The Kingston Field Naturalists have decided to start a weekly report to Ontbirds.We will include those birds reported within the Kingston 50km circle taking in the southern portions of Leeds,Frontenac, and Lennox&Addington Counties with some emphasis on Wolfe and Amherst Islands.
Two days of -20C in a row may not be the most auspicious way to start this report but there have been some interesting birds around. The most unusual is a barn swallow at Dupont that stayed at least until Dec 9. A moorhen at Collin's Bay to Dec 7 and 8 sandhill cranes south of Napanee from Nov 27 to Dec 7 were also noteworthy. There are lots of waterfowl about: 2 cormorants at Glenora Dec 13 and a snow goose at Conway on the 10th were the only unexpected sightings. Feeder birds are abundant with the early snow and unseasonably cold temperatures.Amongst the large numbers of juncos and bluejays are some less common visitors. Two red-bellied woodpeckers are in the area: one north of Elginburg and one in Cartwright's Pt.; a chipping sparrow SW of Odessa;and pine siskins and redpolls at several feeders north of the city.The flurry of evening grosbeaks reported in November has fizzled; one was seen on Dec 14 but two flocks of pine grosbeaks were reported this week in the Camden East area. With respect to owls it is not shaping up to be a banner year.The Owl Woods on Amherst I.can only reliably produce one each of long-eared and barred.There have been 5 snowy owls reported to date:3 on Amherst and 2 on Wolfe. At 3:00p.m. today I saw a great blue heron winging its way southward coming from the direction of Odessa Lake.Smart bird! I trust everyone will get in some great birding what with all the Christmas counts forthcoming. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone 613 378 6605
