There are excellent concentrations of waterfowl in all the usual places; Elevator Bay, Cataraqui River, Hay Bay and the east end of Amherst Island. Some of the more interesting sightings included 30 Ruddy Ducks in Hay Bay and 70 Brant off Amherst on Wednesday. There was also a Common Tern at Hay Bay. North of the 401, there was a pair of Wood Ducks at the south end of Varty Lake and 4 white Snow Geese at Bedford Mills on Tuesday. Shorebird numbers are down; a few Black-bellied Plover and Greater Yellowlegs on Amherst; 10 Black-bellied, 3 Dunlin and a Lesser Yellowlegs at Hay Bay. A late Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found on Amherst last Sunday and there was a single Short-eared Owl flopping about on Wednesday afternoon. Singleton Eastern Bluebirds were seen at the corner of Yarker Road and Hwy. 38 and north of Camden East on Monday. Eastern Phoebes were reported from Bedford Mills, Amherst Island and Hay Bay this week. The second local Northern Shrike of the fall was at Davis Lock on Wednesday. Tree Sparrows are becoming more frequent and Am. Pipits are still abundant. Pine Siskins and Purple Finches are still visiting some local feeders. A pair of Eastern Towhees scratched at cracked corn at a Camden East feeder on Tuesday as did a Fox sparrow on Thursday. That same day a dozen Evening Grosbeaks showed up for an hour or so to gobble sunflower seeds. It is truly amazing how much these golden gluttons can devour; I know we have missed these birds over the past several winters in southern Ontario but if they arrive in numbers and hang around it will certainly have an impact on the birdseed budget.
Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
