Kingston Field Naturalists (KFN) maintains records in a 50km radius of MacDonald Park, Kingston. Birders using eBird are encouraged to share their sightings with 'Kingston FN'. Alternatively, please email 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 weather has remained warmer than expected, with quite a push of mainly southerly winds in the latter part of the week. The KFN Fall Round-up, combined with some excellent finds by others, has led to some genuine highlights including: CACKLING GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON, CANVASBACK, KING EIDER, RED-THROATED LOON, RED-NECKED GREBE, GOLDEN EAGLE, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, SANDHILL CRANE, PURPLE SANDPIPER, GLAUCOUS GULL, CAROLINA WREN, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, EVENING GROSBEAK. Kingston Although many of the above highlights occurred away from the city, both RED-THROATED LOON (1 on the ferry crossing to Wolfe Island, 5th) and RED-NECKED GREBE (2 off Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, 6th) have been reported. In the Inner Harbour, good numbers of RUDDY DUCK and PIED-BILLED GREBE were present last weekend. The city's resident PEREGRINE FALCONS were seen at their usual location on Princess Street on 8th, though the NORTHERN GOSHAWK seen up near the 401 on 6th was certainly more unusual. The number of TUNDRA SWANS has fluctuated a bit this week but seems to have settled at about 40 (Cataraqui Bay). Also at this location 4 male CANVASBACKS were present on 6th; 2 were seen on 9th. Wolfe Island IBA A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen at Button Bay this morning (11th) and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK flew over the queue for the ferry yesterday morning (10th). A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen at Horne's Ferry on 6th and a CAROLINA WREN was seen on the nearby Garden Island on 6th. Amherst Island IBA A few shorebirds were still present at Martin Edwards Reserve last weekend (5th) including BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, DUNLIN, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. However, the highlight was a PURPLE SANDPIPER seen the same day but not necessarily looked for since. Also seen on the same date was a male EURASIAN WIGEON and several HORNED GREBES. A GLAUCOUS GULL was also seen on the ferry crossing. 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. Also note that the Owl Woods are closed for 3 weeks from Monday 21st November to Sunday 11th December inclusive. Other Sightings The big news of the week has been a continuing female KING EIDER first located at the Millhaven ferry dock (to Amherst Island) on 5th that is still present as of 4:30 this afternoon (11th). Staying close to shore, this bird has been easy to locate for many. Just down the road opposite the old CIL factory, 9 CACKLING GEESE were seen on 6th; 4 were still there yesterday (10th). Up at Bedford Mills, TRUMPETER SWANS are already starting to congregate - 28 were seen there on 6th, as was a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. Over near Crosby, 4 EVENING GROSBEAKS were seen at a feeder on 9th, 8 COMMON REDPOLLS were present on 5th, and SANDHILL CRANES were seen nearby on 6th. In Frontenac Provincial Park, a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was seen on 8th. In Prince Edward County, GOLDEN EAGLES were seen near the bird observatory on several dates, including 4+ on 5th, 1 on 6th and 1 on 9th. A RED-THROATED LOON was seen there on 5th. Finally, returning to the Kingston area, 4 RED-NECKED GREBES were seen at Howe Island on 8th. In order to minimise disturbance to wildlife and property, Kingston Field Naturalists has adopted the KFN Sensitive Sightings Policy. Also note that, as requested by the landowners, sightings of owls at the privately-owned Owl Woods must not be shared 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 337 Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, Kingston, Ontario K0H 2Y0 Canada Mobile: +1 (613) 217-1246 Home: +1 (613) 385-1651 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 (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
