I checked out the *Mariatown* waterfront (immediately west of Morrisburg) Monday and there were numerous Canadas as has been the case for a couple of weeks. A little further west there were about 2-3000 Snow Geese (mainly Greater) as well as a pair of Mute Swans. While Mutes can be found regularly on Lake Ontario they are uncommon that far east. I did not see Ross's Geese but many of the birds were on the far side of the river.
At Iroquois there was an additional 3-4000 Snow Geese and a large number of Canadas. The main flight of Snow Geese has not yet appeared, likely slowed by the colder (normal) weather in the last three weeks. The coming weekend may see larger flocks appear. That would be consistent with the longer term average arrival. Areas near the St. Lawrence are best in the early part of the migration. On *Wolfe Island *at Kingston I had 46 Snowy Owls (no duplicates) all on land. This is a high for the winter and my second highest total for the island (47). Most of the birds came up late, from 6:00 to 20 minutes after sunset so if you were checking before 5:00 you'd not have very many. The significant increase in the last week is a sizeable influx of new migrants with many first year females. There were possibly three males, including a young bird. I missed checking two key areas because of timing and I am sure I missed at least 5 known birds so there are likely 50-55 birds on the island for at least a short time before some move out (There have been 2-3 on the east end). All of the birds were on the west end but they were not concentrated in the northwest. Rather, they were well dispersed with a dozen in the southwest. Poor weather Tuesday and Wednesday may hold the newest birds for a little longer. Brian Morin Cornwall _______________________________________________ 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
