Hello Ontbirders, Yesterday I had the pleasure of introducing several good friends to Amherst Island. On our way there, we detoured via the Ivy Lea Parkway, and observed a minimum of 7 Bald Eagles in the section east of the Ivy Lea bridge; at least 3 of these were adults, and a few of the eagles were perched right along the road. A Raven was seen (and heard) attacking one of the eagles. In one of the few patches of open water, there were two distant birds which gave us the impression of Common Loons, but they disappeared while we were getting our scope set up.
Amherst Island yielded over 20 owls of 4 species. 5 Snowy Owls, including two quite dark birds along the north road east of Stella, a much whiter individual on the south part of the KFN property, and another two medium-white individuals along 3rd Concession a bit east of Emerald Road. All but the last one were perched high in trees. Also near the south end of the KFN property, but on the west side of the road, 5 Short-eared Owls put on a delightful mid-afternoon flight show; several were seen there again at dusk, as well as a sixth individual along the road near the north end of the KFN property. In the Owl Woods, the Saw-whets proved remarkably elusive. In the end we located only one on the west edge of the pine stand. Long-eared Owls were spotted on several occasions throughout the pines; hard to count, but at least 8-10 of them. Hawks - 17 Rough-legged, only one of them a dark phase (along 3rd Concession) and 11 Red-tailed Hawks, which seems higher than many reports so far this winter. Other birds included a flock of 40+ Snow Buntings near the Short-eared Owls, and small numbers of Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Common Merganser along the south shore of the island. This afternoon, driving from Montreal to Ottawa I spotted a Snowy Owl east of Casselman, on the Chimo Hotel billboard north of Hwy 417 at the km 58 exit. A bit further east at km 40.8, I saw on the north what I believe were 5 Gray Partridge. I admit that my drive-by partridge ID skills leave something to be desired (especially at 100 km/h), so the possibility exists these are the vegetative variety that have tripped up observers elsewhere in the past. However, I pass by the field frequently and have never had anything catch my eye before, so I suspect they were real. Marcel Gahbauer Ottawa ON [EMAIL PROTECTED] Directions: The Ivy Lea Parkway runs parallel to Hwy 401 between exits 648 and 685. The sightings reported were all within the 5 kilometres east of the Ivy Lea bridge. Parking is possible along the shoulder, but exercise caution with respect to visibility. Amherst Island is roughly 30 minutes west of Kingston; take Hwy 401 to exit 593, then follow County Road 4 south to Hwy 33 and turn right for a short distance to the ferry dock. Mainland ferry departures are on the half hour; return trips from the island are at the top of the hour. The return ferry cost is $5.00 per vehicle. "Marcel Gahbauer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
