The snow is almost gone and today's rain should help to open up those still frozen lakes and ponds. Common Loons are slowly returning; one was seen in Amherstview on Saturday and another on Wolfe Island on Sunday. Nine Double-crested Cormorants flew by Elevator Bay last Saturday and 25 Pied-billed Grebes were in the Cataraqui River on Monday. A KFN field trip to Wolfe on Sunday found an excellent variety of waterfowl including a Snow Goose (there were 1000's of Canadas on the move), 2 Wood Ducks, 2 Green-winged Teal, and 4 N. Pintails. Also of note were 5 N. Shovelers in the Amherstview sewage lagoons last Friday.
Raptor sightings have been dominated by returning Osprey; a pair at RMC on the 2nd, 2 on Wolfe and another at the Lennox generating station on the 5th, 1 at Bedford Mills on the 6th and another on the Queen's campus on the 7th. There was a Red-shouldered Hawk at Bedford Mills on Sunday and a Sharp-shinned Hawk picked off one of the 100's of male Red-winged Blackbirds at a Camden East feeder last Friday. A raptor survey on Wolfe last Saturday tallied 10 Turkey Vultures, 9 Red-tailed Hawks, 6 Am. Kestrels, and a high count for the year; 74 Rough-legged hawks. There were no Snowy Owls and only one N. Harrier. A Barred Owl was calling on the Opinicon Rd. last Saturday and a pair of Turkey Vultures have taken to roosting in a back yard just off Montreal St. north of the 401. In the small bird department we've added about ten new species this week but the numbers are not yet impressive: a Wilson's Snipe on the 7th and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the 9th at Elginburg, a Brown Creeper on Wolfe on the 6th, lots of Tree Swallows; 20 at the lagoons on the 4th, 2 at Collin's Creek and 5 on Wolfe on the 6th, an Eastern Phoebe at Hay Bay on the 5th, 2 Winter Wrens, 1 on College St. on the 8th and a second at Parrott's Bay on the 10th, a Rusty Blackbird at Elginburg on the 4th and 3 more at Camden East yesterday, 2 Hermit Thrushes at Little Cat on the 10th, and a good selection of sparrows: Fox at Bedford Mills, Parrott's Bay and Little Cat, 2 Savannah on Wolfe and a Vesper at Odessa, all seen in the latter part of the week. Unusual sightings included the Great Egret along the Napanee River on Wednesday, a Sandhill Crane at Elginburg on Thursday, and a N. Mockingbird at Lemoine Pt. on the 3rd. Winter birds are moving on but small numbers of Common Redpolls and Am. Tree Sparrows are still about. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
