No rarities this week and migration seems to have slowed right down, aside from the trickling in of a few new species.
City of Kingston The first GREAT EGRET of the year and an EASTERN TOWHEE were at Lemoine Point Conservation Area. Amherstview Sewage Lagoons Waterfowl at the lagoons included GADWALL, NORTHERN SHOVELER, RING-NECKED DUCK, GREATER SCAUP and BUFFLEHEAD. Shorebirds were in short supply here last week with only KILLDEER reported. Please note that for insurance purposes you must be a member of the Kingston Field Naturalists club to access the Amherstview Sewage Lagoons. You may be asked to produce a membership card, so please be prepared to do so. As with many other lagoons in the province, adhering to the rules outlined by the municipality is important if we desire to keep this productive birding site open to the public. Landsdowne Wetlands along County Road 3 had WOOD DUCK, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD and HOODED MERGANSER among other species. Also along this road were 1 MERLIN and 1 PINE WARBLER. Opinicon Road Two adult TRUMPETER SWANS remained in the vicinity of Chaffey's Lock and Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS), giving hope to locals that they may choose to nest in one of the extensive wetlands of Cow Island Marsh or Murphy's Bay. If this pair is to breed they may not have a choice, as one individual has an injured wing and has been unable to fly since at least mid-March; it appears otherwise healthy. The usual other seasonal waterbirds in the area include lots of WOOD DUCK, RING-NECKED DUCK, a few COMMON GOLDENEYES, HOODED MERGANSER, COMMON MERGANSER and 3 pairs of COMMON LOONS. A COOPER'S HAWK was near Upper Rock Lake and RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS are everywhere. A BARRED OWL put the run on some northern flying squirrels at QUBS several nights ago. A few BELTED KINGFISHERS, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS and good numbers of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS passed through. A few more CHIPPING SPARROWS had arrived but still no warblers. Only a handful of TREE SWALLOWS and EASTERN BLUEBIRDS had yet taken up residence in the bird boxes along Opinicon Road. There were 4 PINE SISKINS, some of which were singing, at the QUBS feeders. Prince Edward Point Waterbirds included 1 WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, LONG-TAILED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and 2 HORNED GREBES. Other birds included 15 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, 10 TREE SWALLOWS and 10 CEDAR WAXWINGS. Westport A VIRGINIA RAIL and an EASTERN TOWHEE were just north of Westport at Green Lake. Foley Mountain Conservation Area had an immature BALD EAGLE AND 1 singing FOX SPARROW. Other Sightings A MUTE SWAN seen along Perth Road between Bedford Mills and Westport was an unusual location for this species. A WINTER WREN and a FIELD SPARROW were at Elginburg. Two LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES, the first of the season, were near Newburgh. 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/
