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     THE B_EAUTY OF GREENWICH: by Tom Reddin 
     
    

    
     During the summer of 1998, I had the great good fortune to work at Greenwich in the new Adjunct 
     
     of the P.E.l. National Park. Because this area has such diverse passerine (perching birds), dune land, 
     
     and wetland habitat, it's home to a multitude of songbirds, small mammals, and, therefore, raptors. 
     
     Besides Bald Eagles, Ospreys, owls, Merlins, and American Kestrels, there were at least three nesting 
     
     pairs of Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) in the neighbourhood. 
     
    

    
     Of these, the largest nested about 600 m from our new Visitor Centre cottage. The "grandmother" 
     
     became somewhat of a companion to me on my morning and evening rounds of the site. More than the 
     
     younger female, she seemed to become comfortable with my presence as the season went on, 
     
     sometimes approaching my van as it passed along the lane, stirring up sparrows and warblers from 
     
     shrubs and hedgerows nearby. . 
     
    

    
     Late in the summer, I noticed her ranging more 
     
     and more around the area near our cottage, where the 
     
     old farm yard has grown up in bushes and weedy hay 
     
     and where a spruce grove and raspberry patch are 
     
     located behind the building. On a late August evening, I 
     
     looked out my office window toward this corner of the 
     
     yard and saw the grandmother performing what might be 
     
     called a "circus trick". After circling over some bushes 
     
     about 50 feet away from me, she landed, picked up a 
     
    
   
   
    
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     gg stick about 2 feet long, flew up about 30 feet, then circled 
     
     back over the bushes and dropped her "baton" into them. 
     
    
   
   
    
     At first I thought this was a strange fluke but, as I watched, she circled the same spot, landed 
     
     again and repeated the performance with another stick. This time, it seemed she got results, as she dove 
     
     swiftly towards the spruce grove, apparently in pursuit of a victim. Because of the flight path, I couldn't be 
     
     sure of the result but, it seems likely that this was a case of a bird using a tool to flush another bird as 
     
    
   
   
    
     prey. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     On two other evenings, she showed the same behaviour, though at a distance of about 50 yards. 
     
     80 again, I couldn't see the results in detail. Perhaps this is one part of her repertoire of hunting skills that 
     
     contributed to her apparent longevity. Though changes are being made at Greenwich and more visitation 
     
     seems inevitable, along with more disruption of her hunting grounds, this amazing display of survival skills 
     
     makes me hopeful that she will still be "at home" there as time goes by. 
     
    
   
   
    
     FIRST ISLAND RECORD FOR SWAINSON'S WARBLER: by Ray Cooke 
     
    

    
     At 11:10 AM on Tuesday May 25, 1999, while birding in Monticello and looking for Tennessee 
     
     Warblers about 75 yards west of the south end of the Hermitage Road, I stopped to investigate some 
     
     suitable habitat. While looking for the warblers, I heard a song I was unfamiliar with although, I thought the 
     
     song may have been that of a waterthrush. I walked over to the area in question and was surprised when 
     
     a bird came up from the ground to a height of about 18 inches. The bird then sat in full view for about 15 
     
     seconds. 
     
    

    
     The most notable feature was how slim and long the bird looked. This was accented by a very 
     
     long, thin and pointed bill. The bill proportion seemed even greater as the bird looked as if it’s head was 
     
     flattened and not rounded like many warblers. The crown had a brownish-red cap that was solid in color 
     
     and extended to it’s nape. A pronounced supercilium [eye brow stripe] was wide and whitish in color and 
     
     was present both in front of and behind the eye. A dark line was also present both in front of and behind 
     
     the eye. No eye ring was noted. The throat and face were white in color with no strong markings although 
     
    
   
   
    
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