There are lots of Common Redpolls about; the largest flocks reported were 60 at the Queen's Biological Station with a Hornemann's Hoary as well, and 135 at Bedford Mills also containing one or two Hoaries. Pine Siskins have almost gone with only one mentioned this week. Bohemian Waxwings are still around in good numbers, 15 at Charleston Lake P.P. last Friday, 50 near Camden East on Saturday feeding on Buckthorn berries and another 14 at QUBS on Thursday. Bald Eagles are still plentiful; 2 at the Dupont lagoon, 5 at QUBS with an immature Golden, all reported on Wednesday and another Bald Eagle at Charleston Lake P.P. on Thursday. Two Peregrines were roosting on Botterel Hall on the Queen's campus on Tuesday and another (could be one of the two) zipped over the Kingston harbour on Wednesday. There is a Barred Owl at QUBS and Amherst Island had a Snowy, a N. Hawk and 3 Short-eared Owls. Snow conditions on Amherst are not favourable; the Owl Woods Road is heavily drifted in and the rest of the island has very high snowbanks. If it is windy at all this makes for some very trying birding. All the N. Harriers seem to have left and the number of Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks is way down from earlier in the winter. The Amherst ferry channel was devoid of gulls and waterfowl on Wednesday and the south shore of Amherst, although open, yielded nothing but Common Goldeneye. A few Mute Swans have been added to the mix at the Dupont lagoon and there were 14 Trumpeters at Chaffey's Lock on Wednesday. There was a N. Shrike near Yarker last Saturday, and I've had two sightings of Am. Robins noted this week; a half dozen in Bayridge on Saturday and a singleton near Inverary yesterday. A few other birds that are always hard to find in mid-winter include a Red-winged Blackbird on Amherst, 2 Rusty Blackbirds near Elginburg and a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets at Charleston Lake P.P. 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 [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
