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. Please note that some sightings may require review and remain unconfirmed unless stated otherwise.
Highlights: Like the birders, the birds are just waiting for a shift in the winds before taking Ontario by storm. A brief respite from this week's predominately northerly winds on Tuesday night saw some movement but this weekend promises more. Highlights of the week include; SNOW GOOSE, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, SORA, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, LITTLE GULL, CHIMNEY SWIFT, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, BANK SWALLOW, MARSH WREN, CAROLINA WREN, BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHER, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and VESPER SPARROW. City of Kingston Tuesday evening brought in the first proper push of migrant warblers with YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS noted at Marshlands CA and Lemoine Point CA the next day. Also arriving at the same time were far better numbers of WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, as well as the first BLUE-HEADED VIREOS (3 on 30th at Marshlands) and CHIMNEY SWIFTS (3 on 30th at Queen's). A MARSH WREN was seen at Little Cataraqui Creek on 25th and another was at Lemoine Point on 28th. Pine warblers are already fairly widespread but the first BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER was seen at Marshlands on 30th. PALM WARBLERS have been noted away from the city. A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was seen at Lemoine Point today (1st). Both VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA were noted at Marshlands CA this week and a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was seen at Lemoine Point on 28th. A CAROLINA WREN was seen downtown on 27th. Amherst Island At Martin Edwards reserve today (1st), 2 WILSON'S PHALAROPES were noted for the first time this year. Also present was a single BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 3 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BROWN THRASHER and 3 PURPLE MARTINS. At the Owl Woods, 4 species of warbler were recorded - BLACK-AND-WHITE, PALM, PINE and YELLOW-RUMPED. A late SNOWY OWL was also seen today along the South Shore Road and a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was seen at a feeder on 3rd Concession. Ferry services to both Amherst and Wolfe will be disrupted until the end of June - the Wolfe Island ferry is being serviced and has been replaced by the Amherst Island ferry, in turn replaced by the Glenora ferry, essentially halving capacity on all 3. Plan accordingly and car-pool if you can. 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. Other sightings Prince Edward Point has picked towards the end of this week and their first BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER was recorded there today. Last weekend (26th), LITTLE GULLS were seen at the Point (1) and Kaiser Crossroad (2) and a BLUE-GEY GNATCATCHER was at the Point the same day. On County road 8, near Napanee, a SNOW GOOSE has been seen on a couple of dates this week. Morven Creek, also near Napanee, is beginning to produce some typical shorebirds but the area has also been good for VESPER SPARROW with 2 noted there yesterday (30th). BANK SWALLOWS have returned to their breeding area at Star Corners and the Napanee Limestone Plain IBA has, this week, produced LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and UPLAND SANDPIPER. North of Sydenham, on Canoe Lake Road, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH has been noted on a couple of dates this week. At a private wooded farm near Verona, arrivals have been coming in thick and fast: today 12 NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES were noted, though the first of the year was on Canoe Lake Road on 26th. A fantastic count of 78 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS at Washburn Road on 30th is one of the highest ever for the area. The EASTERN KINGBIRD seen first thing this morning at the same location was the first of 4 dispersed sightings today. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was up near Loughborough Lake on 25th and a COMMON REDPOLL was seen at a feeder at Bedford Mills on 28th. Near Crosby, an adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK provided spectacular deck-side viewing on 29th as it attempted to take down a Wood Duck. Not in the area, but noteworthy, is another record of BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, this one at Kemptville. In order to minimise disturbance to wildlife and property, Kingston Field Naturalists has adopted the KFN Sensitive Sightings Policy <http://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/birding/KFN_sensitive_sightings_policy. pdf> . Also note that, 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
