The unseasonably mild weather has caused many birds, especially waterfowl,to hang around and not bother to go south. Tundra Swans were reported from Wolfe I., Amherst I. and along the Bath Road towards Adolphustown.There is a huge concentration of ducks and geese just west of Conway.Kingfishers were seen in three different locations and a Great Blue Heron reported last week is still in the Collin's Bay area.
Eagles too appreciate the open water; no fewer than 15 were tallied from Howe I. to Glenora. A few other raptors were reported: a Short-eared Owl on Wolfe I., a Cooper's Hawk near Hay Bay, and a sharp-shinned that buzzed a feeder in Camden East. The only kestrel off the islands was one south of Napanee sunning itself on a large hay bale. The collection of gulls at the Napanee dump is quite impressive; amongst the thousands of Herring Gulls are dozens (hundreds?) of Great Black-backed and several white-winged gulls including adult and immature Glaucous and Iceland. There is a good variety of woodpeckers about: red-bellied in Elginburg, Howe I., and Napanee; a flicker north of Kingston near the Rideau Canal,a pileated near Camden East and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Napanee. Other birds of interest this week included 2 shrikes, a Savannah and a Field Sparrow on Wolfe I.,12 Cedar Waxwings near Yarker and 70 Bohemian Waxwings in Westport. In conclusion it appears that some winter finches are finally going to make an appearance. Ten Pine Grosbeaks were seen near the intersection of Perth Rd. and Opinicon Rd., 12 Evening Grosbeaks are regularly visiting a feeder near Bedford Mills and 19 Purple finches showed up at a feeder in Camden East to compete with the flocks of goldfinches and siskins.
