Two rare species were found in the eastern reaches of Prince Edward County this past week: a MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was along Long Point Road and 2 HARLEQUIN DUCKS were off the end of Prince Edward Point. Details below. Winter finch numbers remain low to almost non-existent (except for AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES) while waxwing numbers continue to climb. Open water predominates on Lake Ontario but the backcountry remains mostly frozen so waterbirds are concentrated in the southern part of our region.
City of Kingston Cataraqui Bay had GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, REDHEAD, both SCAUPS, 1 RING-NECKED DUCK, COMMON GOLDENEYE, HOODED MERGANSER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, COMMON MERGANSER and AMERICAN COOT. Two PEREGRINE FALCONS can be seen with some regularity around the Queen’s University campus and Kingston General Hospital. A pair of EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS was singing in City Park. A CAROLINA WREN was singing on Collingwood Street. Amherst Island No big surprises from the island this week but birds there did include MUTE SWAN, 13 TUNDRA SWANS, GADWALL, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, several hundred REDHEAD, several thousand GREATER SCAUP, 1 LESSER SCAUP, LONG-TAILED DUCK, all three MERGANSERS, 4 RING-NECKED PHEASANTS, 5 BALD EAGLES, 15 NORTHERN HARRIERS, RED-TAILED HAWK, 6 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 2 AMERICAN KESTRELS, 4 SNOWY OWLS, SHORT-EARED OWL, 1 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, 2 NORTHERN SHRIKES, 3 COMMON RAVENS, 1 HORNED LARK, 1 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 6 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 44 AMERICAN ROBINS, SNOW BUNTING and 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. One red-tailed hawk was seen hunkered down on a nest yesterday – at least a month earlier than expected if the bird was in fact already incubating. Bath Finkle Shore Park had GADWALL, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, 650 REDHEAD, 2700 GREATER SCAUP, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE and 1 AMERICAN PIPIT (the first reported for the Kingston Region this year). Bedford Mills The hardy FIELD SPARROW and RUSTY BLACKBIRD continue to visit a feeder south of the hamlet. Other sightings in the area include 1 AMERICAN ROBIN, 50 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and 1 PURPLE FINCH. Charleston Lake Provincial Park HORNED LARKS were along Mountain Road. A small flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS flew over the “summit” of Blue Mountain. Opinicon Road Up to 11 TRUMPETER SWANS remain a fixture at Chaffey’s Lock and BALD EAGLES are taking on the status of “junk birds” on Lake Opinicon where they can be regularly seen. An EASTERN SCREECH-OWL made periodic appearances at the Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS) this past week. Much to the delight of the winter bird ecology field course participants currently visiting QUBS, it appears to have taken up a territory there. BARRED OWLS can be heard most nights as they begin singing in anticipation of the breeding season. A lone PINE SISKIN visited the feeders at QUBS for one afternoon; they remain scarce in the region. BROWN CREEPERS and a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH can be checked off most days at QUBS. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS have finally found their way to Opinicon Road with flocks of up to 60 birds reported lately. There is also at least one big flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS roaming the countryside. A NORTHERN SHRIKE was at the intersection of Opinicon Road and Queen’s University Road. Prince Edward County The aforementioned MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD has been reported as recently as yesterday on Long Point Road on Long Point (aka Prince Edward Point). Originally this bird was reported as a Townsend’s solitaire but was subsequently confirmed to be a female mountain bluebird. Either way, only a handful of records exist in the Kingston Region for both species (though mountain bluebird is slightly rarer). Along with the bluebird, one can find good numbers of AMERICAN ROBINS and CEDAR WAXWNGS near Ducks Dive Charters. The other highlight for our area this week was the pair of HARLEQUIN DUCKS seen offshore of the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory. Other waterfowl seen off the county include GADWALL, GREATER SCAUP, BUFFLEHEAD and 2 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS. Other notable birds include 1 NORTHERN GOSHAWK (Rock Crossroad) 1 MERLIN, 3 NORTHERN SHRIKES, 2 COMMON RAVENS, 2 NORTHERN FLICKERS (Rock Crossroad), HORNED LARK, 5 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (the first reported for the Kingston Region this year) and 7 PURPLE FINCHES. Three BALD EAGLES were at the Glenora Ferry. Other sightings A COOPER’S HAWK continues to depredate MOURNING DOVES at a Cranberry Lake bird feeder. The same feeder is being visited by a female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. A GREAT HORNED OWL was singing in Glenburnie on the 13th. A SNOWY OWL remains north of the Millhaven Inn in Millhaven. Thank you to those who contributed observations this week. All bird sightings reported to me are included in the Kingston Field Naturalists’ long term records database which has over 60 years of observations on file and is an invaluable conservation resource. Mark -- Mark Andrew Conboy Operations & Research Assistant and Outreach Coordinator Queen’s University Biological Station 280 Queen's University Road Elgin, Ontario, Canada K0G 1E0 phone: 613-359-5629 fax: 613-359-6558 email: [email protected] or [email protected] QUBS website: http://www.queensu.ca/qubs/index.html QUBS blog: http://opinicon.wordpress.com/ QUBS flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/qubsoutreach/ _______________________________________________ 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/
