Kingston Field Naturalists (KFN) maintains records in a 50km radius of MacDonald Park, Kingston. Birders already using eBird are encouraged to share their sightings with 'Kingston FN'. Alternatively, please email, phone or post records directly to me - contact details below. Note: some sightings may require review and remain unconfirmed unless stated otherwise.
Highlights: As reported earlier in the week, the 67th Kingston CBC was held on Sunday 14th December with some great results - 104 species of bird, 79,629 individual birds and 66 observers. Other local counts will be held over the next couple of weeks, including Prince Edward Point, Westport, Napanee, Gananoque, and Amherst Island. Anybody wishing to take part in these may contact me and I'll put you in touch with the correct co-ordinator. Highlights of the week include; SNOW GOOSE, NORTHERN PINTAIL, RED-NECKED GREBE, SANDHILL CRANE, ICELAND GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, SNOWY OWL, BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, CAROLINA WREN, HERMIT THRUSH, BROWN THRASHER, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, FIELD SPARROW, SAVANNAH SPARROW, FOX SPARROW, SWAMP SPARROW, 'OREGON' DARK-EYED JUNCO, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, COMMON GRACKLE, and PINE GROSBEAK but as some of these have already been mentioned, I will try to keep this brief. City of Kingston It was, of course, the CBC that brought most of this week's sightings but some of the highlights include NORTHERN PINTAIL near Wolfe Island Ferry on 14th, RED-NECKED GREBE at Invista on 14th and on several dates during the week off Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, ICELAND GULL at Collin's Bay on 16th, CAROLINA WREN near the Tett Centre on 14th, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER at Invista on 14th, and a couple of SWAMP SPARROWS at Marshlands CA also on 14th. Other notable birds include a NORTHERN FLICKER at Lemoine Point CA on 13th and 14th, PEREGRINE FALCON downtown on several dates during the week and a (somewhat scarce so far this year) RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH near the Tett Centre on 14th. Wolfe Island Birders out on the island on 14th for the count logged SNOW GOOSE and SANDHILL CRANE in the SW corner, recorded over 40 SNOWY OWLS (48 in total for the count), had a couple of EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS in the NE sector, and also noted 5 SAVANNAH SPARROW (NW), singles of RED-WINGED and RUSTY BLACKBIRDS (NE), EASTERN MEADOWLARK (NE & S), and 3 PINE GROSBEAK (SW). On nearby Simcoe Island, observers located an AMERICAN PIPIT and 2 CAROLINA WRENS. Later in the week, both GREAT BLUE HERON (1) and NORTHERN PINATIL (2) were seen near Marysville on 18th. Amherst Island A HERMIT THRUSH (or two) was observed on 13th and 6 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and 18 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS were seen on 14th. SNOWY OWLS numbered 12 the same day and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS appear to be easy to locate across the island. Please note that you must be a member of Kingston Field Naturalists (KFN) or be accompanied by a member to access the Martin Edwards Reserve. Howe Island RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, RUSTY BLACKBIRD and COMMON GRACKLE were all seen on the island earlier in the week 13-16th and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was found there on 16th. Apparently a first for the island, a SNOWY OWL was seen on 14th. Prince Edward County Both ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and FIELD SPARROW were seen near Waupoos, on the Cressy Peninsula on 13th. Other Sightings Certainly the highlight of the week was a female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER that was found on 14th at LITTLE CATARAQUI CREEK CA on 14th. It remained to 16th at least but was not seen today (19th) when birders went searching for it. West of Kingston, at Heritiage Point, Bath, a GLAUCOUS GULL was seen on 13th and a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen on 16th and 18th. North of here at Camden East, the OREGON DARK-EYED JUNCO still continues at a private feeder and the BROWN THRASHER reported last week was seen again briefly on 14th and 15th. A FOX SPARROW was up at Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre on 14th and a very respectable 41 TRUMPETER SWANS were seen at Charleston Lake Provincial Park on 15th. In order to minimise disturbance to wildlife and property, the KFN 'owl policy' has been updated to a more generalised KFN Sensitive Sightings Policy <http://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/birding/KFN_sensitive_sightings_policy. pdf> . As requested by the landowners, sightings of owls at the privately-owned Owl Woods must not be distributed on the Internet (this includes posting as 'Amherst Island' on eBird) by KFN or anyone who visits. To ensure continued access to this location, please respect their wishes and follow the guidelines posted on-site. To maintain records for conservation purposes, sightings from that location are welcomed through all the traditional channels. As always, thanks to all those who have submitted sightings over the last week. Mark. Mark D. Read 47 Ellerbeck Street, Unit 1, Kingston, Ontario K7L 4H5 Canada Mobile: +1 (613) 217-1246 Email: [email protected] Blog: "Confessions of a Global Birder" http://markdread.blogspot.com <http://markdread.blogspot.com/> Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markdread/ eBird Guidelines for Reporting Sensitive Species <http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1006789-guidelines-for-repor ting-sensitive-species> _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
