There were rather a number of good birds this past week: LECONTE'S SPARROW and a MALLARD X GADWALL HYBRID, both at the Amherstview Sewage Lagoons; and YELLOW RAIL and SEDGE WREN at Collin's Creek. Among the newest/most reported migrants were RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, TENNESSEE WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, AMERICAN REDSTART, NORTHERN PARULA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, SCARLET TANAGER, BALTIMORE ORIOLE and BOBOLINK.
City of Kingston On May 5 a YELLOW RAIL was heard singing in the Collin's Creek Marsh near Westbrook. A SEDGE WREN was there too. There were still some LONG-TAILED DUCKS on the Kingston waterfront. Good numbers of CHIMNEY SWIFTS were in the sky above the city all week. Seven CEDAR WAXWINGS were along the K&P Trail. Amherstview Sewage Lagoons Waterfowl inlcuded WOOD DUCK, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, NORTHERN SHOVELER, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, BUFFLEHEAD and a MALLARD X GADWALL HYBRID. Shorebirds included SPOTTED SANDPIPER, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, both YELLOWLEGS, AMERICAN WOODCOCK and WILSON'S PHALAROPE. Other birds of note were a RING-NECKED PHEASANT, MERLIN, VESPER SPARROW and 1 LECONTE'S SPARROW. Canoe Lake Road Many of the same species listed below for Opinicon Road could be found on Canoe Lake Road. A notable exception this past week was LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, which was only found on Canoe Lake Road. Newburg Alavar Notables there were 4 UPLAND SANDPIPERS, 1 LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and 1 VESPER SPARROW. Opinicon Road One TRUMPETER SWAN was seen daily on Lake Opinicon from Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS). It was joined by 3 others from time to time. Two DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were unusal for Lake Opinicon in spring. A single LONG-TAILED DUCK was heard flying over the Cataraqui Trail one night. The forests along Opinicon Road were alive with bird life this past week. Most of the sought-after species were back on territory and loads of migrants continued to pass through. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, BROAD-WINGED HAWK and BARRED OWL were all seen regularly. A GREAT HORNED OWL was singnig at QUBS. RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS were back and the first YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO of the spring was singing near the cemetary. SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL, SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, SWAINSONS, HERMIT and WOOD THRUSHES, OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, AMERICAN REDSTART, NORTHERN PARULA, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, BLACK-AND-WHITE, ORANGE-CROWNED, YELLOW, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACKBURNIAN, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, YELLOW-RUMPED, CAPE MAY, PALM, BLACK-THROATED GREEN and PINE WARBLERS, SCARLET TANAGER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING and RUSTY BLACKBIRD were all reported. CERULEAN and GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS are back and singing well, making them fairly easy to find, despite the already fully opened leaves. Other Sightings Four TRUMPETER SWANS were on Loon Lake off Massassauga Road. CHIMNEY SWIFTS were back in Napanee. A PRAIRIE WARBLER was singing at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre. A GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was near Enterprise and a CERULEAN WARBLER was at Charleston Lake. A VESPER SPARROW was at Forfar. Thank you to those who contributed observations this week. All bird sightings reported to me are included in the Kingston Field Naturalists’s 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/
