highest, average is 34) – open water on most large lakes contributed to higher diversity Total individuals: 1988 (average 4990) Birds/party hour: 20 (average 36) New Species for the Count: BUFFLEHEAD: 4 on Jack Lake Noteworthy Species: COMMON GOLDENEYE: 17 (4th time on count and record high) HOODED MERGANSER: 16 (3rd time on count) COMMON MERGANSER: 97 (4th time on count and record high) COMMON LOON: 1 (2nd time on count and tied record high) COOPER’S HAWK: 1 (3rd time on count and tied record high) GOLDEN EAGLE: 1 (Petroglyphs Provincial Park) HERRING GULL: 4 (8th time on count and near record high of 5) WINTER WREN: 1 (3rd time on count – exact same location as in 2003 and 2004 – a seepage along the Kawartha Nordic Ski Trails) High Counts: WILD TURKEY: 65 (record high – mostly all associated with feeders) BALD EAGLE: 10 (above 10-year average of 5.5, record high is 14) Low Counts: MOURNING DOVE: 5 (well below 10-year average of 21) DOWNY WOODPECKER: 5 (below 10-year average of 22 and near record low of 10) HAIRY WOODPECKER: 15 (below 10-year average of 43 and near record low of 10) PILEATED WOODPECKER: 5 (below 10-year average of 13) BLUE JAY: 38 (well below 10-year average of 294 and near record low of 21) BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE: 645 (below 10-year average of 939) RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH: 49 (below 10-year average of 132) BROWN CREEPER: 5 (below 10-year average of 17) Misses: BARRED OWL: recorded every year since 1995/96 with a 10-year average of 2.5. GRAY JAY: missed for the third year in a row. Although single birds have been recorded in both Petroglyphs Provincial Park and the Kawartha Nordic Ski Trails earlier this winter/fall, no family groups have been noted for several years. Prior to 2010, the average count was 5 and they were recorded every year with the exception of 1990. Finches: PINE GROSBEAK: 39 RED CROSSBILL: 7 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL: 7 COMMON REDPOLL: 366 (mostly coming to feeders – near record high of 420) HOARY REDPOLL: 2 (coming to a feeder with Common Redpolls) PINE SISKIN: 4 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH: 134 EVENING GROSBEAK: 24 The count circle (including the 6 areas) can be viewed at the following link: Petroglyphs Count Circle Thanks to all participants! | Petroglyphs Provincial Park and surrounding area | Colin Jones, Compiler |
| Dec. 22, 2012 | Luckily, I live on Creekwood Dr., backing on Harper Park in the southwest corner of Peterborough, and have witnessed/enjoyed first hand everything the urban oasis has to offer. I've explored much of the area in both winter and summer, although not so much in recent years. From my own back yard, I continue to enjoy nature at its best. Over the years I've experienced 50 bird species; from the Bray, Barred and Great Horned owls to a flock of 500 Bohemian Waxwings. Just a month ago, 6 Wild Turkeys strutted the yard like they owned it. For a few days this fall about 30 juncos and 30 siskins were all feasting at the same time. Deer are regulars in fall and winter. Also this fall, it was fun to watch a raccoon from the safety of my raised deck, appear to challenge a foraging Skunk around the feeder. I've seen the Beaver dam the culvert under the RR tracks as well as the ditch on Harper road. I've also had, turtles, toads, Leopard Frogs and even a Grey Treefrog living between my stacked plastic chairs for the last few summers. Also Garter Snakes, and once a small, what I call a copper snake. I've had moles, voles, deer mice and field mice(both inside and out). Black, grey and red squirrels, chipmunks, and one year twice had a Flying Squirrel at night. The Pileated Woodpecker is an irregular visitor, with the Hairy, Downies loving the suet. Of course hummers, chickadees, Red and White Nuthatches, Cardinals and Blue Jays, are a constant source of pleasure. The occasional Red Fox, Coyote and Porcupine have been seen, with rabbits and Groundhogs common in some years. | Creekwood Drive, off of Spillsbury Dr. | Phil McKeating |
| Dec. 22, 2012 | Today, we had a leucistic American Goldfinch at our feeder. It was entirely pale yellow and looked very similar to a Canary, except for the slim, uncanary-like bill. | Cavan, Ontario | Dave Stabler |
| Dec. 21, 2012 | When I moved to Dummer in 1987, we had Evening Grosbeaks every year. Then, in about 1995, they stopped coming. Yesterday, for the first time since, we had a small flock. They did not stay long but hopefully a good sign for the future. | Douro-Dummer Township | Bruce Kidd |
| Dec. 20, 2012 | We have just identified a Red-bellied Woodpecker at our feeder. | Cameron Line | Janet Johnstone Doug Latham |
| Dec. 18, 2012 | There is a Red-necked Grebe on Little Lake. It's in first winter (formative) plumage, quite dark and round headed. Last seen between Beavermead Beach and the 'cemetary point', but not associating with the mergansers or goldeneye. It dives frequently and covers a lot of ground (underwater). | Beavermead Park, Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 16, 2012 | The 61st Peterborough Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday December 16th. On a dull wet day, 35 participants found a total of 58 species, the same total as last year and four below our record. Of particular note was one new species – a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the previously reported Northern Hawk Owl. Records broken (previous high): Mallard 1264 (1124) Ring-necked Duck 3 (2) Common Merganser 255 (71) (Lake Chemong had large reaches of unfrozen water) Wild Turkey 287 (225) Eastern Screech-Owl 3 (2) Black-capped Chickadee 1951 (1759) White-breasted Nuthatch 102 (95) Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 (2) Dark-eyed Junco 426 (366) Record tied: Barred Owl 2 Other high numbers: Northern Cardinal 107 – Highest for 20 years Common Redpoll 539 – Highest for 20 years Low numbers: Red-tailed Hawk 19 – Half of the last ten year average Blue Jay 125 – Lowest for 15 years American Robin 9 – Lowest for 16 years | City of Peterborough and surrounding area | Tony Bigg, compiler |
| Dec. 16, 2012 | My neighbour got a picture of a Virginia Opossum last night on his trail camera. I saw two this summer in our area as road kill. One was on the Yankee Line, almost at Emily Park. | Gannon's Narrows, Ennismore | Jim Watt |
| Dec. 16, 2012 | Today I saw a Snowy Owl sitting on a dock on the east side of Katchewanooka Lake, just north of Lakefield. It took off as I approached the dock. | East side of Katchewanooka, on a property on Moodie Drive | David Woolverton |
| Dec. 16, 2012 | We just had a pair of Bald Eagles fly by the west end of Fothergill Isle this morning. | Fothergill Isle on Pigeon Lake at Gannon's Narrows | Rose Rogers |
| Dec. 15, 2012 | This evening, a Red Fox, likely the one that dens near TASSS, was 'howling/yipping' up a storm in the dark and con'td even when I approached closely. This is an unnerving sound and not exactly musical. I'm wondering though, if even in the midst of 'late fall', whether it could be amorous in nature. | TASSS school area | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 14, 2012 | This morning, there was a hen Hooded Merganser on Otonabee R. offshore Meadowvale Park, w. of TASSS. (Also hen Cm. Goldeneye.) & an immature Great Black-backed Gull is currently over Little Lake. | Otonabee River at TASSS and Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 14, 2012 | We saw our first Fisher 3 days ago . In mentioning this sighting to some friends, most of them said that they had seen the occasional one but had heard rumours of the Fisher’s increasing presence. Are they becoming more prevalent in the Kawarthas? (Yes, Fishers are expanding their range and population, possibly because of increased forest cover in many areas and lower snow depths. D.M.) | David Fife Line, Keene | Michael Gillespie |
| Dec. 14, 2012 | Today I saw an adult Great Black-backed Gull on the Otonabee River at Millenium Place near the CPR bridge. | Otonabee River at Millenium Place near the CPR bridge. | Hillary Dickson |
| Dec. 13, 2012 | Between my neighbours and I just north of TASSS there are at least 40 Common Redpolls coming into thistle/Niger seed. | just north of TASSS on Armour Road | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 13, 2012 | I have a White-throated Sparrow coming very sporadically to my feeder with a small flock of juncoes. I only see the bird about once every two or three days. | 51 Maple Cres. | Drew Monkman |
| Dec. 12, 2012 | Today and yesterday, there was a drake Ring-necked Duck on the east side of Little Lake. | East side of Little Lake. | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 9, 2012 | Today , Marianne Clark, Klara Jones and I walked a portion of the Kawartha Nordic Ski trails (Kawartha Trail from the main cabin N to the Otter and back). Overall, bird activity was relatively quiet but we did have the following of note: RED CROSSBILL – several small flocks (4-8 birds each) mostly feeding relatively quietly in pines with only quiet twitters. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL – a single flyover calling COMMON REDPOLL – one small flock flying over calling GRAY JAY – a single bird in hemlock dominated forest between the Wolf and Red Fox trails Also of note were two Gray Treefrogs frozen into the mud of the trail but completely exposed. There has been considerable trail work this fall on the ski trails and I’m assuming that these two were uncovered from their hibernating sites (i.e. under leaves or a log, etc.) by the machine that was levelling some portions of the trail. | Haultain, north of Burleigh Falls | Colin Jones |
| Dec. 9, 2012 | Walking the rail trail between Blezard and Cameron Lines a large flock of about 300 Common Redpolls flew in and landed near me. At my feeder in Lakefield a small flock of a dozen Pine Siskins came to feed after an absence of about three weeks. Yesterday morning I saw a Northern Shrike at Base Line and Nelson Rd. | various - see sighting notes | Tony Bigg |
| Dec. 6, 2012 | Today I was at my friends house and we saw a Snow Goose circling over the railroad tracks on the 6th line of asphodel in between division road and highway 7. It is almost certainly roosting in the corn fields in the area. | 6th line of Asphodel in between Division Road and Highway 7 | Luke Berg |
| Dec. 6, 2012 | In early December, we had a juvenile Cooper's Hawk land in our backyard near St. Catherine's school in the west end of Peterborough. It was only six feet from my window and a beautiful bird. | west end of Peterborough | Noreen Kirkland |
| Dec. 6, 2012 | Today I saw an almost entirely white Long-tailed Weasel just outside my patio door, adjacent to the playground at Highland Heights School | Highland Road, just east of Highland Heights School | Marion Kafka |
| Dec. 5, 2012 | Today there were five or six Pine Grosbeaks in the pines along the Rotary Trail. | Rotary Trail south of Trent University | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 4, 2012 | Here is a posting that is probably an example of climate change in action. It is from Eastern Ontario. Imagine, Spring Peepers callling in December! 10:12AM -0500 > Green, Bull, Mink, and Leopard frogs and a fair number of Dew Worms active on the roads near the intersection of Limerick and Cooper roads last night - and at least 2 Peepers calling in the woods there (20h43-21h14, 10C, light rain, calm). This is the first December Peeper calling I've recorded since the drought years of 1998, 1999, and 2001. The CBC reports that 17C in Ottawa was the highest temperature ever recorded in December, and when we left home at 13h57 it was 19C here. | Oxford Mills (Lanark, Leeds & Grenville County in Eastern Ontario) | Fred Schuler
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| Dec. 3, 2012 | Tonight when I was walking the dogs there was an American Woodcock on the De Pencier Trail. | Trent University Nature Area | Luke Berg |
| Dec. 3, 2012 | Today I saw 5 flocks of Bohemian Waxwings totalling, at minimum 750 birds, | Rotary Trail south of Trent University | Sean Smith |
| Dec. 3, 2012 | Today I was at my friends house and we saw a Snow Goose circling over the railroad tracks on the 6th line of Asphodel in between Division Road and Highway 7. It is almost certainly roosting in the corn fields in the area because that is where it was as of 4:00 pm. | 6th line of Asphodel in between Division Road and Highway 7 | Luke Berg |
| Dec. 3, 2012 | Winter Forecast from Environment Canada Those in the eastern half of the country can look forward to slightly above-normal temperatures, particularly in December, but it will still be colder over the same period last winter. Ontario and eastward will be milder because of warmer bodies of water influencing temperatures. Environment Canada is pegging precipitation amounts at around normal. Last winter was the third warmest winter in 65 years of record-keeping and the second driest. | Eastern Canada | |
| Nov.30, 2012 | We are currently attracting 12 or more Bohemian Waxwings, feeding off the flowering crab tree..... good start to tomorrow's winter bird list. | David Fife Line, Keene | Michael Gillespie |
| Nov. 30, 2012 | We have always been blessed with a variety of backyard birds, and in the past two weeks have enjoyed flocks of 80 or more Bohemian Waxwings landing in our Mountain-Ash and flowering crab trees. | Bethany | Patricia Parks |
| Nov. 30, 2012 | In addition to the Bohemian Waxwings (3-4 dozen) visiting the crab apple tree, I have had a male Northern Flicker 4 mornings now eating from the suet ball. FYI the suet balls I buy at Griffin's Greenhouses are preferred by the birds over the cakes. They love the balls! | Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| Nov. 28, 2012 | Today I saw two hen (ish) Northern Shovelers on east side of Little Lake. | Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Nov. 28, 2012 | Today, at Highland Park cemetery, I saw a flock of over 300 Bohemian Waxwings. | Highland Park Cemetery, Bensfort Road | Ken Rumble |
| Nov. 26, 2012 | Our beautiful Trumpeter Swan is still here. The tag reads "283". I have not seen a mate, however. | Hiawatha, Ontario | Sharon Simpkins |
| Nov. 26, 2012 | This afternoon approximately 200 Bohemian Waxwings in four separate groups flew over my house in Bethany heading west. One group of 59 landed in a walnut tree in my yard and stayed for about 15 minutes before flying off. | Bethany, Ontario | Kim Clark |
| Nov. 26, 2012 | I saw 175 to 200 Bohemian Waxwings at Highland Park Cemetery. A Merlin is still visiting Little Lake Cemetery, along with a Pileated Woodpecker. | Highland Park and Little Lake cemeteries | Ken Rumble |
| Nov. 22, 2012 | I was walking the trail in East City (just walked north of Hunter St. for a block) and saw masses of Bohemian Waxwings in the high mature trees. They had such a soft calling voice. It was a beautiful late morning and seeing and hearing these beautiful birds was such a treasure. | Trans-Canada Trail - East City | Kathleen Fields |
| Nov. 22, 2012 | I was walking by Little Lake Cemetery and I saw a flock of several hundred Bohemian Waxwings high in the trees and eating berries from a Mountain-Ash. It was amazing. | Little Lake Cemetery | Karen Mooney |
| Nov. 20, 2012 | I had my first ever White-winged Crossbill come to my feeders this morning. I believe it was a female, but could have been a juvenile. | Bethany, Ontario | Kim Clark |
| Nov. 15, 2012 | I saw a single imm./female White-winged Crossbill today at planted evergreens at Beavermead Park. Ducks change everyday on Little Lake. Today there is a hen Red-breasted Merganser and hen Common Merganser, diving together | Beavermead Park and Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Nov. 12, 2012 | It must be a finch winter if I've got a single, singing male Pine Grosbeak in my impovershed back yard. | Thomas A. Stewart High School area, Armour Rd. | Sean Smith |
| Nov. 8, 2012 | At 10 a.m. this morning, there were at least six Pine Grosbeaks feeding in Balsam Firs and a Tamarack, two houses south of 51 Maple Cres. They were making their gentle whistling call all the while. | Maple Cres., Peterborough | Drew Monkmman |
| Nov.8, 2012 | A client of mine had a Red Bellied Woodpecker show up a couple of winters ago at her feeder, then last year it stayed around all year. This year he had a mate and they stayed together all summer at her feeder and she thinks they were nesting in the woods to the east of her. She lives on Sharpe line, near Ida. | Sharpe Line, near Ida. | reported by Scott Sargent |
| Nov. 5, 2012 | For about a week now we've been getting about 10 Evening Grosbeaks to our bird feeder, in Cavan. | Cavan | Cassielynx |
| Nov. 5, 2012 | Yesterday morning, perhaps 75 Bohemian Waxwings were in our backyard. I had never seen even one before. They were after the berries on the flowering crab tree. | 244 Patricia Crescent, Peterborough | LInda and Lowell Lunden |
| Nov. 1, 2012 | This morning there was an Eastern Phoebe in my backyard. Luke | Benson Ave., Peterborough | Luke Berg |
| Oct. 31, 2012 | Today, from 3:00 - 3:40 pm my co-workers and I observed a Peregrine Falcon sitting on the SW corner of the MNR building (300 Water St). During this time it perched for about 20 minutes, then took off flying West and picked off a Rock Pigeon from a roof top and returned to eat its catch on the roof of the MNR building and then re-perched for a while before flying off. | MNR Building, Water and Charlotte streets | Bart Young |
| Oct. 30, 2012 | Tonight at about 6:30 there were two American Woodcocks at the Harold Town Conservation Area. | Harold Town Conservation Area | Luke Berg |
| Oct. 30, 2012 | Yesterday the Carolina Wren that has been coming to my feeder periodically for the past year and a half was at my feeder again. | Benson Avenue | Luke Berg |
| Oct. 28, 2012 | There are currently a dozen Evening Grosbeaks (2 males) on my feeder in Lakefield, along with Pine Siskins, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Hairy Woodpecker, American Goldfinches, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Dark-eyed Juncos, and White-throated Sparrows. | Highway 28, Lakefield | Tony Bigg |
| Oct. 24, 2012 | A lone 1st winter Snow Bunting was on the beach at the Lakefield campsite this afternoon. A Northern Harrier was flying over the marsh. | Lakefield Marsh | Tony Bigg |
| Oct. 23, 2012 | A lone Trumpeter Swan has been swimming close to the east shore for the last four days, including today. It is on the west side, along the river across from Kent's Bay. There have been no other swans since early August. | Otonabee River at the south end of Kent's Bay | Sharon Simpkins |
| Oct. 26, 2012 | I spotted a Tufted Titmouse at our bird feeder today, a week after I started feeding for the winter. I was able to get a number of close-up pictures. It only stayed for a week. I do hope it moved south, as opposed to sadder results. It was a pleasure to watch. And what big feet! (N.B. This is the first sighting of a Tufted Titmouse in Peterborough County since the ‘Ennismore’ record of 23 November to 17 December 1985. This species usually extends no further north than the Niagara peninsula. D.M.) | between Young's Point and Selwyn | Penny Pierce |
| Oct. 25, 2012 | I am very excited to report the pair of Bald Eagles is back to Hamilton Bay. I just noticed them on the tree limbs by the nest the osprey occupied this summer. So, I suspect the eagles are claiming their nest back! | Stony Lake | Nan Campbell |
| Oct. 22, 2012 | A mature Northern Goshawk landed on a low bough on a White Pine behind our cottage today, causing a flock of juncos to flee in all directions. | Dodworth Island, Stony Lake | Rob Welsh. |
| Oct. 22, 2012 | Yesterday and today, there has been a beautiful stag Elk in the first open field (W side) on Douro 8th Line just south of River Road. Huge antlers! He is wearing a tag #129 in his right ear. Apparently this animal has been seen in a number of locations in southern Peterborough County for the last two years. It was seen in at least two locations this month. (See October 4 and 11) It is an offspring of the Elk that were introduced into the Bancroft area in 2000 and 2001. That herd may now number over 600. | Douro 8th Line just south of River Road | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 22, 2012 | I have had 80-100 Pine Siskins at my feeders for the past 3 days as well as juncos and white crowned sparrows. | Kawartha Hideway on Buckhorn Lake | Jane Philpott |
| Oct. 21, 2012 | Strong winds seem to have brought in a lot of birds today, with at least a dozen Pine Siskins showing up at the feeder. Most of the White-throated Sparrows seem to have departed. The Fox Sparrow is still present, however. | 51 Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 19, 2012 | Today, two White-crowned Sparrows joined the dozen or so White-throats that are coming to the niger seed I spread on the ground below our feeders. | 51 Maple Crescent | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 18, 2012 | After returning from a vacation today, I decided to head to the Lakefield sewage lagoons for some local birding. The ponds had good numbers of ducks, including the following: Gadwall - 2 Mallard - 3 American Black Duck - 1 Lesser Scaup - 98 Common Goldeneye - 16 Bufflehead - 23 White-winged Scoter - 2 Ruddy Duck - 1 Hooded Merganser - 1 | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons | Bill Crins |
| Oct. 17, 2012 | Today at 6:00 p.m at the Holiday Inn waterfront, there was a single Long-tailed Duck. | Little Lake | Randy Smith |
| Oct. 16, 2012 | This evening I was walking my dogs along the rail trail section that runs northwest off Lily Lake Road, just West of Stockdale Rd. in Peterborough from 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM and saw the following: Rusty Blackbird 1, Swamp Sparrow 3, and a Wilson's Snipe. There were also hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. | Trans-Canada Trail, west of Peterborough | Luke Berg |
| Oct. 14, 2012 | Today, I had six Trumpeter Swans (2 adults and 4 juveniles) land on my pond just east of Bethany. They were very friendly until they found I had no food. I convinced them to come closer with quiet talk and 'kissy' sounds. | Bethany | Paul Anderson |
| Oct. 13, 2012 | Today I had a Rough-legged Hawk fly over on Stoney Lake. It was being harrassed by a Common Raven. | Viamede Resort, Stoney Lake | Martin Parker |
| Oct. 13, 2012 | Today, I had a cold-riddled Osprey on the Indian River. It was -4 C last night. | Indian River, Rock Road | Peter Armstrong |
| Oct. 12, 2012 | At noon today, near the campground washrooms at Beavermead, I observed late, single Am. Redstart (female plumaged) and a N. Parula, amongst a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Hopping amongst the pots in the tree nursery section of Ecology Park were 2-3 Hermit Thrushes. A shy drake Wood Duck was in the rill nearby. There were several Cedar Waxwings and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The feeders at Ecology Park were quite active with a variety of birds incl. White-crowned Sparrow, Pine Siskins and Purple Finches. There were (3) Green-winged Teal and (9) Bonaparte's Gulls flying around Little Lake this morning. The gulls appeared to head north over the Otonabee. There was also a shy Black Duck and continuing Pied-billed Grebe - all viewed from Roger's Cove Beach. | Beavermead Park and Little Lake | Sean Smith |
| Oct. 11, 2012 | Today, we had 7 Eastern Bluebirds all taking a bath at once in our garden birdbath. | David Fife Line, Keene | Michael Gillespie |
| Oct. 11, 2012 | Today I had a bull Elk in my hay field. | Sixth Line of Asphodel Township | Jake Fell |
| Oct. 9, 2012 | On the walk home this afternoon, I had 2 Swainson's Thrushes near London St. bridge/ near Ross St. eating Common Buckthorn berries. | London Street Foot Bridge | Sean Smith |
| Oct. 9, 2012 | White-throated, White-crowned and Song Sparrows continue to give feeble renditions of their songs-as do Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I think this is more adults experiencing similar daylight hours to early spring, aka reproductive (or testicular), recrudecence, as opposed to juveniles 'practicing' their vocals? In late September I even had a Song Sparrow briefly repeat his early spring attempts to attack the rival he saw in reflection on my office window! But not with the same vigor. | general | Sean Smith |
| Oct. 9, 2012 | There were 3 Canvasbacks, 1 Ring-billed Duck, and a Lesser Scaup associating together on Little Lake this morning (Oct. 9th) off Beavermead Beach. A Pied-billed Grebe was nearby. I had 3 Blue headed Vireos this morning at Meadowvale Park, near TASSS. | Litlle Lake Meadowvale Park | Sean Smith |
| Oct. 9, 2012 | The feeding station in by backyard was very busy yesterday with a total of 18 species from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m.. Included was a female ruby crowned kinglet, male and female purple finches and for the second time this year a Carolina Wren. I was able to get a picture of it on a peanut feeder. | Tudor Crescent, Peterborough | Sue Paradisis |
| Oct. 8, 2012 | For the past seven days there has been a white Trumpeter Swan in the bay. This morning was the first time it ventured close to our shore. My neighbour fed it bread and took a photo. It has yellow tags on both wings, J83. | Hamilton Bay, Stony Lake | Alice Tucker |
| Oct. 8, 2012 | For over a week now, I have had a leucistic female Northern Cardinal at my feeder. It has large, white cheek patches. | Wildlark Drive | Murray Palmer |
| Oct. 7, 2012 | With the strong cold front this weekend, there has been a lot of bird activity with large numbers of creepers, kinglets and sparrows migrating through. The morning sunshine has also been coaxing some of the sparrows and robins into a half-hearted rendition of the their spring songs. The maples and ash are already past their best now with many of the leaves already on the ground. I had a Winter Wren at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary today, along with a Song Sparrow. At our feeder on Maple Crescent, we had a brief visit from six Pine Siskins. | Peterborough (general) Trent Wildlife Sanctuary | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 7, 2012 | Today we had a Golden-crowned kinglet sitting on a window ledge. we also had one Eastern Towhee under our backyard feeder among the white-crowned and white-throated sparrows and house and purple finches. | McCrea Drive, Peterborough | MItch Brownstein |
| Oct. 7, 2012 | Today I went to the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons and saw one Golden-crowned Kinglet, 10 Yellow-rumped warblers, 4 Redhead, 50 Greater scaup, 4 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Wood Ducks, 4 Bufflehead, and 2 Bonaparte's Gulls. | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons | Luke Berg |
| Oct. 6, 2012 | Two American Tree Sparrows have been visiting my birdfeeder on my deck over last 3 days. As well, a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers have been at my front window and in my front trees for a week now feeding on the Hackberry Gall Flies that are numerous right now. | Fairbairn and Raymond streets | Barb Evett |
| Oct. 6, 2012 | A dozen or more kinglets were in the yard this morning with the arrival of a strong cold front. Lots of Brown Creepers moving throught today, too. Purple Finches are still at feeder (about 12) and at least one of the immature males is starting to show a purple rump. At least a dozen mostly White-throated Sparrows and two or three White-crowned still here. We also had our first junco of the fall today. A fledgling Mourning Dove was in the driveway, hiding under the wheel of one of the cars. | Maple Cres. | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 5, 2012 | Today, there were a Blue-headed Vireo and Nashville Warbler at Ecology Park, while a few Purple Finches continue at feeders there. A Monarch was still visiting wildflowers. | Ecology Park | Sean Smith |
| Oct. 4, 2012 | Today after school I was at a friend's house on Coon Lake Road which is about a kilometre past Burleigh Falls and I found a Four -toed Salamander on the road, about 500 meters from the turn off. | Coon Lake Road, Burleight Falls | Luke Berg |
| Oct. 4, 2012 | A huge bull Elk caused traffic interruption on Highway 7 between Havelock and Marmora this evening. The Elk was 30 feet from the road in a farmer's field . He had a tag on one ear. Droves of people parked beside the highway and took pictures and videos. I still cannot believe the size of that animal. The bull was very quiet and not interested in all the attention payed to him. | Highway 7 between Havelock and Marmora | Ulrike Kullik |
| Oct. 3, 2012 | Today I watched a Peregrine Falcon harrasing an Osprey over Aylmer Street in front of the Public Library. | Aylmer Street, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 2, 2012 | On a drive around Chandos Lake today, the colours were magnificent. Especiallly impressive were the Red and Sugar Maples, along with wine-coloured White Ash. I would suspect that it will still be very good over Thanksgiving Weekend, esp. for Sugar Maple | Chandos Lake area: Apsley to Lasswade to Glen Alda and then back to Apsley | Drew Monkman |
| Oct. 2, 2012 | Today I had at least five Dark-eyed Juncos at our feeder- the first of the fall. | McCrea Drive | Cy Monkman |
| Oct. 1, 2012 | Between Meadowvale Park near TASS and Dunlop St. I observed single Nashville and Tennessee Warblers, FOS White-crowned Sparrow, a single Phoebe and a pr. of Wood Ducks. At Lock #20 Ashburnham at Roger's Cove there was a screaming Merlin and a flock of Pine Siskins. At Ecology Park there was a juv. or female Scarlet Tanager (on ground), a Black-throated Green Warbler, Phoebe and at least (3) Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. It is now difficult to find Catbirds. | various (see email) | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 30, 2012 | Today our first White-crowned Sparrow of the fall turned up at our feeder. I've been putting niger seed on the ground which seems to work well. The sparrows are happy and the squirrels don't touch it. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Sept. 29, 2012 | A first of season Dark-eyed Junco was in my backyard. | near TASSS on Armour Road | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 28, 2012 | White Ash are at their colour height right now. Excellent display this year of all the hardwoods. Ashes just north of Parkhill Bridge over Jackson Creek quite beautiful. | Alll over Peterborough County | Drew Monkman |
| Sept. 27, 2012 | Early this afternoon, I saw four Bonaparte's Gulls swimming in the front cell at the Lakefield Sewage Lagoons. The only ducks present were four Wood Ducks which were in the back cell. There was also a single Common Buckeye butterfly on the road/path at the northeast corner of the front cell. The White Ash trees are at their peak right now in the county. They really stand out with their wine-coloured (usually) foliage. | Lakefield Sewage Lagoons, County Road 33, just east of County Road 32 | Drew Monkman |
| Sept. 27, 2012 | Thought you might like to know I have just seen a Green-backed Heron along the Pagoda lake in Jackson Park. Have been walking there in the early mornings for many years and this is a first. Have seen many Great Blue Herons but never this little fellow. Guess he is making a stop-over on his way south. | Jackson Park | Pat Roberts |
| Sept. 26, 2012 | In the last few days, the number of White-throated Sparrows has swelled to about 12. There is roughly the same number of Purple Finches. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Sept. 25, 2012 | I had two Black-throated Green Warblers. | Ecology Park | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 23, 2012 | Today I had 2 Wilson's Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat. | Meadowvale Park near TASSS | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 22, 2012 | In the early afternoon, Patrick Hubert, a local birder was on his sheep farm just SW of the corner of Centre Line and Asphodel 6th Line. He saw a Black Vulture soaring near some Turkey Vultures. His description: "short, stocky vulture with black plumage and black head flying low". As far as I know this is the first sighting of a Black Vulture in Peterborough County. | Asphodel Township | reported by Chris Risley |
| Sept. 22, 2012 | I had a Brown Thrasher on Rotary Trail near Trent U. | Rotary Trail | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 21, 2012 | For the last three or four days, we have had five Purple Finches coming to our feeders. They have been here for about a week. They are all female or first-year males (which are indistinguishable from the female.) | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Sept. 21, 2012 | At Ecology Park today, there were a single young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, several Black-throated Green Warblers and single Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, American Redstart and Yellow-rumped Warblers. | Ecology Park | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 19, 2012 | On Sept. 18 there were still 2 Ruby-throated hummingbirds feeding on salvia at Ecology Park. Today, there was a juv. Black-crowned Night Heron off Meadowvale Park, below TASSS, and in the trees a Blue -headed Vireo and Black-throated Green Warbler, a Hermit Thrush - along with several Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets. | Ecology Park and Meadowvale Park | Sean Smith |
| Sept. 18, 2012 | Great news! With records of Fiery Skipper as far N as Haliburton and Algonquin as well as Ottawa and Montreal, I was hoping that we’d have a Peterborough Cty record before the end of the season! As I’m sure many people know, this year has been unprecedented as far as southern immigrant/vagrant butterflies are concerned. Another species to keep an eye out for, especially in weedy fields, is the Common Checkered Skipper. They typically fly quite late into the season and there have been recent records from Presqu’ile Provincial Park and Toronto. There have also been many immigrant sulphurs at places like Point Pelee (Dainty Sulphur, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur). While it is less likely for one of these species to show up here in Peterborough County, anything is possible. There is a 1947 record of Dainty Sulphur from Bridgenorth! | Peterborough County | Colin Jones |
| Sept. 16, 2012 | Today Mike Gillespie called me with news of butterflies that he had initially been unable to identify. He eventually suggested they looked like Fiery Skippers but thought that they were out of their range. I went down to his house and was able to confirm his ID. He has three of these skippers - both sexes represented - visiting the pink Stonecrop in his garden bed. This is a new butterfly for Peterborough County. Mike says that he does not mind people coming to see the skippers, and that they can go straight to the flower bed without calling at his house. The flower bed is on the south side of the house, and people can park on the little lane that runs down to his barn, south of the flower bed. | 1255 David Fife Line south of Cty Rd 2. | Tony Bigg and Michael Gillespie |
| Sept. 15, 2012 | At Millers Creek this morning we saw a Least Bittern. It was at a distance but it seemed to be significantly smaller than an American Bittern. We checked Crossley and Sibleys and the black cap and the beak seemed right. He looked to be quite dark in flight. | Miller Creek Conservation Area | Lynne Cotton |
| Sept. 15, 2012 | On the 24th of June I saw a doe with three fawns on the road quite close to our cottage on Chandos Lake. Well, yesterday we saw them again, three months older, near the same area! All of them looked perfectly beautiful and healthy. We felt so blessed! | Chandos Lake, Apsley | Jo Ann Caskey |
| AUGUST 2012 WEATHER NOTES (source: Geoff Coulson Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Environment Canada 416-739-4466) This past month, the warmer-than-normal trend came to an end, with seasonal temperatures observed across most of the province. During the month of August, only a few locations (such as Petawawa and Wawa) had mean temperatures greater than normal values by 2 degrees Celsius or more. Peterborough's mean monthly temperature was 18.5 C, which is 0.3 C above the long-term normal. Rainfall was about half the normal amount. | |||
| Sept. 8, 2012 | This morning at 10 am, I had 3 Sandhill Cranes fly over me as I was driving east along County Rd. #2 by the Birdsall Swamp ( just east of Birdsall Rd) | County Rd. 2 by the Birdsall Swamp ( just east of Birdsall Rd) | Michael Gillespie |
| Sept. 1, 2012 | Today I had 15 Common Nighthawks circling over my house. First I thought they were swallows,but they were too big. I took out my bird guide and clearly saw the markings (white bands close to the body) on the underside of the wings. | Havelock | Ulrike Kullik |
| Aug. 28, 2012 | Walking my dog through the sanctuary this morning the birds were generally scarce and quiet. However by pishing out a few small flocks I managed to find eight warbler species – Nashville Warbler, American Redstart, Canada Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, and Wilson’s Warbler. | Trent Wildlife Sancturary | Drew Monkman |
| Aug. 25, 2012 | On August 17th, Jane and I searched five patches of Prickly Ash on a ten acre property near Belmont Lake, and saw a combined total of more than 80 larvae of Giant Swallowtail, (representing all five instars), plus an additional five eggs at one of the sites. I would expect that many will attempt to over-winter as pupae, and I believe that as a species, they are here to stay. I see them, (adults), pretty much daily now, in my travels between Havelock, and Stoney Lake, and have been since mid-July. We had a couple around also, in late May of this year. | Belmont Lake | Tim Dyson |
| Aug. 24, 2012 | I had a Great Spangled Fritillary laying eggs near our violets. Since I let areas of our yard go wild, I have had many different types of violets fill in which has brought in other fritillaries as well. This one is as big as a monarch. These caterpillars will over winter and then in the spring complete their life cycle. Guess, I’ll keep my eyes open next spring. | The Glen, Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| Aug. 24, 2012 | We had a particularly rich insect chorus in our backyard last night. Among the voices - sounding almost like an insect version of an American Toad - was a Narrow-winged Tree Cricket (Oecanthus niveus). Its 2 to 10 second trill is separated by several seconds of silence. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| Aug. 23, 2012 | Monarchs continue to be quite common this summer. We usually have two or three in our garden at any one time (often on pink phlox). I saw three on a patch of Joe-Pye Weed in Algonquin Park this week. Driving between Buckhorn and Selwyn today, at least eight flew across the highway. | various | Drew Monkman |
August 21, 2012 | I just had a Giant Swallowtail on my new hop tree [less than a week after planting].The tip of her her abdomen was going onto the leaves and layed 7 - 10 eggs. Lets hope the eggs hatch! | The Glen, Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| August 20, 2012 | This evening at 6:20 pm, I saw four Common Nighthawks “hawking” over the village of Keene | Keene | Pauline Gillespie |
| August 18, 2012 | A Giant Swallowtail nectared briefly in our yard this morning. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| August 16, 2012 | While golfing at Bellemere Winds Tuesday on the north shore of Rice Lake there were about a dozen Caspian Terns on the course. | Bellemere Winds, Rice Lake | Jane Philpott |
| August 8, 2012 | We had Giant Swallowtail hanging around our yard the past week. This one comes and goes. I've heard there were more sightings near Ottawa. The wings are so big they actually seem to roll like a wave when she flaps them. Later today, we had another one come by and it actually played with the one that has been here before. The two fluttered together for bout 15 seconds then one went one direction and the other stayed around and then flew off. | Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| August 6, 2012 | So pleased and excited as for the past 3 nights at dusk ,, bats have been flying around our property on Buckhorn Lake. We have not seen bats for 2 summers, since the white nose was diagnosed. I do not know what kind but look larger than the little brown bats we used to have here. | Buckhorn Lake | Jane Philpott |
| August 6, 2012 | While birding the southern part of the county today I encountered nine Giant Swallowtails at four locations: 3rd Line east of Bensfort Bridge (2-worn); Hiawatha Line south of Herkimer Pt Rd (1-fairly fresh); just east of Villiers on Peterborough Rd 2 (1-fairly fresh); and east of Birdsalls on River Rd (5-fresh). At the latter locality I found 6 larvae (1 late-instar; 5 early-instar) on Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum americanum). I took photos of the larvae and have placed photos of both instars in the 'D on Sutherland' folder (Click 'Photos' at left). Also of interest was a very fresh Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius) along River Rd. At the Briar Hill Bird Sanctuary I finally saw the Short-billed Dowitcher this morning. When I arrived just before 11 AM there were only two LESAs and the usual contingent of KILL visible. At around 11:30, just after the arrival of 34 Canada Geese, I picked up the bird on the far (north) shore of the pond. Not sure where it came from but I watched it through my 30-60X spotting scope for around 30 minut es as it fed continuously. I digiscoped a distant photo for the record. It then flew to the south side of the pond just east of the 'inlet' and was lost from view. Along River Road east of Birdsalls I had a Yellow-throated Vireo singing a weak rendition of its song, a Scarlet Tanager, two Great Crested Flycatchers, several Eastern Wood Pewees, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, which was calling and which responded positively to call broadcasts, flying back and forth overhead in the canopy. | various (see email) | Don Sutherland |
| August 4, 2012 | Jerry Ball and I have been doing our usual butterfly searches throughout the summer and have noted Giant Swallowtails as early as May through to the present. The earliest was noted at his farm at Base Line and Heritage Line by Robert Difruscia where he was seeing them regularly. I believe that these had overwintered and that they then bred in the area resulting in the present abundance of them. On last Tuesday, July 31, Jerry Ball and I walked the rail trail between Asphodel 2nd and 3rd Lines and counted ten Giant Swallowtails, all fresh. The same day I had one in my yard in Lakefield. Other unusual butterflies seen this summer were a Little Yellow seen by Jerry some time in June (date unknown), two American Snouts on Scriven Rd found by Jerry and also seen by me, many sightings of Common Buckeyes all over the county, a spread of Little Glassywings to many parts of the county, and an increased number of Harvesters (I have seen three myself this season). Also of note Gray Hairstreaks, which are usually one of the hardest hairstreaks to find, have been quite common. | various (see email) | Tony Bigg and Jerry Ball |
| August 4, 2012 | I saw a Giant Swallowtail today just off of Birchview Road, about three kilometres east of McCracken's Landing on Stony Lake. The butterfly looked rather ragged with a large part of its left hindwing missing. According to the NatureList Google Group for eastern Ontario, the first Giant Swallowtail caterpillar ever for the Ottawa area was discovered just yesterday. It was feeding on Prickly Ash. It was found 4km SW of North Gower Ontario N45 04.902 W75 42.019 | Birchview Road near Stony Lake | Drew Monkman |
| August 4, 2012 | This morning between 0600 and 0740 while scanning the exposed mud at the Briar Hill Bird Sanctuary pond for the Short-billed Dowitcher that has been reported by various observers, I found an adult Baird's Sandpiper foraging with four Least Sandpipers (1 adult and 3 juveniles). Though over 200m distant, through the spotting scope the Baird's was fairly easily picked out due to its larger size and black legs, but particularly by its long primary extension which extended beyond the tail creating its a ttenuated appearance and 'horizontal' foraging posture, as well as by its generally paler brown coloration contrasting with the rufus brown of the adjacent Leasts. Other shorebirds present included Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Wilson's Snipe. Still no luck with Short-billed Dowitcher despite three visits over as many days, but not all of the available habitat is visible due to the tall stands of Reed Canary Grass along the shores of the pond and it may still be present. Also present was an adult Caspian Tern and four male Blue-winged Teal. On Rice Lake off Hall Landing there was a molting adult Bonaparte's Gull and two adult Capian Terns. Later, at around 1000h I observed a very fresh Giant Swallowtail on River Rd at the Ouse River bridge, between the 2nd and 3rd lines, east of Birdsalls. Interestingly, Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) was fairly commoon bordering the north side of the road. Prickly-ash is the other native larval host of the Giant Swallowtail in Ontario. | Briar Hill Bird Sanctuary, County Road 28 at County Road 21 | Don Sutherland |
| August 2, 2012 | The Peregrine Falcon was seen again today on the OMNR building on Water Street. | OMNR Building at Water and Charlotte streets (perches usually on west side of building) | Bill Crins |
| August 2, 2012 | We recently had an American Bittern on our property on Chemong Lake off the 12th Line of Smith. We were surprised at the sighting as we have never seen any bird like this before. We checked our bird books and looked it up on the web before we identified it, and it was definetly a bittern. Beautiful bird, and very large. | 12th Line of Smith-Ennismore at Chemong Lake | Robb Wood |
| August 1, 2012 | If you're down at the Silver Bean Cafe at Millenium Park, watch for Caspian Terns sitting on the rock island with the Ring-billed Gulls. | Millenium Park, Water Street, Peterborough | Colin Jones |
| August 1, 2012 | Snowy Tree Crickets ("thermometer crickets") have been calling for at least a week now in our neighbourhood. | Maple Crescent | Peterborough |
| July 28, 2012 | A pair of Merlins nested in our next door neighbour's pine tree. They fledged three young and all were flying around the neighborhood for a month. | Algonquin Blvd, Peterborough | Mike Barker |
| July 28, 2012 | Today, I was delighted to see four Sandhill Cranes - two adults and two young - on Tara Road. They were gliding into a grain field that has been harvested. Beautiful sight! | Tara Road, Ennismore | Jim Watt |
| July 26, 2012 | On Monday afternoon we had some heavy rain, and the largest hail I have ever seen in my years living here. It was just a bit smaller that golf balls. I live about a mile up from the causeway. There is a hydro pole, at the 4 way stop and we have watched a pair of Osprey raise two chicks this summer. Last few days they have been standing up, flapping their wings, I presume getting ready to leave the nest. The mother was always with them, watching over them, while the male would be fishing for them. After the hail storm I said to my wife " I bet that could really hurt the birds being right out in the open like that. I'm sure hail like that could kill some birds." I took a drive down to the causeway and to my shock, the nest was completely gone and the two adult birds were circling around the bare hydro pole. I don't know if they had a lot of wind there or what, but I could find no sticks from the nest. I'm sure, many others have noticed them gone. | Ennismore | Randy Hayes |
| July 24, 2012 | The first signs of fall are upon us. Yesterday, I could see Tree Swallows flocking (about 30). They were gone today. Biggest surprise sighting of the summer - our first Green Heron. | Douro-Dummer Township | Bruce Kidd |
| July 24, 2012 | I saw a Bald Eagle flying here on Colville Island for the first time ever. We have always had an Osprey nest, but this is the first eagle. How wonderful. An absolutely stunning bird. | Colville Island, Stoney Lake | Sarah Kline |
| July 23, 2012 | I saw a Virginia Opossum on the side of the road near the medical centre on the Bridgenorth highway this morning. Unfortunately it had been hit (gently but fatally) by a vehicle but was still easily id'd as a Virginia Opossum. You can't mistake that face for any other animal. I guess they have made the trip up from Toronto to our area now! | Bridgenorth | Judy Raymond |
| July 22, 2012 | I had a very cooperative Carolina Wren on the sunflower feeder this morning around 8:00 am. I got a very good look at it and was able to clearly see all its field markings. | Tudor Crescent | Sue Paradisis |
| July 20, 2012 | Today I saw a Pandorus Sphinx moth (Eumorpha pandorus). It is nearly all green and quite beautiful. (Note: Its host plants are grape and Virginia creeper. It is listed as fairly common in northeastern North America and is closely related to the Hummingbird Clearwing which nectars at flowers like hummingbirds do. D.M.) | Swish Maintenance, Fisher Drive Peterborough | Susan Sackrider |
| July 18, 2012 | Today I saw two Moose swimming together across a bay on Anstruther Lake. | Anstruther Lake, Apsley | Cathy Niergarth |
| July 17, 2012 | Today, I had a Hummingbird Clearwing moth coming to my flower garden. I didn't recognize it as an insect at first but thought rather that it was a small hummingbird. | Allum Road, Peterborough | Eric Munro |
| July 17, 2012 | Today, at Cedar cross road near Warsaw between 4pm and 5pm, I spotted a pair of Sandhill Cranes in a freshly cut field. On Fri. June 22nd I saw a Black Bear in a field while driving on County Rd 4 near 1st line about 9:00 PM. All spring I have had three or more Green Herons and a pair of Long-eared Owls flying around my house on Douglas Rd in Warsaw. The owls have returned for the past three years to nest. These owls make a lot of noise, starting just before dusk and continues through the night. The first few nights just about drove my wife and I nuts while trying to sleep. Then we found out what was making the noise. We have become accustomed to it now and enjoy it. The second year that we had them we witnessed something amazing. We had 3 young owls learning to fly in our back yard. Something I will never forget. This year we didn't get to see them but could hear the owls in the mainly coniferous forest behind our yard. I did get some video and a few pics from a few years ago. | Warsaw area | Mark Anderson |
| July 16, 2012 | At 8:15 pm, two Common Nighthawks flew over Gilcrest Bay on Stony Lake. | Gilcrest Bay on Stony Lake | Rob Welsh |
| July 16, 2012 | My sister and I were at my campsite today (Woodland campsite on Upper Buckhorn Lake). My site faces a marshy part of the lake with logs and grasses growing in abundance. About 4:30 PM a crow-sized bird flew in to the shoreline that looked heron-like. We observed it closely for about 10 minutes. Turned out it was a Green Heron! I've never seen one before. | Upper Buckhorn Lake | Barb Evett |
| July 15, 2012 | At 6:30 p.m. today, the Peregrine Falcon was seen sitting on the railing on the roof of the Quaker building. I viewed it from Hunter Street Bridge. It stayed perched the whole time. | Quaker building, Hunter Street | Brendan Boyd |
| July 13, 2012 | A Peregrine Falcon was observed sitting on the top of Robinson Place (provincial gov't building) from 11 am into the afternoon on July 13 and could be seen from Water Street. It was not banded. Many MNR workers in the building got to see it sitting on the Ontario trillium logo at the sixth floor level of the building. This is the second recemt sighting of a peregrine. Another (or the same?) bird was seen by Gail Jackson on the SW corner of the building on the morning of June 21 plucking a small songbird. | Robinson Place (provincial gov't building) at Charlotte and Water streets | Chris Risley |
| July 13, 2012 | We have recently noticed a trio of Merlins in our backyard, feasting on local birds on the neighbor's roof, in East City. I was able to get some great photos yesterday. | East City (east side of Peterborough) | Marlene Stamler |
| July 11, 2012 | Last Saturday evening around 8 p.m. while walking the dog around the pond in the industrial park in south Peterborough, we spotted a Coyote just to the east of the big dirt pile to the north of Fisher Drive. It had come from the south and was heading north. I tried to get to a spot where we might see it cross the dirt road but we did not see it again. I circled back to where we had seen it originally and was able to get pics of its footprints. I have only seen coyotes twice before in the Ptbo area in the 19 years we have lived here. | Fisher Drive, Peterborough | Sherry Hambly |
| July 11, 2012 | Tonight at dusk, there was an Eastern Screech Owl calling from just below my back yard along Cavan Creek in Cavan. It was mostly doing the whinny call, but responded with a trill when I attempted to call back. | Cavan | Scott McKinlay |
| July 11, 2012 | A pair of Chimney Swifts has nested this spring/summer in a tall chimney behind the Peterborough Pet Hospital on Lansdowne Street. Apparently the nest is visible from the room from which the chimney extends. | Lansdowne Street, Peterborough | Betty Hinton |
| July 10, 2012 | Today, I had a new butterfly species in the garden - a Silver-spotted Skipper. This large, fast-flying skipper is easy to identify, given the prominent silver patch on the underside of the hindwing. It was nectaring at my Joe-Pye Weed. Monarchs continue to come everyday, as well. Yesterday, I saw my first meadowhawk dragonfly of the year. I'm not certain of the species. A pair of House Wrens were checking out a nesting box in the yard today, too. The male sang several times. However, they did not stay at the box long. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| July 5, 2012 | Here are a couple of interesting butterfly and moth notes from June 16 and 18 from Blair Hamilton. "I have fenced off two small patches of my front lawn where I have a lot of American Lady larva on some Pussy Toes and might forget and cut them when I do the lawn. I also have my first Black Swallowtail caterpillar on the dill and parsley I planted this year. I hope it is one of many. Finally, I saw a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth caterpillar on one of my Arrow-wood shrubs. What a beauty!" Blair does a lot of native plant gardening. He recommends several websites run by Carole Browne such as http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/ | Pigeon Lake | Blair Hamilton |
| July 4, 2012 | We are so excited to have a nest of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in a cavity of one of our aspen trees. Perfectly round hole and situated just right so I can see the feeding ritual. The young have been calling for days now and our forest is never quiet. These little ones are quite noisy. This is our first nest of this kind on our land- so excited! Thanks for having a site like this! | 2000 Demers Road (off Camp Line Road) near Camp Kawartha in Douro-Dummer Township | Carolyn Hyslop |
| July 3, 2012 | Today I watched a female Monarch butterfly depositing eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves in our garden. Each egg looks like a tiny, white cylinder, smaller than the head of a pin. Both a small, young plant and a 5' high mature plant were selected for egg-laying. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| July 2, 2012 | The albino Common Grackle has been seen in our yard in the north end of Peterborough in recent days. I was able to get a number of good pictures of it. (Note: this bird has also been seen by many people on Montcalm Drive - D.M.) | 222 Farrier Cres., Peterborough | Katherine Darwin |
| July 2, 2012 | Nancy Harrison, who lives near Indian River, reports thousands of bees coming in the evening to the maple and elm trees near her house. According to local bee expert Glen McMullen, elms can attract bees by emitting sugar and alcohol compounds when the trees are stressed. According to WalterReeves.com, elms produce something known as "slime flux." It is caused by a bacterial infection inside the trunk. There are actually two types of slime flux: “alcoholic” and “acidic”. The acidic flux smells like vinegar. The alcoholic flux smells like beer. The condition is common on large oaks, poplars, elms and maples. If the lower trunk of a tree is underground, fungi and bacteria attack it and cause great damage. An infection can also be caused by a wound on the trunk surface or it can be deeper inside the trunk. In either case, bacteria ferment the tree’s sap; it seeps out and down to the ground. Sweet-eating insects (wasps, bees, yellow jackets) would obviously be attracted to the damaged area. There is no external treatment for the condition. The tree will attempt to “wall off” the damage internally." | Indian River | Nancy Harrison |
| July 1, 2012 | This morning I heard my first cicada of the summer. It was calling in our backyard. | Maple Crescent, Peterborough | Drew Monkman |
| June 29, 2012 | We have had a bear sighting on our property. A B&B guest was walking past our pond on Tuesday, June 26 around 11:00 a.m. and an "adult black bear came from the edge of the pond, stood on its hind legs, looked at her and ambled (south) into the bush" There was no sign of cubs. We are located at 1125 Division Road and the pond is about half way between the Borland and Jermyn lines and 125 meters south of the Division Road. | 1125 Division Road, Douro-Dummer Township | Bob & Anna Keating |
| June 27, 2012 | A pair of Sandhill Cranes and their chick can be seen foraging in the field just behind our house. We live a couple of houses down from the Miller Creek trail and this is the second year that we have been fortunate enough to have these lovely birds so close to us. Last year they stayed for about five weeks, feeding in the long grass almost every day. Anyone who would like to see them is more than welcome. They usually arrive around 8:00 a.m. and remain in the field until 5:30-6:00 p.m. For the past few days the birds have come as close as 30' from the back fence. Call first, however, mainly to confirm that the birds are in the field. My number is: 705 292-0714 and I live at 1225 7th. Line, four houses east of the Miller Creek entrance on the same side of the road. There is lots of room to park in the driveway. | 1225 7th Line, Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield, east of the Miller Creek Conservation Area | Gary Aitken |
| June 25, 2012 | For the past two days I have had a young, pure white Common Grackle in my yard. It follows one of its parents around and is being fed. | Paul Corp | |
| June 25, 2012 | For the past two days we have seen an Eastern Towhee on Birchview Rd across from #1641 near McCrackens Landing. We frequently see the Indigo Bunting in this area, too. | across from #1641 on Birchview Road near McCrackens Landing on Stony Lake | Lynne Cotton |
| June 23, 2012 | Today, the Peterborough Field Naturalists (PFN) visited a bog near Chandos Lake. Large numbers of Rose Pogonia (100+) and lesser numbers of Swamp Pink orchids (30?) were in flower. Some other plants of interest included Round-leaved Sundew, Pitcher Plant, Bog Rosemary, Marsh Cinquefoil, Small-leaved Cranberry, Yellow (Whorled) Loosestrife, Bog Laurel, Cinnamon Fern, Marsh Fern, Sweet Gale, Winterberry Holly, Labrador Tea and Bunchberry . We also found several Bog Copper butterflies - a species only found in bogs. | Chandos Lake | King Baker, Martin Parker, Drew Monkman and other PFN members |
| June 22, 2012 | Today, I spotted a Black-crowned Night Heron at Beavermead Park at around 8 am. It was in the creek near the other side of the new chip truck. I flushed it from the water's edge into a tree on the other side of the creek, and could clearly see the grey and black body, plumes on the head, and yellow legs." | Beavermead Park | Catherine Paradis |
| June 17, 2012 | Today, when I was at a cottage on Stony lake, I found a Bonaparte's Gull in with a flock of Ring-billed Gulls. It was still in first winter plumage. | Stony Lake | Luke Berg |
| June 12, 2012 | I walked the Bridgenorth Trail this evening with my daughter, Sophie. We heard a Black-billed Cuckoo calling repeatedly at the Bridgenorth end of the trail. We also tried shaking the branches of the cedar trees and, sure enough, a cloud of 2 mm-long Argyresthia moths filled the air each time. The tiny caterpillars of this moth (known as cedar leafminers) have been excavating tunnels in the leaves of the cedars this spring, resulting in a generalized browning of the foliage of nearly all of the white cedars in the Peterborough area. | Bridgenorth Trail | Drew Monkman |
| June 11, 2012 | So many of us have been noticing the browning and general deterioration of the cedars this spring. I was showing some people who were here at our house tonight that if you shake the branch of a cedar, a swarm of tiny white moths flies out so I guess the leafminers have evolved into the adult stage! | Peterborough | Beth McMaster |
| June 10, 2012 | Today I saw my first White Admiral of the spring. | Buckhorn | Drew Monkman |
| June 9, 2012 | Today I birded the Carden Alvar, north of Kirkfield. I recorded 80 species: Wood Duck, Mallard, Canada Goose, Common Loon, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, American Bittern, Sora, Virginia Rail, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Killdeer, Wilson’s Snipe, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Eastern Wood-pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, European Starling, Blue Jay, Common Raven, American Crow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Baltimore Oriole, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Horned Lark. | Carden Alvar, Kirkfield, Ontario | Luke Berg |
| June 9, 2012 | I just had a wonderful experience. Tonight, at about 9:30 p.m., I decided to walk the Parkway Trail home from Chemong Rd (going east). I walked all the way to Hilliard Street and back because of the most amazing show of fireflies I have ever seen. It was a perfect night (air completely still, sky light enough to see the path and not one other person on the path). There was well over 500 (I really want to say over a thousand!) | Parkway Trail between Chemong and Hilliard | Greg Mcleod |
| June 9, 2012 | Today around 12:00 pm on County Road 8 at Burn's Bridge in Douro I spotted a mother Black Bear and her two young cubs. This is the second time this week I have seen them. I got a good view of the cubs this time. They are very small. I just hope that people in Douro and surrounding areas are aware the black bears are around and to keep your distance! | Douro | Jamie Austin |
| June 7, 2012 | This morning I checked out the Fairbairn Marsh at 6:30 p.m. Lots of bird activity including Virginia Rail (in response to tape) and Willow Flycatcher, 12 Tree Swallows, 2 Barn Swallows, etc. There is also a Black-billed Cuckoo in the area but I've yet to hear it. Further down Fairview (almost at end) I heard and saw Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Kingbird, etc. | Fairbairn Marsh (Fairbairn Street at County Road 19 in Peterborough) | Drew Monkman |
| June 6, 2012 | This morning at 9:15 am I saw a Great Egret in the Lakefield Marsh, and I also heard a Least Bittern calling. | Lakefield Marsh | Tony Bigg |
| June 5, 2012 | This morning, I spotted a Black Bear on County Road 8 where it meets the Indian River in Douro. Also, that evening on 4th line in the town of Douro, I spotted a large bear and two cubs | Douro-Dummer Township | Jamie Austin |
| June 2, 2012 | A bit of good luck recently at the Lakefield marsh... theTrumpeter Swan we saw May 25th was feeding with the geese today. This time he was close enough to see his tag (J84). I checked the Trumpter Swan Society's website and found out he's one of the 10 cygnets hatched at Sturgeon Lake last summer . At one point he seemed a bit miffed with one of the geese and chased him off a bit. Other than that, they all fed together peacefully. It was quite overcast (having rained all day yesterday and again that morning) so the light was strange and the exposure not ideal, but it was still great to get a closer look at him. He's not been seen again since... I've reported the sightings to the Trumpeter Swan Society and the USGS bird banding lab. We also saw a Great Egret. | Lakefield Marsh | Gwen Forsyth |
| May 30, 2012 | Tonight, at about 7 p.m., we were out feeding the stock and saw an adult Cattle Egret hanging out in one of the pastures with the horses . I didn't have a camera or even my phone on me so unfortunately I didn't get a photo. We watched (stalked) it for about 10 minutes and then it flew over the treeline where two smaller birds chased it out of sight. | Fox Road, Omemee | Brooke Bays |
| May 27, 2012 | Here is an interesting trip report from OFO (Ontario Field Ornithologists) to the Carden Alvar, just north of Kirkfield. It is well worth a trip! "The OFO group had excellent and lengthy views of a Loggerhead Shrike near bluebird box 10 on Wylie Road, which was the highlight of the trip on Sunday (May 27). There are now only about 11 pairs on the Carden Alvar of this critically endangered migrans subspecies in Canada. In the morning we walked north on Wylie Road to the Sedge Wren Marsh. Many Brown Thrashers, Baltimore Orioles, Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks were singling loudly along the route. We also had a singing Grasshopper Sparrow perched on a mullein stalk and Eastern Towhee. We missed Sedge Wren for the first time in many years. After lunch at the Lift Lock, we viewed an adult Great Horned Owl with two young in an old Great Blue Heron's nest in the small active heronry on the east side of Shrike Road south of McNamee Road. Seven Upland Sandpipers were along Shrike Road. At marshes adjacent Prospect Road south of Highway 48 we had Blue-winged Teal, Virginia Rail and Marsh Wren. We ended the day with Green Heron and Clay-colored Sparrow. Other highlights for the day were seeing both Alder and Willow Flycatchers singing their distinctive songs. Carden's signature wildflower, Prairie Smoke, covered the alvar meadows." Go to http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/cardenalvar.php |
Kirkfield, Ontario (northwest of Lindsay) | Ontario Field Ornithologists and Jean Iron |
| May 27, 2012 | This morning I heard a Willow Flycatcher calling in the marsh on the west side of Fairbairn Street, north of County Road 19. This has been a very productive marsh this spring with Sora, Virginia Rail, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Gallinule and Northern Shoveler all being reported. Later in the morning I heard and saw two Grasshopper Sparrows on Sand Road, just east of the 4th Line of Asphodel. | Fairbairn Street Marsh Sand Road | Drew Monkman |
| May 26, 2012 | Two Giant Swallowtail butterflies have been reported: one from Crowe's Landing on Stony Lake and one today from Warsaw. A picture was taken of the Crowe's Landing butterfly. This is quite a rare butterfly in the Kawarthas. However, a number turned up last summer, as well, but later in the summer. | Stony Lake and Warsaw | Gwen McMullen and Catherine Crowe |
| May 26, 2012 | I drove Douro 3rd Line this morning at 7 a.m. and heard Sandhill Cranes calling repeatedly from both sides of the road. Two birds eventually flew over. Click this link to hear the call: http://bit.ly/KjpkKs | 3rd line of Douro, south of Cedar Cross Road in area with open field on both sides of road and an old stone foundation on the west side | Drew Monkman |
| May 23 | I've been walking to and from work as part of 'Peterborough Moves', but mostly because it is May. Warbler migration continues to trickle through the Otonabee R. valley in Ptbo. Along the trail on the east side of the river I had a singing m. Canada Warbler today in Meadowvale Park, near TASS School. Also today, there was a singing m. Blackburnian just north of Hunter St. E. along trail. Since last week's slight cold front Blackpolls have been present and singing at Meadowvale, ;along the trail itself and at trees surrounding soccer fields at Beavermead Pk. And even my front yard near TASSS. I saw two singing m. Mourning Warblers yesterday at Meadowvale and an out-of-place f. Bobolink there in a willow along river. There was an Ovenbird, and singing Tennesee, Nashville and Magnolia Warblers last week, but I've not heard any this week. If not for singing, I wouldn't have seen these gems. | Meadowvale Park (can be accessed from west end of Frances Stewart Road, just north of Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School on Armour Road) | Sean Smith |
| May 23 | Today I had 2 Alder Flycatchers on Douro 4th Line, just north of Douro village on Meade Creek. There is also a colony of Bank Swallows on Division Road, east of the 4th Line, at the Drain Bro's Sand Pit. I also saw a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail and several Black Swallowtails. | 4th Line of Douro | Drew Monkman |
| May 18 to 21 | More butterflies are emerging, In the last week I have seen Tawny-edged Skipper, Meadow Fritillary, Common Ringlet, and Black Swallowtail (May 18, Cameron-Cty Rd 39 rail trail), Northern Cloudywing (May 20, PFN walk in Trent Wildlife Sanctuary), Hobomok Skipper, Arctic Skipper (May 21, Hubble Rd & Devil’s $ Mile Rd). Birds seen recently are Willow Flycatcher at the junction of Base Line and Nelson Rd (southeast of Lang), and a Golden-winged Warbler on Devil’s 4 Mile Rd. | see email | Tony Bigg |
| May 21, 2012 | Today, I had a Luna Moth at my cottage on Jack Lake. It's only the third time I've seen one in this area. | Jack Lake, Apsley | Sheelagh Hysenaj |
| May 20, 2012 | Today, I saw White-winged Scoter at Jack Lake at about 6:50 p.m. It was likely just stopping by on its migration route north. I have never seen one at the lake before. | Jack Lake, Apsley | Sheelagh Hysenaj |
| May 20, 2012 | I had a Brewster's Warbler at 1:00pm today on Nichol's Cove Road at the north end of the Lattanzio Farm. It was foraging along the south side of the road. I also saw a Black-billed Cuckoo in the same general area. On Friday morning there was also a singing Philadelphia Vireo in Ecology Park. I dropped by Hubble Road after work on Thursday evening and had 6 Scarlet Tanagers, 6 Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks 2 Chestnut-sided Warblers, 2 Nashville Warblers, an American Redstart, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Golden-winged Warbler, 3 Ovenbird, 2 Red-eyed Vireo, 2 Veery, a Swainson's Thrush, 6 Wood Thrush and 8 Common Nighthawks among other things. | Nichol's Cove Road (s. of Cty Rd 36, east of Bobcaygeon) Ecology Park Hubble Road (off of Cty Rds 44 and 47, north of Havelock) | Brendan Boyd |
| May 19, 2012 | This morning I saw a Blanding's Turtle basking on the shoulder of the Jack Lake Road (about 100 metres south of Jack Lake Landscaping business) . I have seen other several other Blanding's Turtles basking or crossing the road and found one dead at this same location. | Jack Lake Road, Apsley | Sheelagh Hysenaj |
| 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 |
| 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. | |
| 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 |
| 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). | ||
| 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 | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |