The Gyrfalcon, first seen on March 3rd, hasn't been reported since Tuesday when it was sighted on Garden Island just to the west of the ferry channel to Wolfe Island. The weather has not yet turned mild so it would still feel right at home although the windstorm on Wednesday might have taken it to parts unknown. Nevertheless it has been a good week for falcons; there was a Merlin on Amherst on Saturday and 4 Am. Kestrels on Sunday. The resident Peregrine was seen near downtown Kingston this afternoon. Other raptors included a Cooper's Hawk and a Bald Eagle at Bedford Mills and another eagle at Chaffey's Lock. There were still some owls on Amherst last weekend; 5 Snowy, 8 N. Saw-whet and a Barred.
Spring is trying to arrive. Canada Geese have moved inland; the cornfields are bare but the marshes are frozen solid. Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are widespread but not yet in huge numbers. Feeders remain busy with lots of Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins (numbers are down but they still outnumber everything else). Purple Finches seem to be a bit more abundant. Waterfowl numbers are increasing; there were 2000 Greater Scaup off Amherst on Sunday and a Snow Goose was also seen. There was some open water in the Cataraqui River and that attracted 6 Ring-necked Ducks on Monday and a pair of Am. Wigeon on Tuesday. Trumpeter Swans were tallied in Westport, at Chaffey's and Davis Lock. Other migrants of note included our second Turkey Vulture of the year at Bedford Mills on Sunday and the first Killdeer, on Amherst, also on Sunday. 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 information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
