It has been a relatively quiet week; lots of snow cover and a bit of a deep freeze have put a damper on the activity of both birds and birders. The only waterfowl reported were 8 Tundra Swans on Amherst Island last Tuesday. The ducks at Dupont and the hawks and owls on Amherst went unreported with the exception of one Snowy Owl on Amherst. However there has been a marked increase in the number of Bald Eagle sightings locally. There were 5 on Wolfe Island on Tuesday and an adult bird was seen in the Barriefield, RMC area on Feb. 2nd, 5th, and 6th. Two accipiters put in an appearance; a Cooper's Hawk on Wolfe, Tuesday and a Sharp-shinned in Amherstview, Wednesday. Great Horned Owls were heard calling near Camden East on Monday.
Glaucous and Iceland Gulls are still at the Napanee dump and another Glaucous was found at the Violet dump on Wednesday. Passerines, except for the typical feeder birds, are few and far between. Ten Lapland Longspurs were seen on Wolfe Tuesday as well as a single Robin. Two Ravens were on the penitentiary property on Wednesday and a Northern Shrike was on Amherst last Sunday. A Purple Finch is making irregular appearances at a feeder near Elginburg. The unusual sightings for the week: a Great Blue Heron flying over the Bath Road last Friday, a Hermit Thrush near Waupoos feeding on sumac Saturday and a Virginia Rail near a small patch of open water on Wolfe Island Sunday. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605
