Yesterday, Monday, March 15th, I birded Presqu'ile Provincial Park and
Amherst Island.
Waterfowl seen in Presqu'ile Bay between the Calf Pasture and and the
Lighthouse include the following - Greater Scaup (thousands), Redhead
(hundreds), Canvasback (hundreds), Common Goldeneye (hundreds), Bufflehead
(hundreds), Long-tailed Duck (about 300),Common Merganser (about 100),
Mallard (about 100), Mute Swan (75) Hooded Merganser (20), Gadwall (12),
American Widgeon (6), American Black Duck (2), Lesser Scaup (1),
Green-winged Teal (1), American Coot (3) and Pied-billed Grebe (1). The
vast majority of the birds were along the edge of the ice sheet in
Presqu'ile Bay which is currently just to the west of the Calf Pasture.
Apparently Northern Pintail and Glaucous Gull had been seen on Sunday, but
were not seen by me yesterday
With high winds, land birding was very quiet, although an active Brown
Creeper was seen at the Lighthouse.
In the afternoon I visited Amherst Island. The Owl Woods were quiet, with
the exception of one Long-eared Owl flushed from the cedars. The road into
the woods from the south is still snow covered in parts and not yet
driveable (not in my car anyways!).
At the KFN Property there were two heavily barred Snowy Owls sitting in tree
tops as well as three Rough-legged Hawks, one Red-tailed Hawk, one Northern
Harrier and one American Kestrel. In the lake off the east end of the
island at the KFN Property, there were thousands of Common Goldeneye,
hundreds of Bufflehead, plus Mallard, American Black Duck, Mute Swan (5),
Red-breasted Merganser (5), Gadwall (4), American Wigeon (2), and
White-winged Scoter (1).
Also of note was an Eastern Meadowlark, singing despite the high winds, near
Stella.
DIRECTIONS:
Presqu'ile Provincial Park is located near the town of Brighton, on Lake
Ontario. From Exit 509 on Highway 401, proceed south through Brighton and
follow the signs to the Park.
Amherst Island is in Lake Ontario west of Kingston and can be accessed by
ferry (leaving 30 past every hour) from Millhaven. From Exit 593 on the 401
proceed south and follow the signs to the ferry.
Once on Amherst Island, The Owl Woods are located east of Stella and can be
accessed from either the roads along the south or north shore of the island
by driving (or walking, its about a 20 min walk) into the centre of the
island along the seasonal road (its called Marshall Road on the MapArt maps)
the KFN property is located at the extreme east end of the island.
Email me privately for more detailed directions.
David Britton
Ottawa
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