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: I missed last week's round-up but it seems that this week was the big one anyway. Some serious movements of blackbirds and grackles earlier in the week followed by waterfowl at the tail end have produced the following highlights: BEAN GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, SNOW GOOSE, CACKLING GOOSE, WOOD DUCK, RUDDY DUCK, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, SNOWY OWL, SAVANNAH SPARROW, and EASTERN MEADOWLARK. Although RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS have been with us for over a week, there was a big push on 7th with over 4000 seen at one location near Button Bay, Wolfe Island, and several thousand seen elsewhere on the island the same day. It was the turn of the COMMON GRACKLES on the 9th with about 1200 at the same location, along with a lesser number of Red-winged Blackbirds. Meanwhile the CANADA GEESE began to arrive in good numbers on 8th with maybe 10,000 birds or more arriving on Wolfe Island and moving inland. With them came several thousand SNOW GEESE, though many of these crossed into Canada just a little further along the St Lawrence near Gananoque. However, it was 10th March that brought many other new waterfowl arrivals with numerous NORTHERN PINTAIL, several AMERICAN WIGEON, a handful of GREEN-WINGED TEAL and a pair of NORTHERN SHOVELER, again to Wolfe Island. The highlight though was a group of 8 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE that were found on 5th Line. The birds were still present on the morning of 11th and another bird was found at Horne's Ferry. The bird that takes the ultimate prize this week is a BEAN GOOSE discovered today at Horne's Ferry. Seen for about an hour-and-a-half, it was finally lost in the drifting ice and thousands of Canada Geese also at that location. It was NOT located later in the day. Looking backwards to the tails end of February, the wintering SAVANNAH SPARROWS were last seen on 27th. SNOWY OWLS continue to be regularly seen on Wolfe Island, though many have now moved onto the ice at Amherst Island. Looking elsewhere, 4 RUDDY DUCKS were off the Kingston waterfront for just a day on 8th but the long-staying CANVASBACKS now seem to have departed. Moving east to Kaiser Cross Road, Prince Edward County, the 9th produced a similar array of dabblers as mentioned above, including Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon. Bonus birds included 5 CACKLING GEESE and a possible EURASIAN WIGEON. Also seen was an EASTERN MEADOWLARK. Across the border at Fisher's Landing, NY, a bird first believed to be a Smew was later deemed to be a hybrid, most likely with Common Goldeneye. However, for those going to see the bird a male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was a definite bonus. At Perch River, a wintering FOX SPARROW was seen on 28th Feb. 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 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 - 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
