seen,probablyafter-effects
of a November
ontario region
Winter Season:December 1998 to February 1999
LOONS
THROUGH
WATERFOWL
^ total of six Red-throated
Loons was an
averagecount for the winter,but one in
Algonquin7 Dec (MR), wasthe first ever
there.Algonquinalsorecordedthreevery
late Com. Loons on 16 Dec (CJ et al.), while
a bird 23 Jan was the first in winter at Pelee
(AW). One-two Pied-billed Grebesare usu-
force winds.
The mild beginnings
to the winterproduceda hostof recordlate departuresfor
later migrants.Late departureshavebeen
featuresof recentwinters,and theycontinued unabated;spaceprecludesall but the
most noteworthy.The balmy February
yieldeda similarcatalogue
of earlyarrivals,
althoughmostof thesewereconfinedto the
extreme
southwest--Ontario's
"banana
belt."Thoseof us residingelsewhere
were
lessfortunate,and with the exceptionof
movements
of morehardyspecies,
thelater
winterwasratherquiet.Wecanonlyassme
that the openconditionsweresufficientto
allowbirdsthat survivedthe deepsnowsof
January
to disperse
widelybut wereinsufficientto encourage
widespread
newarrivals.
Abbreviations:
Pelee(Pt.PeleeN.P.andvicini-
(Northumberland)
and Rondeau(KenOare
counties,
districts,
or regional
municipalities.
In
general,
CBCrecords
arenotrepeated
in this
account.
380
theGulfof Mexicoandbroughtwithit
a huge dump of snow that forced
gency.
Althoughthe eventwasregarded with somederisionby thoseto the
wasan exceptional
count.A HornedGrebe
seta recordlatedatefor Algonquin16 Dec
(CJ et al.). Five reports of Red-necked
north and east who were more accus-
Grebe were a bit above normal, and there
enormousl)•Birdsflockedto feeders
for the firsttime, andAlan Wormington witnesseda huge exodussouth
from the tip of Point Peleeover the
nextfewdays.On 3 Janthismovement
Gannetsoccasionally
wanderto the lower
Great Lakesin late Novemberand early
December,but are alwaysnoteworthy;the
bumper1998cropincludedtwoat Burlington 1 Dec, with one to 31 Dec, and one at
Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Niagara,27 Dec (RD
et al.). A Great Cormorant was seen at Port
Credit, Pee• 10-11 Jan (DEP et al.); at one
time the specieswas unknown in the
province,
buttherehavebeenabouteightin
the last decade, half of them in winter. A
Great Blue Heron at Kingston,Frontenac,
18 Feb (KFN) was the latestever there, and
a rarewinterGreatEgretwasseenat Pelee1
Dec (GTH). TurkeyVulturescontinueto
winterin growingnumbers.Thisyearthere
was a bird E to Wolfe I., Frontenac,20 Dec
(GFV,RDW), but thebigconcentration
was
in the Caledoniaarea,Haldimand-Norfolk,
where there were 32 on 1 Dec (RD, BC) and
23 on 5 Feb (JC).
This year the annual mid-winter L.
Ontario WaterfowlInventoryrecordedits
ty, Essex);
RE.Pt.(Prince
Edward
Point,Prince millionth bird and continued to set new
Edward).Algonquin(Nipissing),
Presqu'ile records,both in total numbers and for indiProvincialParks. Manitoulin is both a district
and an island. Place names in italics refer to
A The
big
storm
3-5
Jan
had
itsown
story.
Itof
swept
up
from
Toronto
anotherwasseenat Burlington,Hamiltonhe
winter
of1998-1999
offered
avariation
on a now
familiartheme:
very
mild
Wentworth,2-4 Dec (JD, SE). YoungN.
in earlyJanuary,
with heavysnowandgale-
Gooseseenat Pittock L., Oxford,Dec 6
ally locatedsomewhere
in the courseof a
8 Dec (GTH), with one to 10 Dec, and
punctuated
by a severe
stormin the south
were birds at La Salle,Essex,27 Feb (DCB)
and at Dundas, Hamilton-Wentworth, from
16 Feb (RH, m.ob.). A hutchinsiiCanada
winter; there were three individuals E to
Toronto, and 64 at Pelee 7 Dec (AW, FJU)
The followingreportcoversthe December were still 190 off Manitoulin,wherethey
1998-February
1999winterseason,
followed stage,16Dec (CB).Farto theNW, onewas
bytheJune-July
1999summerseason.
picked up in an Atikokan, Rainy River,
schoolyard
21 Dec (DHE). EaredGrebesare
CLIVE E. GOODWIN
not annual in winter, but two were at Pelee
and openin Decemberand Februaryand
coldin January;
but thisyeartheseason
was
storm (see NAB 53:17-18), as one or two a
winteris moreusual.Therewereonlythree
previouswinterRoss'sGoosesightingsfor
the province,but thisFebruaryalonethere
to declare a state of emer-
tomedto heavysnow,the sheersizeof
the snowfall must have stressed birds
included an unprecedented 9500
HornedLarks,1500SnowBuntings,
60
Lapland Longspurs,12 individual
American Pipits, and a Common
Snipe;on 4 Jan a hutchinsiiCanada
Goosewas seen,with a Greater White-
fronted Goosepassingthe next day.
Movementwasstilloccurringten days
later with flightsof hawkswestward
alongthe LakeErie shorelinesRedtailed,Rough-legged,
and Red-shouldered-and
hundreds of crows on 13
Jan.Presumably
thesewerebirdsthat
hadbeenattemptingto overwinter.
It
is very unusualto be ableto witness
bad-weather movementson this scale,
but
then
the
weather
itself
was
exceptional.
Perhapsthe stormwindsdeposited
whatmaybe the shorebird
of theyear
on Lake Ontario.
The storm hit Co-
bourg,half wayalongthe LakeOntario shoreline,
duringthenightof 3 Jan.
The nextmorningLoriWensley,
overlookingthe lake,sawa"darkshorebird
with a lot of white"flyingwest.She
phoned Goodwin,two miles to the
west,who in turn went to his window
1947, was of 3502 birds; but even in 1991,
and watched incredulouslyas an
American Oystercatcherslid and
skiddedonto the ice of Cobourgharbor.A handfulof observers
managed
thefirstyearwithcomparable
moderncoverage,the total wasonly93,700.The pro-
was the 7th for the Province, and of
vincehostedexceptional
numbersof Great-
course the first in winter.
vidual species(Table 1). Its first total, in
er White-fronted
to see the bird over the next hour. It
Geese: a total of 19 were
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS
ontario
(JMH) wasoneof tworeportedthisseason,
theotherbeingthatidentifiedat Pelee4 Jan
(AW). Somehigh late countsincluded15
Brant flying W at Toronto 12 Dec (NM,
LAM), 2100 Am. Wigeon at Pelee7 Dec,
and 475 Green-wingedTeal there 17 Dec
(AW,FJU).Februaryearlyarrivalsreached
Manitoulin with five Gadwall27 Feb (CB)
and threeN. Pintail23 Feb (TL). A high
count of 8509 Redheads came from
the
Table
__
__
__
mussel bonanza
continued:
No.
2
2
10
1
20
164
24
__
TinmisterSwan
Snow
Goose
Canada
Goose
__
90
Redhead
2449
Ring-necked
Duck I
BaldEaglenumbersweredifficultto assess
(M&KP) wasin a noteworthylocation.Five
wintering Red-shoulderedHawks were
reported,all from the southwest;
a bird at
Species
Snow Goose
N. Shoveler
N. Pintall
_Ring-necke•d
Duck
Surf Scoter
Hooded
Merganser
_ RuddyDuck __
No.
Pelee
until
the blizzard
*Date
Observer
'11 Feb
AW et al.
4
2
Shrewsbury,
Kent
Doffand,Oxford
'13Feb
7Feb
JTB
j'MH
3
2
Erieau,Kent
Doffand
'13 Feb
11 Feb
JMH
1
Pelee
'15Feb
AW
1
Pelee
'18 Feb
AW
2 ___
1
Erieau
Pelee
*8Feb
*15Feb
JTB
AW
j'TB
Am. Coot
1,1
*Pelee;Erieau
'11 Feb
AW; JTB
Killdeer
2
Pelee
13 Feb
BAM
N. Flicker
1
TreeSwallow
1
_ E.Meadowlark
Rusty
Blackbird
1
15
Sturgeon
Cr.,Essex
Pelee
Sturgeon
Cr.
Leamington,
Essex
* 13Feb
AW
'13 Feb
DAM, LW
*18Feb
* 12Feb
AW
AW
__
ßItalics
denote
record
early
_ dates
_ for
_an
PloverWasat Toronto12 bec (GC),and
Dec (DSh), and six were seen elsewhere
Killdeerseemed
to be all overtheplace:at
pitae,Sudbury,1 Dec (JN) and Provincial
Mill, ThunderBay, to 28 Dec (fide NE).
Rareat anytime,andwith onlyoneprevi-
Apart from an undocumented
report of
134 in the fall of 1980,the previoushigh
singlecountof PurpleSandpipers
was25.
Another late Sudbury-area
visitor was a
Com.Snipe26 Dec (fideJL).
Normallynot presentat all in winter,
Franldin'sGullsprovidedanotherechoof
ous winter record, two Am. Avocets at
the Novemberstorm (cf. GreaterWhite-
to Wolfe I. 20 Dec (EB) and N to Wahna-
survived
*282,489
2
Location
8
Pelee 25 Jan (AW). Only three Golden
Eagles
werereported:
fromMud L., Oxford,
7 Dec (DB), Wolfe I. 20 Dec (GFV,RDW),
andAmherstI., LennoxfieAddington,
8 Jan
(AS). Virginia Railsattemptingto winter
weredetectedat Pelee21 Dec (DGC) andat
Port Hope, Northumberland,
24 Dec; the
bird
180
TOTAL
least 9 December records included 18 at
(CAM, m.ob.). Two late Sandhill Cranes
wereat Bath,LennoxfieAddington,18 Dec
1526
24
Am. Coot
67
_
647
merganser
sp.
Ruddy
Duck
PE Pt.29 Feb(AB)mayhavebeenanearly
mtgrant.A calurus
Red-tailedHawkwasat
latter
52
5660
Red-breasted
Merganser
Table
_
Gadwall
__ Am.Wigeon
but seemedabout normal; a concentration
of 20 at Bale du Dore, Bruce, 24 Jan
4173
Hooded
Merganser
Com.Merganser
Selected Early Arrival Recordsin Southwestern Ontario, Winter 1999
have declined on the East coast. Small flocks
WOODPECKERS
*28,927
Bufflehead
*Italicsdenoterecordhighcounts.
Tablecompiled
byBillEdmunds.
__
THROUGH
15,068'
300
Com.
Goldeneye
36
18
Canvasback
20
white-winged
Scoter
scoter
sp.
*24,848
N. Pintail
N. Shoveler
5
SurfScoter
987
55
Mallard
altogetherwithout precedentand may
explainwhy Long-tailedDuck numbers
RAPTORS
2
1
'119,492
3
Gadwall
Am-Wigeon
tatled Ducks at P.E.Pt. (RDW, JHE) was
there.
KingEider_
Harlequin
D•uck
Long-tailed
Duck
2256
15,005White-winged$coterswas a high
count,but an incredible105,614Long-
of Long-tailedDuckswere also seenoff
Pukaskwa
N.P.on L. Superior19 Feb(fide
NE) A Red-breasted
Merganserin Algonqmn 16 Decwasrecord-late,
and a Ruddy
Duck 9 Dec (CJ et al.) was the first ever
No.
'44,007
2248
10
BlackScoter
2
26,596
Am. Black Duck
__
Species
Greater
Scaup
Lesser
Scaup
scaup
sp.
__
267
__ Green-winged
Teal_ I
TheKingston
areahadsomespectacular
totalson-the10 Janwaterfowlinventoryas
zebra
_
Mute Swan
these were also from L. Ontario.
the
Species
CommonLoon
Pied-billed
Grebe
HornedGrebe
GreatCormorant
Double-crested
Cormorant
TundraSwan
Windsor area, Essex,27 Jan (FJU). Two
Greater$canpin Algonquin16 Dec (CJet
al ) providedrecordlate dates.A total of
five King Eiders,all from L. Ontario,was
ratherlow for recentyears,aswastheeight
Harlequin Ducks and three Barrow's
Goldeneyes
reported;
with theexception
of
a Harlequinat Peleeand threein Lambton,
I
Resultsof the 53rd Lake Ontario Midwinter Waterfowl Inventory on I 0 January1999
PittockL. 1 Dec (JMH) and singlebirdsE
Hamiltonto 5 Dec (m.ob.)and possibly frontedGooseabove):therewasoneat Turtwo at Rondeau and Blenheim 3-12 Dec
key Pt., Haldimand-Norfolk,
5 Dec (AH);
(SC et al.) and 20 Dec (PAW) were noteone-twoat Niagara5-13 Dec (m.ob.);two
worthy.Wahnapitae
had a GreaterYellow- at Pittock L. 1-3 Dec (JMH, RS et al.), and
legs1 Dec (JN), while one at Presqu'ile
20
one at Blenheim 1 Dec (PAW). Two late
(FB), and 17 were seen flying W at
Dec (MR) wasprobably
the latesteverfor
Little Gulls were E to P.E.Pt. 19 Dec, with
Blenheim,Kent,Dec 28 (DS, IW).
Ontario.A RuddyTurnstoneon AmherstI.
oneat Wolfei. thenextday(KFN).Black-
Theshorebird
storyismainlyoneof late
departures,
andspace
precludes
a complete
hstmg;in all, 13 species
wererecordedin
theprovincein December.
An Am. Golden-
3 Dec (AS) was the latest ever for the
headed Gulls are lessthat annual in winter,
Kingstonarea.PurpleSandpipers
areto be
expectedin December,
but the flock at
Presqu'ile
grewto an impressive
57 on 20
but thereweretwo:at Toronto28 Dec (DP)
and at Queenstonfrom 30 Jan (JI, m.oh.)
VOLUME53 (1999), ISSUE4
The 247Bonaparte's
Gullsat P.E.Pt.19Dec
38t
(KFN) was a high total for this easterly
location.Ring-billedGullsdo not usually
rate consideration in these accounts, but
over 900 at Hanover,Bruce,19 Dec (JWJ et
in Bruce27 Jan (DF, BF), and swallowslin-
geredat McGregor,
Essex,
with a N. Roughwingedandtwo Barnto 21 Dec anda single Barn to 25 Dec (FJU et al.). Ontario's
al.) wasan extraordinarytotal for the date
andyetanotherreflectionof theopenconditions.Cobourgharborhostednine speciesof gullson 26 Jan,includinga raread.
Mew Gull (RF);alsopresentwasan ambiguousbird that at firstseemedto be a Slatybacked.Niagarahad its shareof puzzling
gullsas well, all challenging
identification
skills,if not sanity.However,Torontodid
2nd G•ve Swallow, attributed to the s.w.
pelodomarace,was at Pelee7-9 Dec (AW,
havea genuine
Slaty-Backed
Gull 2-9 Jan
includeda rare Marsh Wren at Chelmsford,
(BY, JV), only the 3rd for the province.
about average,with 22 reported,as were
Black-legged
Kittiwakeswith six,including
Sudbury,to 5 Dec (fide JL) and one-two
Golden-crowned
Kingletsoverwintering
at
Chippewa,ThunderBay,likelythe first to
do so there (fideNE). A Blue-grayGnat-
one E to RE.Pt. 1 Dec (KH et al.).
It was not an "owl winter," and those
Northumberland's latest.
Lesser Black-backed
Gull numbers were
birdsthat werepresentin the southmay
haveexperienced
heavymortalityafterthe
Januarystorm.In Northumberland
several
Long-earedOwls were picked up after
apparentlyhavingstarvedto death (fide
AEW). SnowyOwlswereabsentfrom most
of the province,with only three evenin
their usual strongholdsof Wolfe and
Amherst Is. Northern Hawk Owls were seen
onlyon Manitoulin27 Feb(TL) andin the
ThunderBay area,with two from 26 Dec
(SS),and the only Great Gray Owl s. of
breeding range was an injured bird at
FJU).CarolinaWrenswereat N. Bayto 6
Jan(RT) and at Meaford,Grey,15 Decon
(JB),but recordsfrom Peleesuggest
a more
indicativepictureof the species'
statusover
winter: of 21 on the CBC, none were re-
portedaftertheJanuarystormto theendof
the period (fide AW). Northerlyreports
catcher at Cobourg 12 Dec (MB) was
A Townsend'sSolitaire at Kincardine,
Bruce,2 Jan(MP) andfour (in onetreedat
Thunder Cape 13 Dec (JA) represented
normalwinternumbersoverallfor theprovince.Swainson's
Thrushesareveryrare in
winter,so birds at Pelee9 & 21 Dec (FJU,
BMC) were noteworthy,and a singlein
Toronto27 Dec (MG et al.) evenmore so;
thereappearto be only2 prior recordsfor
the city.Acrossthe southand throughout
theperiod,Am. Robinswerewidespread
in
enormous numbers far in excessof those in
any previous winter in my experience.
Streetsville,Peel, 14-18 Feb (HB, m.ob).
Varied Thrushes included birds on 26 Dec
Winteringrecordsof Red-belliedWoodpeckers
extended
N to SudburyandThunderBay(fideJL,NE). Amongwoodpeckers,
Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers
arenormallythe
leastenthusiastic
aboutwintering,but four
andto 5 Janin theThunderBayarea(fide
folk, 2 Jan (MJ, JM); an Am. Redstartat
Long
Pt.toabout
15Dec•fide
JW'),
oneof
very few winter recordsfor Ontario;and a
Yellow-breasted
Chatat LongPt. aboutthe
sametime (GG). Rareat anytime--and so
in a rather different class--were
a Worm-
eatingWarblerat Pelee1 Dec(GTH) anda
Yellow-throated
Warblerin Algonquinto 4
Dec(CJet al.).Common
Yellowthroats
do
try to overwinterquite regularly,but the
prizefor nicheexploitation
mustgo to the
bird that spentthe winter in the public
greenhouses
in AllanGardens,
Toronto(AA
et al.). A SummerTanagerwas at a Port
Britain feeder,Northumberland,14-23 Dec
(AKS); the specieshas occurredalmost
annuallyin winterduringthe 1990s.
A SpottedTowheewasin ThunderBay
from late December(IM); definitiveprovincial recordsof this "new"speciesare
understandably
spotty,
butmostarein early
winter. Eastern Towhees were E to Ganano-
que, Leeds-Grenville,
with two to 20 Jan
(WH), and N to Kearney,Parry Sound,
throughmost of January-February
(GP)
Six SavannahSparrowsat Shrewsbury
20
Dec (AW,MJ,BJC)werea remarkablenumberfor the date.Lincoln's
Sparrows
at Toronto16Feb(BY) andat Oxley,Essex,
4 Mar
(RHo) and Harris'sSparrowsat Hillman
Marsh, Essex,21 Dec (DD, RW), Blenheim
9-23 Dec (SC et al.), and Claremont,
Durham, from mid-December (JF, mob)
werebothpresentin average
winternumbers.LaplandLongspursare very rare m
winterin the ThunderBayarea,sotwo to
30 Jan(DBa) werenoteworthy,
aswerethe
300 SnowBuntingsat RainyRiver23 Jan
(RSi,DHE). RainyRiveralsorecorded
aN
NE) and two near Portland, LeedsGrenville,
6-28 Jan(KFN). An Am. Pipit at
Beachville28 Dec (JMH) provided a
record-late date for Oxford. Bohemian
reports extendedE to Wolfe I. 20 Dec
Waxwingswerenumerousin the Sudbury
(KFN). The onlyThree-toedWoodpeckers area,asexemplified
bythe2318on theCBC
reportedwerefromAlgonquin,a maleand
(fideJL),but it wasnot until laterin Janufemaleon successive
days25-26 Feb(DSt).
ary that they appearedin numbersfarther
Southernbirderswill salivateat thethought
south, and then mainly in Bruce,where
in ThunderBayin lateFebruary(NE), and
threewerein theSudbury-Manitoulin
area
(fide JL). A Yellow-headed
Blackbirdwas
of the 161 Black-backed
Woodpeckers
in
burnt forestalong21 km of the Armstrong
highway,
ThunderBay,31 Jan(NGE,SP).
seenat SturgeonCr.,Essex,
6 Jan(NR). Five
Brewer's
Blackbirds
werereported,allin the
southwestexceptfor a bird in Toronto
SHRIKES
Northern
THROUGH
FINCHES
Shrikes were rather scarce and
lateto appear.Thereareonlya handfulof
Decemberrecords
of White-eyed
Vireos,so
a bird at LongPt., Haldimand-Norfolk,
to
19 Dec (fideJW) is noteworthy,
but it pales
besidea recordof Red-eyedVireo at Toronto 13-17 Dec (P. Stepien-Scanlon,
m.ob.);
althoughit maybe one of our commonest
summerbirds,I knowof no previouswin-
ter recordsof Red-eyedVireo. Providing
furtherevidenceof the generalmildnessof
the season,
HornedLarkswerein full song
382
therewere200 at Tobermorey
26 Jan(fide
DF).
Typically
a fewisolated
warblers
attempt
Cardinal,its 3rd, at Stratton21 Jan(J van
den Broeck,RSi); anotherN. Cardinalwas
to winter in scattered localities across the
18-28 Dec (DP). Winter Baltimore Ormles
south;not surprisingly,
therewerea good
numberof suchreportsthis year,with at
arelessthanannual,butthisyeartherewere
birdsat Tilbury East,Kent,13 Dec (DM)
andat McGregor29 Dec (RHo).
Apart from a few PurpleFinchesand
isolatedreportsof otherspecies,
mostlyon
least 10 speciesin December. Yellowrumped Warblersare often quite widespread,but a measureof their abundance
CBCs, winter finches were absent over
this year was the 30 recordedin the
Kingstonarea in December(fide RDW).
The morenoteworthy
laterecords
of other
species included an Orange-crowned
muchof the south.Bothspecies
of crossbill
appeared
in smallnumbersin theSudbury
area, mainly from Januaryon, and there
Warbler at Wolfe I. 20 Dec (KH et al.), as
was an influx of Pine Siskins there in the
mostwinteringrecordsarefrom thesouthwest;a "yellow"Palm Warblerin Haldi-
first weekof February,the highestcount
being300at Lively5 Feb(GH). Theexcep-
mand ConservationArea,Haldimand-Nor-
tion to the patternof generallylow numNORTH AMERICAN BIRDS
ontario
berswasAlgonquin,whererecords
wereset
2 Janwith 1189PurpleFinches,170 Red
Crossbills(of two forms,one being the
large-billed), and 4150 White-winged
Crossbills,
with EveningGrosbeaks
alsoin
goodnumbers.Bothcrossbill
species
were
singingcontinuously,and femaleswere
seencarryingnestingmaterial(fideRTo).
Meanwhile, in Rainy River there were
unprecedentedhigh numbers of Am.
Goldfinches
at feeders
(fideDHE).
Subregioualeditors (boldface),contributors (italics), and cited observers:A.
Adarno,J. Allair, R. F. Andrig M. Bain, J.
Barr, D. Bascello (DBa), E. Batalla, L
Bauder, C. Bell, H. Bodach,A. Boisvert,D.
C Boyce,
D. Bucknell,
K.Bull,K.J.Burk,J.
T Burk, B. J. Casier, D. G. Cecile, S.
Charbonneau, B. Chaffton, B. M.
The Nesting Season:June to July •999
DAVID H. ELDER
'he
weather
across
the
province
during
JuneandJulywascharacterized
by contrast:hotandverydryin northeastern,
central, and southernOntario but very wet
with expectedtemperatures
in the northwest.Contributors
generally
felt theperiod
wasmarkedby a lackof excitement,
with
few raritiesappearingto relievethe traditional summer doldrums. However, Brown
Pelican,CurlewSandpiper,
LaughingGull,
FishCrow,and Gray-crownedRosy-Finch
were of considerable interest. Summer
is
whenshorebird
migrations
blend,with late
northboundbirdsverynearlymeetingearly
southbound individuals.
Chornyshyn, G. Coady, J. Cram, D.
D'hondt, R. Dobos, J.Dunn, S. Eadie,D. H.
Elder, J. H. Ellis, N. Escort,J. Fairchild,B.
hdler, D. Fkller, R. Frost,M. Gahbauer,G.
Gibson,A. Heagy,K. Hennige,G. Hill, G. T.
Hlnce,J. M. Itoldsworth,R. Hough,W.
Abbreviations:Pelee(PointPe/eeNat'/ Park
LOONSTHROUGH
wATERFOWL
Jennings,
1. W.1ohnson,
C. Jones,
Kingston
Red-throated
Field Naturalists(KFN), T. Land, J. Lemon,
I Macdonald, B. A. Mann, D. A. Martin, C.
s.part of theprovinceduringthe summer,
soworth notingweretwo on the Indian R.
n. of Warsaw12-13Jun(JW,AL),a verycooperativeadultat Ft. Erieon theNiagaraR.
17-21 Jul (m.ob.), and singleadultson
Parker, D. E. Perks, D. Peuramaki, S.
Phlppen,G. Purdy,M. Riggs,
N. Robson,
M.
Runtz, S. Schloter,A. Scott, D. Shanahah
(DSh),R. Simms(RSi),R. Skevington,
A. K.
Skulthorpe,D. Smith, R. Smith, D.
Stnckland (DSt), R. Tafel,R. Tozer (RTo), E
J Urie, G. E Vance,J.Varrela,R. D. Weir, R.
Wickerr, A. E. Wilson, L. Wladarski, J.
Wojnowski,P. A. Woodliffe,I. Woods,A,
Wormington,B.Yukich.
Clive E. Goodwin, 1 QueenSt. Ste. 401,
Cobourg,
ON,Canada
K9A1M8
Loons are uncommon
in the
Frenchman's
Bay,Durham,1 Jun(DS) and
area,and two were at Presqu'ileP.P.28 Jul
(CEG). A female Canvasbackwith three
youngat Toronto'sLeslieSt. Spit in June
furnished
a firstbreeding
recordfor thecity
(RBHS),anda femaleRedhead
with young
wasnoted for the 3rd consecutive
year at
TollgatePonds,Hamilton.White-winged
Scoters
areunexpected
in summer,soone
VULTURES
endof Julydespiteconsiderable
recreational boat traffic (m.ob.); a singleadult was
present
duringJuneon KelleyL. in Sudbury
The BlackVulture invasionof the spring
(m.ob.). A Western Grebe was seen on
at CobourgHarbour24 Jul(MB), andtwo
at DarlingtonP.P.,Durham,wereof interest
(TH).
THROUGH
TERNS
continued into the summer with one found
6 Jun at N. Wilson Tract, Haldimand-Nor-
River, 20 Jun (DE, KM). American White
folk (MT), anotherover L.P.B.O.12 Jun
(fide IW), and one n. of Oakville23 Jul
(CM). Plumagedifferences
separated
indi-
Pelicans
werewell scattered
acrossthe provincewith four in earlyJuneat Fesserton,
vidualone-year-old
Mississippi
Kitesover
theTip of Pelee5 & 13Jun(AW,PAL).An
Simcoe (rn.ob.), three near Kirkland L.
ad. GoldenEaglewaswell seen9 lul just s
of Petroglyphs
P.P.(DCS),with possibly
the
ton,6 Jun(fideAR).A BrownPelicanwas
at Nanticoke,Haldimand-Norfolk,22 Jun
(DO et al.).
An unusuallyhigh number of Least
Bitterns were seen and heard at the St.
ClaireN.W.R., with 15 noted 12 Jun(JM);
another was found in Murray Marsh,
Northumberland,5 Jun (MB, PH). Three
VOLUME
53 (1999), ISSUE4
Toronto,18Jul(m.ob.).CattleEgretsshowedup at extremeendsof theprovince,
with
one on the lawn of the VermillionBay
Lodge,Kenora,14Jun(RD,GB) andanother at Owen Pt., Presqu'ileP.P.,22 Jul (KS,
MTo). A GreenHeron,rarelyseenin Algonquin Ep.,wasfound 10 Jul(KC, JD), and a
Black-crowned
Night-Heronwas unusual
for theSudburyareaon KelleyL. 23-27 Jun
Bronte Harbour, with 3 nestsactive at the
at RiceL. (JT), andfour at KettlePt., Lamb-
are usedt,hroUghøut
NorthAmeriCan
Jul (B&LC, m.ob.), and at LeslieSt. Spit,
at the Tip of Pelee6 Jun(AW,STP),a single
13-18 Jun(fideBK),eightat RubyL. near
Nipigonand10on KamaBayof L. Superior
15 Jun(BR), one 5 Junnear Peterborough
B•rdsarekeyedonpage358.
the Causeway
Marsh,Presqu'ile
EP.,5 Jun
(MW), at TollgatePondsin Hamilton3-17
on L. Ontario off Port Hope 14-16 Jul
(M&ST, m.ob.). An out-of-placeHorned
Grebein breedingplumagewasat the Tip
of Pelee25 Jun (AW et al.). Red-necked
Grebesagainnestedin w. L. Ontario at
WindyBayin s.e.Lakeof theWoods,Rainy
fromties.
Standard
fibbreviation•
that
Harbour, Essex,Jun 1-6 (BP,DC, et at.), at
andvicinity),*
K.RN.(Kingston
FieldNaturalists),' (FC, CB).
L.P.B.O.
(Long
PointBirdObservatory),'
S.L.(SewA healthy-appearingTundra Swan
ageLagoons),'
R.M.(Regional
Municipality).
found at the TavistockS.L.,Oxford,Jun24
(JH) provideda firstsQmmer
recordfor the
Houghton,R. Horvath(RHo), J. Iron, M.
A McLaughlan,J. Miles, L. A. Morse,N.
Murr, D. Murray, J. Nicholson,M. & K.
Great Egretswere presentthroughoutthe
period at Presqu'ileEp., Northumberland,
andmayhavebeenan indicationof breeding, a first for the area(fideMR). Snowy
Egretswerewellrepresented
with singles
at
Rondeaup.E 8 Jun (JTB et at.), Holiday
samebird found i0 km to the south 15 Jul
(TD). Urban-nesting Peregrine Falcons
continuedto persist,but severaldeathsof
newly-fledged
youngin Torontoand London point out the perils of breedingin
man-madehabitats(fide Ontbirds). An
abandonedopenpit mine in Sudburywas
usedby Peregrines
duringJune(CB).Virginia Rails bred successfully
in Carling
Township,
ParrySound,
withtwoadultsand
two young27 Jun (JNs).SandhillCranes
383
wereconfirmedbreedingat ThunderBay
when two adultsand one downy young
were seen26 Jun in the farmlandsnear the
city (BMo, PR); a 2nd probablebreeding
pairwasin a largefen on theBlackBayPen.
9 Jun(S&MB).Tothe east,a singleSandhill
Cranewasnoted13 Junduringa BBSnear
Kingston(RW), while a pair with a small
AH) and an amazing18 on the golf course
at Manitouwadge
28-29 Jul (NE). Shortbilled Dowitcherswere found in good
found8 nestsandsevenunmated
malesby
earlyJuly in Elginand Kent.Elsewhere,
singing male Acadian Flycatcherswere
numbers with 28 adults at Oshawa Second
locatedon AmherstI., Addington,
2 Jun
Marsh 20 Jul (MB) and 39 individuals at
(AS) and in HaltonCountyForest6 Jun
Thetford14 Jul (AR). The only reported (GE).The FishGrowpair foundearlierat
Long-billed
DowitchervisitedAmherstview Peleepossibly
nested
atW.Cranberry
Pond,
S.L. 19 Jul (VPM), and a singleWilson's
birds in the onion fields n. of Pelee 5 Jun
(AW et al.), seven at Erieau 4 Jun (KJB,
JTB), and four at Rondeau P.P. 11 Jul
bothbirdswerepresent13-20Jun,andone
lingeredto 27 Jun (GG). CommonRavens
nestedfar to the south, with a pair at
NorthumberlandCountyForest(RF), an
unprecedentedrecord. Two imm. Tufted
Titmice18Julat theTip of Peleewerequite
unexpected(AW). A Mt. Bluebirdpaired
with a female E. Bluebirdwas feeding
young20 Junn. of RainyR. (DE,KM). LoggerheadShrikeshad a goodbreedingseason: 125 youngfledgedin the known s
Ontariobreedingareas(fideCG).A singing
Yellow-throated
Vireo, rare in Algonquin
(BMa). The Peleeonion fieldsalsopro-
P.P.,was found 24 Jun (RT).
Bad weathercausedthe groundingof 22
duceda Black-HeadedGull 2-5 Jun(BC et
al.). A first-summer imm. LesserBlackbackedGull wasat WheatleyHarbour 26
Jun(AW), with anotherat the Tip of Pelee
5 Jul(AW). Roundingout the summergull
Hudsonian Godwits at Rock Point P.P.,
list was a first-summer
The Sudburyarea had its first Bluewinged Warbler at Burwash Farm 30
May-18 Jun(JL).A maleKirtland'sWarbler
wasseenby manyduringitsstayat Forest,
Lambton,9-12 Jun and may havebeen
accompanied
by a female(AR).A Hooded
Haldimand-Norfolk,22 Jul (K&WH). Six
Erieau8 Jul (KJB).An ad. Forster'sTern at
Phalarope
wasat DarlingtonP.P.4 Jul(GV).
youngbirdwasnearRiceL., Peterborough,
4
& 17 Jul (DF).
AdultLaughingGullswereat Sturgeon
A Black-belliedPlover 27 Jul near Holi-
day Beachwas likely a southboundbird
(RH, JM), as were two ad. Semipalmated
Plovers
seenat WildwoodL., Oxford,12Jul
Cr. 13 Jul(EB,JI) and Presqu'ile
P.P.28 Jun
(BG,BB).A recordearlyad.Franldin's
Gull
wasat SturgeonCr.26 Jul(AW), anda firstalternate-plumaged
bird visitedWildwood
(JH). A countof 200Killdeerat Thefiord11
L. 31 Jul, the first summer record for the
Jul(AR) wasunusually
large.A Willet was
at L.P.B.O.
9 Jul(SR,VH). TheSudburyarea
had a probablenestingrecordof Upland
Sandpipers
for the firsttimein manyyears
with a pair presentduringJuneat Wahnapltae(m.ob.).An UplandSandpiperat New
hskeard,Timiskaming,
3 Jul (BMu) was
notable,andstaging
groupswerepresent
on
Amherst I., Lennox-Addington,
with 30
area(JH, MH). Little Gullswerepresentin
high numbers with eight first-summer
noted25 Juland 50 counted31 Jul(K.F.N.).
Glaucous Gull at
RuddyTurnstones
turnedup unexpectedly CobourgHarbour30 Julwasonlythe 2nd
at CobourgHarbour 21 Jun (MB). Two
veryearlyjuv. RedKnotsat Presqu'ile
P.P.
24 Jul (MB) suggested
a good shorebird
nestingseason
in theArctic.
Recordearlydateswereprovidedby a
W. Sandpiperat PortHope Harbour23 Jul
(RF, m.ob.) and two LeastSandpipersat
SturgeonGr. 19 Jun (AW et al.). WhiterumpedSandpipers
werestill movingN in
earlyJune,with threeat Wahnapitae1 Jun
(JN) andfiveatAtikokan,RainyRiver,5 Jun
(DE). Singlead.B•;rA'•q•,,A?p.......... ,
area record.
Warbler near Baltimore 11 Jun was the lat-
estarearecordfor the month (CEG et al )
A very vocalYellow-breasted
Chat wasat
Oshawa SecondMarsh 18 Jun (JK). The
OWLS
THROUGH
FINCHES
GrasshopperSparrowseenat the Tip of
Unusual for the season and location, a
Pelee26 Julwaspresumed
to be an early
GreatGrayOwl wasseennearStoke'sBay,
Bruce,19Jul(JM, m.ob.).Long-eared
Owls
southboundmigrant(AW). The technique
of consistently
checkingareaswherebirds
havebeen seenpreviouslypaid off near
Ottawa: a Henslow'sSparrowwas found
areanything
butcommoninAlgonquin
P.P.
duringthe summer,but thisseason
4 nests
wereaddedto the 2 previousrecords(RT).
High populationsof smallmammalwere
likelyresponsible
for the increase.
Individ-
9-11 Jun at a site last usedin the 1970s A
late northboundWhite-crownedSparrow
was at Pelee 8 Jun (RH, RRe), and a W
L•cadov:!ark
in tk.c"$•a•-i-c,;:
Field"at Pelee
BannisterL., Waterloo,24 Jul (BCh, RDo),
Thefiord 20 Jul (AR), and Jarvis S.L.,
Beach3 Jun(JTB)andat Charington,Durham,6 Jun(HC). Southbound
Com.Night-
Haldimand-Norfolk,
24 Jul(BC,RD), while
Cobourg Harbour hosted yet another
hawks were evident 29 Jul when a total of
30-31 Jul (MB, m.ob.). An early juv.
Hwy 11 betweenFt. Francesand Atikokan
114 were counted in scattered flocks over
PectoralSandpiperwas at Willow Beach,
(DE); another concentrationoccurred at
Northumberland, 24 Jul (MB). Dunlins
seemedto be goingboth N and S at the
BurleighFallswhen25 werenoted28 Jul
(DA). A callingChuck-will's-widow
wasat
same time with a record late northbound
Pelee5 Jun (TL). On 30-31 Jul, a well-
adult at Tavistock8 Jul (JH) and a record
described
maleRufousH-mminb•bitdvisearly southbound(alternate-plumaged) iteda feederat Rebecca
Falls,Muskoka(fide
25 Jun (AW) wasthe first arearecordsince
1990.A note of specialconcernis the fact
thatBrewer's
Blackbirds
havevirtuallybeen
eliminatedasbreedingbirdsin the Thunder Bay and Atikokanareasas numerous
colonieshaveall disappeared
in the past10
years(NE,DE). Incredulous
birderswatcheda Gr•y-ctownedRosy-Finch
thatsomehow endedup at the Tip of Long Point
8-10 Jul (MBr, m.ob.).If accepted
by the
Ontario Birds Records Committee, it will
bird seen30 Jun at Pelee(AW). Amherst-
RT). A femaleThree-toedWoodpeckerwas
be the first record for s. Ontario.
view S. L., Lennox-Addington,
hosteda basicplumagedCurlewSandpiper6 Jun,the
3rd record for the area (KE, RWJ. PostbreedingStiltSandpipers
wereat Presqu'ile
PP.2 Jul,a recordearlydate(J&JT),andat
a rarefind in AlgonquinRE 24 Jun(AK,
HV). SinceRed-headed
Woodpeckers
con-
Finchesnestedin the city of ThunderBay
in mid-June,a firstfor thearea(fideNE)
tinue to decline,successful
nestingswere
encouraging,
with two juvenilesnearCam-
Subregionaleditors (boldface)and contrib-
belford 30 Jun (JH), three adultsand three
JarvisS.L. 10 Jul (BJ). Buff-breastedSand-
juvenilesnear Cottesloe17 Jul (AA), and
pipersappearednearThunderBay24 Jul,
two pairsnearCobourg(MB, CEG).
The AcadianFlycatcher
Recovery
Team
with two birds at local sod farms (CE, NE,
384
House
utors: D'Avril Allen, Anne Anthony,
MargaretBain, G. Bastable,
E. Beagan,C
Bell, B. Bird, Sue & Mike Bryan, M
Bradstreet(MBr), JamesT. Burk, Keith J.
NORTH AHERICAN BINDS
Burk• D Campbell,B. Casier,B Charlton
(BCh),B. & L. Cherrier,K. Clute,E Cosby,
Hugh Currie, Robin Dawes, Ron Dobos
(RDo), J. Dombroskie, Tim Dyson, G.
Edmonstone,K. E Edwards, Dave Elder,
Nick Escott, Dave Feurer, R. Frost, G.
Gervais,B. Gilmour, Glive E. Goodwin, C.
Grooms,JuneHarrington,A1Harris,Tyler
Hoar, E Holder,K. & W. Holding,James
I-Ioldsworth, Mary Holdsworth,Randy
I-Iorvath,JeanIron,BarryJones,
J.Kamstra,
B.Kinch,Anastasia
Kusyk,RossA. Layberry,
Anna Lee,JohnLemon,Tom Link,Doug
appalachian
region
ROBERT (. LEBERHAN
H oderate
tosevere
drought
conditions
Ni.•lr•nen, Dave Otterman, B. Patterson,
prevailedover most of the AppalachianRegionthis summer,and it washotter than usual.For the mostpart, however,
observers
did not think that thisnegatively
affectednestingsuccess.
In fact,an observer
in Venango,
Pennsylvania,
believedthatthe
Stephen T. Pike, B. Raddiff, Penny
combination
Ratushniak, Ron Reid, Alfred Rider, M.
latespringcoupledwith a dry summermay
haveresultedin higherthanusualbreeding
success
for manyspecies
of birds.However, •
basedon long-termpopulationstudiesbyJ.
Lockrey,V. E Mackenzie,C. McLaughlin,
Blake Mann (BMa), Jim McCoy, Karen
Mikolieu, JohnMiles, Brian Moore (BMo),
B. Murphy (BMu), J. Nicholson, Jean
Riggs,S.Rush,DougC. Sadlet,A. Scott,Joe
Taylor,M. & S.Telford,J.& J.Thomson,M.
Timpf (MTi), M. Tourney,Ron Tozer, H.
Varstraete,
Vilbran Verstracte,Gord Vogg,
JeremyWard,RonWeir, M. Williamson,J.
Wolnoski,
AlanWormington.
David H. Eider, RO.Box252,Atikokan,
OntarioPOT1C0Canada(rnelder@atikokan.
lakeheadu.ca)
h td<e morethan[uc]<..,
KENT[
'•
.(Y
WEST
VIRGINIA
,.
ø'
of warm favorable weather in
Merritt at Powdermill Nature Reserve in the
LaurelHighlandsof southwestern
Pennsylvania,smallmammalsalsodid very well,
and in an ongoingstudyof LouisianaWaterthrushes
in the sameregion,Mulvihill
foundsmallmammaland otherpredation
on nestsconsiderably
higherthis summer
than last.In 1998 about20 percentof 43
waterthrush
nestsunderstudyweredepredated,comparedto 40 percentof 42 nests
this season.
Several southern
birds
continued
to
.•
-• SOUTH
CAI:•,,JLINA
GEORGIA
birding on severalof the higherAppalachianpeaks.
Abbreviations:G.R.W.A.(GrandRiverWildlife
Area,Trumbull,
OH);G.S.M.N.R
(Great5moky
Mountains
N.P.);M.L.W.A.
(Mosquito
t. Wildlife
Area,[rumbullCo.,OH);RI.$.R(Presque
Isle
5tatePark,Erie,PA);P.N.R.(Powdermill
Nature
Reserve, Rector, WestmorelandCo., ?A);
Y.C.$.E
(YellowCreek5.?.,IndianaCo.,?A).
expandtheir breedingrangesnorthward GREBES THROUGH
HERONS
within the Appalachians.
In Pennsylvania
Despitethe drought,waterlevelsremained
White-eyedVireos, once confinedto the
high, and breedingsuccess
was good for
extreme southeastern corner of the state,
protect,
ant[
restore
ourheritase
--
Call us at 415.403.3850
or visit us at •wvw.alcnet. org
werefoundnestingas far north as Crawford,and onewasseenat PresqueIsleState
Pied-billed Grebes in the Conneaut Marsh
Park, Erie, in June.Yellow-throated Warb-
vania(RFL,RCL).In Trurnbull,OH, nesting
lers,unknownasbreedingbirdsin western
Pennsylvania
before 1978, are now common along most riversand are extending
theirrangealongsmallermountainstreams
as well. Conversely,many birds of the
mountain uplandscontinueto be found
Pied-billeds
werefoundat both Shenango
farther south and at lower elevations each
S.P.11Jun(JSa),and KahleL., Venango,
24
year.This summerthe trendwasespecially
Jul (RS). Double-crestedCormorants were
evident for Blue-headed Vireo, Red-breast-
nestingnear Kingsport,TN, wherea few
breedingpairshavebeenpresentsince1992
ed Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Goldencrowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and
Chestnut-sided,Magnolia, and Blackthroated Green warblers. Each of these was
AMERICAN
LAND
CONSERVANCY
Anon-profit
organization.
456Montgomery
Street,
Suite1450
SanFrancisco,
CA 94104
foundat numeroussiteswellawayfromthe
mountainridges,oftenin maturingspruce
or pine plantations or in regenerating
mixed forests that had been cut over earlier
this century.A scatteringof RedCrossbills
and Pine Siskins added interest to summer
VOLUME
53(1999),I•SUE
4
and Pymatuningregionsof n.w. Pennsyl-
and Grand R. state wildlife areas (DJH,
CB). An imm. Corn. Loon lingered at
ChickamaugaL., Hamilton,TN, 4-11 Jun
(HS, IW), and in Pennsylvania
singleswere
at Y.C.S.R 6-8 Jun (GL), Prince Gallitzin
(R_K);elsewhere,numberswere down from
recentyears,with a highcount of 25 nonbreederssummering at Meander Res.,
Mahoning,OH (NB). The Am. Bitternwas
reportedonly from GenevaMarsh, Crawford, PA, 27 Jun (RFL). Up to three Least
Bitterns were at Roderick Wildlife Reserve,
Erie, PA, 3 Jun-3 Jul (JM, LM), and one was
at G.R.W.A. 26-27 Jun and 11 Jul (CB).
385