Elevator Bay and the adjacent Little Cataraqui Creek continue to host a whole variety of waterfowl. The most obvious are the 100 or so Tundra Swans. There were singletons yesterday of Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Ruddy Duck and Canvasback and multiples of just about every other species of duck one would expect. There were up to 20 N. Shovelers in the Greater Cataraqui River, 2 Cackling Geese among the thousands of Canadas on Wolfe Island, 2 more Ruddy Ducks in Hay Bay and 3 Wood Ducks at Springside Park in downtown Napanee.
Raptor numbers are improving; although there is good variety there are not huge numbers. There were 3 Bald Eagles at Chaffey's Lock yesterday as well as 3 N. Shrikes. N. Harriers, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks as well as Am. Kestrels can be found on both islands. The Owl Woods was checked on the weekend but everyone came up empty. Other owls noted were a Snowy on Snake Island Nov. 25, another on Wolfe Dec.1 and 2 more on Wolfe Dec.2. Barred Owls were on Unity Road and at Elginburg on Nov. 23 and 27 respectively. A Short-eared Owl was seen on Wolfe Tuesday on the Reed's Bay Road between the 4 and 5 concession and 5 more were seen this evening just east of the village of Stella on Amherst Island. Red-breasted Nuthatches continue to frequent feeders at Bath, Camden East and Bedford Mills. There was still a Belted Kingfisher on Devil Lake last Friday and the Collin's Bay kingfisher seems to have taken up his early winter post on the wires along the Bath Road. A White-throated Sparrow was at the Cataraqui Region Conservation Area and 2 Red-winged Blackbirds visited an Elginburg feeder on Sunday. The titmouse feeder in Bath attracted a Red-bellied Woodpecker on Monday and last in the list of lingerers; 2 Great Blue Herons, one at Collin's Bay on Monday and another on the penitentiary property on Wednesday. There has been a very slight hint of a winter finch movement locally. It started with a single Common Redpoll at a city feeder on Nov.20 and 4 more redpolls at the Queens Biological Station the next day. Then 2 Pine Siskins joined a flock of Am. Goldfinches at a Tamworth feeder on Nov.25; 2 more siskins were at a Camden East feeder yesterday and another pair of siskins was at Bedford Mills today. 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/
