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: The last couple of weeks has brought the expected influx of migrants and with another great weather pattern predicted for the weekend, more goodies are likely to be found. Highlights of the last 2 weeks include; SNOW GOOSE, BRANT, RED-NECKED GREBE, GREAT CORMORANT, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, SANDHILL CRANE, BLACK TERN, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER, CERULEAN WARBLER, CANADA WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, PAINTED BUNTING, and ORCHARD ORIOLE. City of Kingston Both Marshlands CA and Lemoine Point CA have been the focus for the last couple of weeks with a good variety of warblers coming through. Highlights have included an early MOURNING WARBLER at Marshlands on 9th and a CANADA WARBLER there on 15th. Lemoine Point has had 1-2 ORCHARD ORIOLES this week, both first year males. A BLACKPOLL WARBLER was at the same location on 11th and a PHILADELPHIA VIREO was at Marshlands on 12th. A late RED-NECKED GREBE was seen on Lake Ontario, not far from the airport on 11th and the much-anticipated BRANT migration began, with multiple sightings from Kingston to Amherst Island on 15th. Amherst Island Two great sightings, including a fly-by adult breeding GREAT CORMORANT on 12th and a male PAINTED BUNTING from 11th (possibly earlier) to 14th when last seen. Other notables include a late ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on 13th, DUNLIN, WILSON'S PHALAROPE and PEREGRINE FALCON at Martin Edwards Reserve also on 13th, and a Gambel's WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW again on 13th. WILLOW FLYCATCHERS were present by 14th and ORANGE-CROWNED and CANADA WARBLERS were seen in the Owl Woods on 15th. 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to both Amherst and Wolfe will be disrupted until the end of June - the Wolfe Island ferry is being serviced and has been replaced by the Amherst Island ferry, in turn replaced by the Glenora ferry, essentially halving capacity on all 3.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. Prince Edward Point This is definitely the place to be for rarities (as well as a great day out) with lots of highlights including a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT on 9th, HOODED WARBLER from 10th - 12th, MOURNING WARBLER on 12th and GREY-CHEEKED THRUSH on 11th. Over the last week, 29 species of warbler have been noted here, including other beauties such as BLUE-WINGED, GOLDEN-WINGED and CERULEAN WARBLERS. WHITE-WINGED and SURF SCOTERS continue but numbers are dropping. At Kaiser Crossroad, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS (6-8) were seen on 13th and 14th respectively. Amherstview Sewage Lagoons BLACK TERNS were back at the lagoons on 3rd but there have been no further reports. LESSER SCAUP and BLUE-WINGED TEAL have been regular. A SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER has been present for several days and suitable habitat for shorebirds has encouraged LEAST SANDPIPER, both YELLOWLEGS and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER to take up temporary residence. Please note you must be a member of Kingston Field Naturalists (KFN) or obtain permission from the municipality in order to gain access to the lagoons. Other sightings SANDHILL CRANES have again been noted in the Elbow Lake and Opinicon Road areas, the latter producing BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO from as early as 6th and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO since 10th. CERULEAN WARBLERS have been noted at/near that location since 7th. Our first Canada Warbler of the season was seen at Charleston Lake PP on 8th and not too far from there NORTHERN GOSHAWK was seen on 10th. Moving back east, a couple of SNOW GEESE were still present near Napanee until 8th, at least. 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 (and sorry for missing last week's report). 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
