Martin Mallet, Sara Calhim and I spent the morning and early afternoon birding Amherst Island in defiance of the bands of horizontally blowing showers and bitterly cold wind. The Owl Woods produced a Long-eared Owl just past the feeders on the walk in, and a pair of Northern Saw-whet Owls. The first was kindly pointed out by a pair of ladies whose names I should have noted for this post, along the south edge of the Jack Pine Plantation, and the second I stumbled upon at close range in some of the isolated Jack Pines in the field between the plantation and the woods. A couple of White-winged Crossbills were calling up above the woods but at this point the sky had turned a crystalline blue, briefly, so as to render seeing them impossible. Among the House Finches feeding on berries near the Owl Woods feeders were several Purple Finches, including at least one male.
A walk out to the gravel bar at the east end of the KFN property yielded a relatively lightly marked Snowy Owl sitting sheltered from the wind part-way out the bar. 4 Black-bellied Plover were out on the bar, likely the same ones we had seen earlier on the South Shore Road, and they were joined by a single Dunlin. 4 Tundra Swans were at the bar as well, with a pair of female Hooded Mergansers augmenting the normal waterfowl assortment. The chop on the lake south of the island made observing conditions somewhat difficult, but there were clearly lots of Long-tailed Duck moving around on the horizon as well as 3 White-winged Scoter and a lone Common Loon. Several more Common Loons were in the channel between Amherst and the mainland, but no other loons or grebes were to be found. A Northern Shrike was trying to stay upright in a stiff wet breeze on our way east out of Stella along Front Road early in the morning. Of course, the usual abundance of Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers and American Kestrels dotted the eastern end of the island all day. On returning to Kingston, we stopped by Elevator Bay and located the male Eurasian Wigeon feeding out in the bay proper. Also in the bay, joining the plethora of wigeon, scaup, Ring-necked Ducks and Common Mergansers were at least 3 drake Redhead. North of King St. in Little Cataraqui Marsh, we were unable to find the Hudsonian Godwit which has moved on if it's smart. At least one American Coot joined the expected assortment of ducks in the marsh, however. Directions (stolen from Bruce Di Labio): 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 $8.00 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. Because of liability issues, visitors to the Kingston Field Naturalists' property at the east end of Amherst Island MUST be accompanied by a KFN member. Good birding, Chris Kimber Dept. of Biology Queen's University Kingston, ON _______________________________________________ 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
