Despite the very cold week there remains a good variety of waterfowl albeit in smaller numbers. The Eurasian Wigeon was still present on Wednesday but the 33 Am. Wigeon last Saturday had dwindled to 3. Gadwall, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Pintail, and Redhead as well as a Pied-billed Grebe and up to 28 Am. Coots were found at Dupont this week. There were 4 Tundra Swans on Wolfe Island on Wednesday and the 2 Trumpeters remain at Chaffey's Lock
It has been a good week for Bald Eagles; an immature on Amherst Island on the 27th and another at Sydenham Rd. and 401 on the 28th, 3 on Wolfe and 6 adults at Jones Falls on the 31st. High counts for the week for other raptors included; 20 Rough-legged Hawks on Amherst on the 27th and 11 on Wolfe on the 31st, 14 N. Harriers last Saturday and 2 Am. Kestrels on Wednesday on Amherst. Snowy Owl numbers seem to be holding with 1 on Wolfe and 7 on Amherst on the 31st. Long-eared, Short-eared and Saw-whets are still on Amherst. The Ring- necked Pheasant is regular at the feeder on Yarker Rd. at Hwy 38 and 3 more were seen on Wolfe on Wednesday. That same day 3 flocks of Wild Turkey were found in the Elgin area and another 12 birds foraged in a field off Montreal St. at McAdoo,s Lane. A shrike visited a Camden East feeder twice this week and another was seen at Lemoine Pt. on Sunday. There are lots of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks on Wolfe Island. Also seen over there on Wednesday were 30 Lapland Longspurs, 2 Ravens, and a Robin. Red-winged Blackbirds were reported from feeders near Elginburg and off Montreal St. north of the 401 with another flock of 20 up Hwy 15. There were 2 Song Sparrows in the Opinicon area on the 31st and a White-throated Sparrow showed up at a feeder in Barriefield yesterday. A Savannah Sparrow was seen near the marsh at the west end of Button Bay on Wolfe Island on Wednesday and finally one of those frustrating one-day wonders; a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker made a brief appearance at the feeder off Montreal St. last Saturday. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605
