The KFN reporting area is centred on the datum point in MacDonald Park, Kingston and extends for a radial distance of 50 km. An interactive Google map of birding areas in the KFN reporting area is available via the Birding Hotspots page on the KFN website.
We encourage birders to submit all sightings so that a better understanding of our region’s birdlife can be achieved. Members already using eBird can easily share their sightings with the username “Kingston FN.” Alternatively, you may email your sightings to me at kaduck@kingstonfieldnaturalists.org. If errors are noted or significant observations omitted, please contact me and I will update accordingly.
In total, 255 species of bird were recorded in our region during the reporting period, up slightly from the 243 recorded last year. All sightings were obtained from eBird. In total, 731 observers logged 7083 checklists, equating to
75 653 sightings. 768 450 individual birds were recorded, though many sightings represent the same birds seen on subsequent days. A huge thank you goes out to every observer, without whom our understanding of bird distribution would be far more limited. Observers with sightings in the current report are acknowledged below.
Here are the highlights of autumn 2024:
Snow Goose: There were 33 sightings over the period, with a high count of five at Cressy, Prince Edward County, on 24 October (PBJ).
Greater White-fronted Goose: A single bird was spotted on Wolfe Island on 3 November (EDB, MDR), and 4 November (ErL).
Brant: Eight sightings were reported, with a high count of 60 from Amherst Island on 10 October (ChD). The last sighting was of a single bird at Wartman-Patterson Park in Kingston on 22 November (ErL).
Cackling Goose: Ten records were submitted, with a high count of six at Reed’s Bay on Wolfe Island on 3 November (MDR).
Trumpeter Swan: Trumpeter numbers continue to increase, with 184 records submitted totalling 957 swans. A high count estimated at 80 birds was observed on a small lake south of Black Rapids (Leeds & Grenville) on 27 October (PKW).
Tundra Swan: Large numbers passed through on migration from 12 October (Wolfe Island, JMN) to 30 November (Gray’s Creek mouth – Thousand Islands Parkway, BMDL).
Blue-winged Teal: 112 records were submitted, with the last sighting of the season coming from the Milburn Creek NCC Property on 25 November (KAW).
Canvasback: There were two sightings: a flock of eight at Bayfield Bay, Wolfe Island, on 3 November (MDR), and three birds at the same location on 15 November (CAH).
Redhead: A high count of 8000 came from Bayfield Bay on 3 November (MDR).
Ring-necked Duck: High counts of 1000 Ring-necked Ducks were recorded at the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area on 9 October (PJH) and 1 November (EDB).
Greater Scaup: A flock estimated at 6000 was reported at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory on 6 November (AnB, OlM). As a historical note, the number of Greater Scaup has declined significantly over the past 20 years–as recently as the year 2000 the high count at this location was 65000.
Black Scoter: For the third year in a row there were good numbers of Black Scoters present. 37 sightings were reported, though the majority of these represent two birds present in Cataraqui Bay from 16 October to 26 November (PJH). The high count of five came from Prince Edward Point NWA on 11 November (PBJ).
Barrow’s Goldeneye: A lone BAGO was spotted on Cataraqui Bay on 12 November (PJH). Multiple sightings continued until 28 November, though they almost certainly represent the same single bird.
Ruddy Duck: There were just 10 sightings with a high count of 57 recorded on 3 November at Bayfield Bay (MDR). Yellow-billed Cuckoo: A rather late individual was observed on 28 October along Long Point Road (AaR).
Common Nighthawk: There were 49 records with a high count of 41 over Burbrook Road on 18 August (PRM).
Sora: There were just two records, both of single birds–1 August along Pringles Side Road north of Napanee (VPM), and 9 September along the K&P Trail (SJC).
American Golden Plover: There were four sightings, with a pair being seen on Amherst Island on 24 and 26 September (PJH, KJH), and singles on Amherst Island (12 October, ChE) and Wolfe Island (23 October, ErL).
Whimbrel: Singles were observed at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory on 16 August (AnB) and 1 September (AnB, OlM). A pair was spotted at the Martin Edwards Reserve on 29 September (EDB, DGDR). Short-billed Dowitcher: There were three sightings of single birds, and two of a pair in MIllhaven Industrial Park on 8 and 10 August (KJH, ChE). Long-billed Dowitcher: One or two birds were seen by many observers along Big Creek from 12-19 September (BER). Singles were reported from Martin Edwards Reserve (1 October, ShJ) and Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (14 October, AnB).
Purple Sandpiper: Two were photographed on an offshore shoal of Frontenac County, on 9 November (ErL).
Parasitic Jaeger: One light morph adult was seen from Main Duck Island on 4 September (ViF, AlS, ViP). Lesser Black-backed Gull: A single bird was observed on 24 October at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (AyR).
Iceland Gull: There were two sightings over the period– singles on 24 October at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (AyR) and on 28 November at Heritage Point, Bath (ChE).
Black Tern: The latest report was of five birds seen in their breeding location on Camden Lake on 3 August (KAW).
Horned Grebe: It was an excellent year for Horned Grebe with 99 sightings. The high count of 52 came from Amherst Island on 19 October (TMW).
Red-necked Grebe: The first of 26 records came from Long Point Road in PEC on 4 September (PBJ). The last sighting on the Canadian side was on 11 November from Centennial Park in Bath (EDB).
Red-throated Loon: Seven sightings were reported, with the earliest being on 19 October from Amherst Island (TMW).
Western Cattle Egret: (Note the name change: the AOS and eBird/Clements have followed the lead of the IOC in splitting the former Cattle Egret into Eastern and Western species, based on consistent differences in breeding plumage, proportions, and vocalisations, and their disjunct range). Many birders descended on the area of McAlpine Road, Frontenac County, where a Western Cattle Egret was present from 7- 11 November (JET).
Golden Eagle: At least 16 birds were recorded, mostly from the usual hawkwatching venue of Prince Edward Point. The last of the period came from the Point on 24 November (PBJ).
Snowy Owl: There was one sighting, from Fairfield Park in Amherstview on 23 November (KJH).
Long-eared Owl: There were three sightings over the period–one near Parrot’s Bay Conservation Area on 4 September (NiB), and two from Prince Edward Point on 17 and 22 October (AnB et al, ALK).
Short-eared Owl: One was seen on Wolfe Island on 13 October (MDR), and up to three were on Amherst Island from 31 October (MaK et al).
Olive-sided Flycatcher: The last of 24 autumn sightings occurred on 14 September at Prince Edward Point NWA (BoB).
White-eyed Vireo: One example of this rare autumn visitor was photographed at Heritage Point, Bath, on 13 October (KJH).
Northern Shrike: There were 36 sightings, all of single birds. The earliest was seen on Burbrook Road, Frontenac County, on 21 October (PRM).
Fish Crow: The resident bird in the vicinity of City Park, Kingston, was heard several times over the period.
Sedge Wren: There were sixteen reports over the period, with a high count of five in a meadow west of Napanee on 1 August (TMW).
Northern Mockingbird: Only two sightings were reported–three birds at the Lennox Generating Station on 4 September (KJH), and a single at Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, on 1 October (CAH).
Bohemian Waxwing: There was one autumn record, a single bird south of Frontenac Provincial Park on 10 November (MaL).
Redpoll: (Note the name change: research has established that the former Common, Hoary, and Lesser Redpolls show very little genetic variation so the major taxonomic authorities have lumped them into a single species). One sighting of four birds was reported from Button Bay, Wolfe Island, on 3 November (MDR).
Red Crossbill: There were eight sightings from scattered locations, with a high count of nine at Prince Edward Point NWA on 7 November (AnB, PBJ).
Lark Sparrow: A single bird was seen and photographed on 27 November on Sibbit Road, east of Kingston (VPM).
Vesper Sparrow: There were seven sightings of this oncecommon bird, with the last on Long Point Road on 15 October (JET). Yellow-breasted Chat: There were two sightings of this elusive bird–one was banded at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory on 29 August, and there was a sighting in Elmwood (Kingston) on 22 September by an anonymous reporter.
Observers: Chris Davidson (ChD), Erwin D. Batalla (EDB), Bob Boekelheide (BoB), Andrew Brown (AnB), Steve J. Coates (SJC), Bruce M. Di Labio (BMDL), Chris Ellingwood (ChE), Vincent Fyson (ViF), Phil J. Harvey (PJH), Kurt J. Hennige (KJH), Christine Hough (CAH), Sherri Jensen (ShJ), Paul B. Jones (PBJ), Margaret Kenny (MaK), Andrea L. Kingsley (ALK), Eric Lamond (ErL), V. Paul Mackenzie (VPM), Olivia Maiilet (OlM), Paul R. Martin (PRM), Jenny M. Newton (JMN), Vicky Papuga (ViP), Darren G. D. Rayner (DGDR), Mark D. Read (MDR), Bruce E. Ripley (BER), Ayman Rizk (AyR), Aaron Rusak (AaR), Alex Stone (AlS), Peter K. Waycik (PKW), Kathy A. Webb (KAW), Tom M. Wheatley (TMW)
