A very birdy day today with a total of 89 species of birds being observed
along with 7 species of butterflies and 3 species of dragonflies. The first
stop was at the Amherstview Lagoons which produced 2 RUDDY DUCKS, 1 HUDSONIAN
GODWIT and 2 STILT SANDPIPERS along with many species of common waterfowl and
shorebirds. A NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW was seen at the lagoons on Sunday
(M. Bain) in the southwest corner of the first lagoon on the east side.
While on the ferry to Amherst Island and feeling a little nervous about the
distant bolt lightning to the west, many COMMON LOONS were seen with one raft
containing 11 birds. Fortunately the thunderstorm moved to the south and I
walked the KFN property to the gravel bar. While searching for sparrows among
the reeds and grasses, 4 LAPLAND LONGSPURS flew up along with several AMERICAN
PIPITS. As the longspurs flew away, a single juvenile LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER
flew in and landed right in front of me. Proceding along the shoreline to the
north end of the ponds, 3 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS were located
accompanied by several SAVANNAH SPARROWS, MARSH WRENS and a COMMON
YELLOWTHROAT. A SORA was flushed from the sedges. Also in the ponds was a
single WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and 1 PECTORAL SANDPIPER. At the gravel bar
there were 6 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 1 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and a MERLIN. On
the hike back 3 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS flew by and in the water close to the
Fishing Village were 4 SURF SCOTERS.
The entrance to the Owl Woods was alive with birds, but the woods
themselves were relatively quiet. The first bird I noticed as I got out of the
van was a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO which sat in the open for a good period of time.
Among the seemingly hundreds of WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, 1 ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLER was present along with a LINCOLN'S SPARROW.
Stopped off at the Amherstview Lagoons again at the end of the trip to find
1 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, 25 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS and an otter swimming in the northwest
cell. Excellent day for waterfowl (16), shorebirds (14) and sparrows (10).
Good Birding
Bruce Ripley
Amherstview
Kingston Area Ferry Schedules
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/ferry/index.html#Amherst
Directions To Amherst Island - Ontario Road Atlas, MapArt Publishing [Pg. 36,
E54 & E55]
Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Rd. 4,
Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy.
33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry.
The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the
island on the hour. Cost is $6.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas
stations on the island. There are restrooms on the ferry, and at the island
ferry dock. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the
island on the east side of the Lower Forty Foot Road. To reach the Owl Woods,
turn left (east) at the four-way stop sign by the general store and drive 3.4
km along Front Rd. to the (seasonal) Marshall Forty-Foot Rd. Marshall
Forty-Foot Rd. is across the road from house #2320. Drive along Marshall Rd.
to the mid-way point, where there is an "S" in the road (1.2 km, look for the
K.F.N. kiosk which had owl observing ethics). Park in the gravel lane or off
the road edge. The road is closed due to snow drifting so you might have to
make the 1km or so walk in. The chickadees can be hand fed. The Fishing
Village (Emeric Point) is at the south-west tip of the island.
Directions to Amherstview Sewage Lagoon - Ontario Road Atlas, MapArt Publishing
[Pg. 36, D55]
>From Hwy. 401 take exit 599 (County Rd. 6, Odessa) south on County Rd. 6 to
>Taylor-Kidd Blvd. Turn left (east) on Taylor-Kidd and drive approx. 1 km
>watching for a lane on your right after crossing railway overpass. This is the
>entrance to the lagoon. If you're coming from Amherst Island, drive east on
>Hwy 33 approx. 9 km. and then turn left on County Rd 6. Continue north about
>1.5 km and turn right (east) onto Taylor-Kidd Blvd.
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Oct 3 19:37:59 2006
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Date: 03 Oct 2006 19:10:35 -0400
Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark (03 Oct 2006) 1273 Raptors
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SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 767 4003 5894
Osprey 5 12 200
Bald Eagle 1 10 125
Northern Harrier 32 55 560
Sharp-shinned Hawk 132 484 4757
Cooper's Hawk 19 51 197
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 3 7
Broad-winged Hawk 209 2099 67551
Red-tailed Hawk 26 53 254
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 2
American Kestrel 77 134 1769
Merlin 1 7 34
Peregrine Falcon 2 2 31
Unknown
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 4
Total: 1273 6915 81385
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Calvin Brennan
Observers: Fred Kirn
Visitors:
Bruce Roberts
Robert Westland
Kim Chapman
Weather:
Early morning rain delayed the start of todays count with foggy misty
conditions prevailing until late morning. Skies thereafter were mainly
sunny. Winds were light and variable early becoming light southeast by
late morning.
Raptor Observations:
After a bit of a slow start at mid morning, the flight was steady for much
of the remainder of the day. Turkey Vultures and Broad-wings dominated the
early part of the count with harriers and kestrels making up much of the
movement in the afternoon. With the light winds the flight was spread out
somewhat with many of the birds right over the count area including much
of the days Broad-wing migration. There was bit of a shift in the flight
line to the north later in the day in response to the southerly winds.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine activity was in evidence early in the day with large numbers of
White-throated Sparrows noted along with the falls first White-crowned
Sparrows. Warblers were dominated by Yellow-rumps but included Northern
Parula and Orange-crowned.
=======================================================================Report
submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at:
http://www.smrr.net/
