Kingston Field Naturalists (KFN) maintains records in a 50km radius of
MacDonald Park, Kingston. Birders using eBird are encouraged to share their
sightings with ‘Kingston FN’. Alternatively, please email or send records
directly to me – contact details below. Please note that some sightings may
require review and remain unconfirmed unless stated otherwise.
Special Note re Owl Woods
Owl Woods is privately owned, but a long-standing agreement allows visitors
to enter the property. However, the owners insist that all owl sightings at
this location are not reported on any social media platform (including
eBird) until the season is over, or we risk losing access. Although owls are
occasionally seen at other nearby locations, disguising your owl wood
sightings as ‘Amherst Island’ or even ‘Lennox and Addington’ goes against
the spirit of the message.
Highlights:
Temperatures ranged from cold to unseasonably mild this week with rain, snow
and freezing rain all mixed in. Many of the inland water bodies remained
mainly frozen, though Lake Ontario is wide open. A number of Christmas Bird
Counts picked up some good species but nothing super rare was seen. Winter
finches (notably Pine Grosbeaks) were more prominent this week. Here are the
highlights of the past week:
SNOW GOOSE – singles were seen at Kaiser Cross Road, Prince Edward, on 19th,
at Marshlands CA, Kingston on 20th, and on Wolfe Island on 20th.
CACKLING GOOSE – 3 birds were at Reed’s Bay, Wolfe Island, on 20th, with 2
near Joyceville on 23rd, and 1 at Button Bay, Wolfe Island, on 25th.
TRUMPETER SWAN – Chaffey’s Lock held 54 birds on 18th, with 73 recorded at
Bedford Mills on 21st.
TUNDRA SWAN – numbers bounced back this week with widespread observations
but the high of 110 was seen at Kaiser Cross Road Prince Edward, on 19th.
NORTHERN SHOVELER – the continuing male bird being seen at Hillview Pond,
Kingston, moved across the road to Collin’s Bay where it was seen on 25th.
RED-NECKED GREBE – a single bird was seen inland at Loughborough Lake on
19th.
KILLDEER – a single bird was seen at the Invista ponds, Kingston, on 20th.
WILSON’S SNIPE – a single bird was seen at Belle Park, Kingston, on 20th.
GLAUCOUS GULL – a bird of unknown age was seen in downtown Kingston on 23rd.
ICELAND GULL – immature birds were seen near Loughborough Lake on 19th, with
another at Verona Dump the same day.
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK – birds continue to be concentrated on Amherst Island with
35 seen there on 19th, though numbers have dwindled since.
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER – a female bird was again noted at a feeder at
Bedford Mills on 19th.
PEREGRINE FALCON – Kingston’s downtown birds were seen on 18th (1), and 19th
(2).
NORTHERN SHRIKE – 6 different birds were noted at a range of locations this
week.
TUFTED TITMOUSE – a single bird was noted on Wolfe Island, on 19th.
MARSH WREN – a late bird was still present at Marshlands CA, Kingston, on
19th.
CAROLINA WREN – there was just a single sighting this week of a continuing
bird at Balsam Grove, Kingston, on 25th.
HERMIT THRUSH – a single bird was present at Marshlands CA, Kingston, on
19th.
BOHEMIAN WAXWING – none yet but they are being seen more regularly just to
the north of the area.
EVENING GROSBEAK – as many as 11 birds were seen at a single location near
Verona over the week.
PINE GROSBEAK – there were far better numbers of this species over the week
from a number of locations but a high of 13 was noted at Sydenham on 19th.
HOARY REDPOLL – there were 4 reports this week: 1 at Lansdowne on 18th; 1 at
East View on 20th; 1 on Amherst Island on 23rd; and 2 near Pitts Ferry on
23rd.
RED CROSSBILL – there were 4 reports this week: 15 were seen near Charleston
Lake on 18th; 6 were at Desert Lake on 19th; 1 was at Frontenac Provincial
Park on 19th; and 2 were near Verona on 21st.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL – 2 birds were noted at Little Cataraqui Creek CA, on
18th.
PINE SISKIN – with the majority of birds having already moved through,
sightings came from just two locations, with 7 at Bedford Mills on 21st, and
3 near Brewer’s Mills on 19th and 23rd.
SNOW BUNTING – there were just 3 reports this week with a ‘high count’ of 32
seen on Wolfe Island on 20th.
GAMBEL’S WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW – the bird first noted at Button Bay, Wolfe
Island, on 8th was seen again on 25th. A regular bird was seen near Marble
Rock CA on 23rd.
SWAMP SPARROW – two singles were noted in Kingston on 19th.
EASTERN TOWHEE – a male was seen and photographed near Sydenham on 19th.
RUSTY BLACKBIRD – 5-6 birds were seen near Marble Rock CA, on 18th and 23rd,
with singles also noted on Howe Island, and near Joyceville on 23rd.
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER – a single bird was seen in Gananoque on 23rd.
In order to minimise disturbance to wildlife and property in the recording
area, Kingston Field Naturalists has adopted the
<https://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/KFN_sensiti
ve_sightings_policy.pdf> KFN Sensitive Sightings Policy. Please note that
you must be a card-carrying member of Kingston Field Naturalists (KFN), or
be accompanied by a member, to access both the Martin Edwards Reserve and
Amherstview Sewage Lagoons.
As always, a big thank you goes to all those who have submitted sightings
directly or via eBird.
Mark
Mark D. Read
337 Button Bay Road,
Wolfe Island,
Kingston, Ontario
K0H 2Y0