With so many new arrivals I'll concentrate on the early and the unusual. At PEPt there have been up to 6 Harlequin Ducks and on May 7th an impressive 85 Surf Scoters. The Brant migration is in full swing with several hundred seen this week off the east end of Amherst Island and north of the city. Green Herons were seen in three locations and our third sighting this spring of a Sandhill Crane was near Crosby a week ago yesterday. A Great Egret (13A on red wing-tags) was seen on Amherst Island on Monday. This bird was tagged near Collingwood last June. The only new additions to the shorebird list were a Solitary Sandpiper at PEPt on May 7th and 5 Least Sandpipers on Amherst on Tuesday. There was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on the Opinicon Road yesterday, a Red-headed Woodpecker on Amherst May 3rd and 4th and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at PEPt on the 7th. So far, seven pairs of Loggerhead Shrikes have returned to the Newburgh area northeast of Napanee. Warbler and vireo numbers and variety have been good at such diverse locations as the Rideau trail, the Opinicon Road, Lemoine Point, Charleston Lake, Amherst Island and Prince Edward Point. Highlights included a Prairie at Charleston Lake P.P. on the 5th and a Yellow-throated Warbler at PEPt on the7th. An early Blackpoll was north of Millhaven last Friday. Noteworthy sparrows were a Lincoln's on the Opinicon Road and 3 Grasshopper near Napanee, all reported yesterday. The last local Dark-eyed Juncos and Pine Siskins were seen on May 6th and 7th respectively. 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 [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
