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Kingston Area Birds: 27th February – 5th March 2021

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 fluctuated wildly this week with the mild spells reducing snow
cover across the area but more noticeably in southern locations. Waterways
are beginning to open up again and hints of waterfowl movement are being
seen. A good variety of winter finches continue in the area, though neither
grosbeak species were seen this week . Here are the highlights of the past
week:

TRUMPETER SWAN – The highest count this week came from Bedford Mills where
37 were seen on 27th Feb.

NORTHERN PINTAIL – a continuing bird was seen at the Invista pond, Kingston,
on 2nd.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL – 6-7 birds continued at Belle Park, Kingston, being seen
on 4 occasions.

ICELAND GULL – the only report this week was of a single bird near Prince
Edward Point on 4th.

BLACK VULTURE – just outside the area, the continuing bird was seen in
Picton on 27th and 2nd.

GOLDEN EAGLE – immature birds were seen at Bedford Mills on 2nd and north of
Sydenham on 4th.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK – a continuing bird was seen in the Gananoque area on
2nd.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK – numbers continue to decline on Amherst Island, where 13
were seen on 27th and 4th.

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER – continuing birds were seen at Fairway Hill Park,
Kingston, on 28th, and at Bedford Mills on 2nd.

PEREGRINE FALCON – 2 birds were seen at the OPG Power Station, Bath, on
27th. Kingston’s downtown bird was seen on 28th and 3rd.

NORTHERN SHRIKE – there were 5 different birds reported this week, two of
which were seen on Amherst Island on 3rd.

TUFTED TITMOUSE – the continuing bird at Fairway Hill Park, Kingston, was
seen on 28th only.

CAROLINA WREN – a continuing bird was seen at Balsam Grove, Kingston, on
27th and 5th.

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD – a continuing bird was seen near Prince Edward Point
on 2nd and 4th.

TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE – accidently missed from last week’s report, this neat
find was seen just west of Escott on 25th.

HERMIT THRUSH – a single continuing bird was seen at Lemoine Point CA,
Kingston, on 28th.

BOHEMIAN WAXWING – 15 birds were seen on Opinicon Road on 28th, with 44 seen
near Mitchellville on 1st.

HOARY REDPOLL – there continue to be numerous reports of mainly single birds
from across the region, though 3 were again noted in the Alwington area of
Kingston on 3rd and 4th.

RED CROSSBILL – up to 8 birds were seen at Bedford Mills on several dates
this week. Four birds were seen at Bur Brook Road, Kingston, on 27th, with 2
being seen there on 1st. Please remember to look out for breeding evidence
for this species and submit data to the Breeding Bird Atlas.

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL – 9 birds were photographed in downtown Kingston
(Doug Fluhrer Park) on 27th.

PINE SISKIN – sightings were restricted to just 3 locations this week with a
high count of 5 at Bur Brook Road, just north of Kingston, on 27th.

LAPLAND LONGSPUR – 3 birds were seen on 8th Line, Wolfe Island, on 28th.

SNOW BUNTING – observations were fairly widespread this week, though the
majority of sightings came from Amherst Island where 200 were seen on 3rd.

GAMBEL’S WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW – the immature bird located near Prince
Edward Point was seen on 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. Two regular White-crowned
Sparrows were seen at Bath on 27th.

SWAMP SPARROW – 2 birds were seen at Little Cataraqui Creek CA, Kingston, on
2nd, with a single bird at Prince Edward Point on 3rd.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD – over recent years, this species has been seen much
more frequently over the winter months but a flock of 27 seen on 27th in
Kingston, were likely early migrants.

COMMON GRACKLE – like the above species, wintering individuals seem to be on
the increase but 2 birds in Kingston on 3rd may have been early arrivals.



In order to minimise disturbance to wildlife and property in the recording
area, Kingston Field Naturalists has adopted the 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