Waterfowl numbers are increasing and with some mild weather in the forecast I expect even more by the weekend. Hooded Mergansers seem to be everywhere; Wolfe Lake, Enterprise, Bedford Mills, Collin's Bay and the Amherstview sewage lagoons. There was a pair of Wood Ducks in the Napanee River on Sunday and a pair of Mute Swans in Collin's Bay today. Also seen today; 10 Double-crested Cormorants and a Pied-billed Grebe in the Cataraqui River and numerous Gadwall, 12 Ring-necked Ducks, 40 Bufflehead, an Am. Wigeon and a Green-winged Teal at the lagoons.
There were still owls on Amherst last weekend; 12 Snowy on Saturday and several Long-eared and a Short-eared on Sunday. Not all the Rough-legged Hawks have headed north yet either. Am. Kestrels have become abundant and N. Harriers put in appearances at Seeley's Bay, Camden East, and Amherst Island. Bald Eagles were at Bedford Mills and Seeley's Bay and a Red-shouldered Hawk was reported from the Westport area. Several feeders are still supporting Pine Siskins but the Common Redpolls seem to have disappeared early in the week. New migrants are hardly rushing in from the south but there are a few new birds to mention. There was an Eastern Bluebird at Moscow on Sunday and a dozen more at Seeley's Bay on Wednesday. Two more N. Flickers and two more Brown-headed Cowbirds were seen this week. There was an Eastern Meadowlark and 3 Rusty Blackbirds at Elginburg and the second E. Phoebe of the year was at Westport on Saturday. Two Wilson's Snipe winnowed on Amherst last Sunday and Great Blue Herons were at Elginburg and the Cataraqui River today. I neglected to mention, last week, a pair of Sandhill Cranes near Kepler on March 14th. Turkey Vultures have been back since early March but a group flying low near Hwy 2 just east of CFB Kingston on Monday contained a Black Vulture. Other than a half dozen sightings in nearby Prince Edward County; to the best of my knowledge this is only the second sighting ever in the immediate Kingston area. 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 ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
