Looking out on this rainy Friday morning it seems that Wiarton Willy has predicted only 6 hours of winter rather than the usual 6 weeks. There haven't been too many signs of spring although Canada Geese are making forays north of the 401 to look for open water and newly exposed cornfields. Nevertheless there are some interesting birds around.
My request to feeder watchers paid off. One on the Isle of Man Rd. north of Kingston Mills reported 9 cardinals, 35 redpolls 80 Mourning Doves and a flicker. Other feeders report a drop in numbers of birds but this should change if inclement weather ever returns. There are at least 2 Song Sparrows that seem to be overwintering successfully. A report from a New York State birder mentioned 4 Bald Eagles and 1300 goldeneye between Cape Vincent and Ivy Lea. He also had a Red-necked Grebe off Cedar Point State Park. Kurt Hennige tallied a large concentration of gulls at the Invista plant; amongst the large numbers of Herring and Great Black-backed were 10 Ring-billed, 6 Glaucous (4 im, 2 ad), and an impressive 14 Iceland Gulls (11 im, 3 ad). There have been a few sightings of raptors this week: a Sharp-shinned Hawk in Collin's Bay on Jan 30 ,a Cooper's in Camden East on the 31st and a single harrier on Wolfe Island. An immature Golden Eagle was found on the Opinicon Rd. on Jan. 28 by Kurt Hennige. The number of Snowy Owls on Wolfe I. has taken quite a jump; from a count of 4 in early January to 9 reported on the 28th. The final sighting to report was a flock of about 30 Bohemian Waxwings seen yesterday on the Curl Rd. between Camden East and Yarker feeding on Red Cedar berries. There were 2 or 3 Cedar waxwings mixed in and at least one Pine Grosbeak nearby. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605
