The activity on Amherst Island has not settled down after the discovery of 3 Boreal Owls last weekend. Yesterday there were still two to be found along with at least 2 N. Saw-whets. It is difficult to get a handle on the number of Long-eared Owls but a reasonable guess would be between one and two dozen. There were two groups of Short-eared flying about yesterday afternoon; on the north section of the Owl Woods Road and over the KFN property. This is quite a ways to the east of previous flocks seen closer to Stella. Anecdotal reports put the number of Snowy Owls on Amherst at three. If one takes the time to look down, the level of vole activity is astounding. Driving the roads around Amherst one finds numerous N. Harriers as well as Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks. There is the odd N. Shrike and Am. Kestrel and an Immature Bald Eagle was a bonus yesterday. On the mainland we scored an accipiter hat trick this week; Sharp-shinned and Cooper's at Bedford Mills and a N. Goshawk at Lemoine Pt. Earlier in the week there was also a Snowy Owl on the grounds of the old Psychiatric Hospital being harassed by crows.
The rest of the week's sightings are quite a mixed bag but all are of interest given the approaching Christmas count period. Two Killdeer at Bath on Wednesday, Ring-necked Pheasant on Amherst, Ruffed Grouse at Bedford Mills yesterday, Brown Creepers at Bedford Mills and Lemoine Pt., a Red-breasted Nuthatch, also at Lemoine, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers on Amherst and visiting a feeder in Barriefield. There are small flocks of Am. Robins existing on Red Cedar berries; these were reported from Bedford Mills, Lemoine Pt. and Amherst Island. Cedar Waxwings are scarce but a few small groups have been seen in the Bedford Mills and Camden East areas. Two Hermit Thrushes were seen on Amherst last weekend and at least one is still in the Owl Woods. Other lingering species included a Vesper Sparrow on Amherst on Monday, a Yellow-rumped Warbler at Bath and two White-throated Sparrows, one at Tamworth and another at Brewer's Mills on Wednesday. The wire-sitting Belted Kingfisher has returned to his usual spot on the Bath Road at Collin's Bay. Snow Buntings, those lovely mid-winter roadside attractions, have arrived in numbers. They were seen this week on the Florida Road, north of Centreville and on almost every road on Amherst Island. 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
