Despite the cold and damp it has been an interesting week. The Blue-winged Teal that we waited for last week was already here . A late report had one at Adolphustown on April 3rd. Another was seen on Wolfe Island last Sunday. Ring-necked Ducks seem to be everywhere in good numbers; other ducks were largely unreported-too much of a good thing. One unusual sighting during the snowstorm yesterday, was a pair of Wood Ducks foraging in a cornfield near Camden East with the expected Canadas, Mallards and Black Ducks.
There were two sightings of Sandhill Cranes; April 4th on the Florida Road and April 6th near Gananoque. A Great Egret put in an appearance at Mallorytown on Monday. Turkey Vultures are much more common with 15 at Ivy Lea, probably migrating around the east end of Lake Ontario, being the highest count for the week. There are hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls at the Amherstview sewage lagoons and a good selection of ducks including N. Shoveler on Wednesday. N. Flickers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are widespread with a particularly large number seen at the Cataraqui Cemetery last Sunday. To show that winter has not departed totally, there were "plenty" of Rough-legged Hawks and a Snowy Owl on Wolfe last Sunday. Amherst Island had another Snowy and a Long-eared Owl on Monday. There were still 15 Rough-legs on Wolfe on Wednesday along with 15 Lapland Longspurs decked out in breeding plumage. To cope with the cold weather Tree Swallows are congregating wherever food is available; large numbers were seen at Jones Falls, Loon Lake and RMC. A nesting pair of Great Horned Owls at Devil Lake is being harassed by the other locals including Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Crows and Blue Jays. The passerine migration is still a bit of a trickle; 2 Chipping Sparrows at Glenburnie last Friday, another 2 at the Cataraqui Cemetery on Sunday, a Fox Sparrow at Elginburg on Tuesday, White-throated Sparrows at the cemetery and at Bedford Mills, and a Swamp Sparrow on Wolfe and a Field Sparrow at Belle Park on Wednesday. There was a Yellow-rumped Warbler at Parrotts Bay on Tuesday and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Belle Park on Wednesday. In closing, 2 Red Crossbills were seen in the Flinton area (that hinterland north of Hwy 7) just outside the Kingston Circle. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605
