KFN 75 Years Logo

Kingston Area Birds: 28th November – 4th December 2020

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

The privately-owned Owl Woods on Amherst Island is currently closed for the
annual hunt through to 6th December inclusive. Please respect this
long-standing agreement and stay out of the woods. If visiting at other
times and you do see owls, the owners insist that these 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:

It was another mixed week in terms of weather but nothing out of the
ordinary, other than the generally mild conditions. The start of ‘winter
listing’ brought out the birders this week with some good observations,
including a Summer Tanager on Amherst Island and Little Gull and Hay Bay. As
last week, numbers of winter finches (albeit a good diversity) are
declining. Here are the highlights of the past week:

SNOW GOOSE – singles were seen on Amherst Island on 29th, Napanee and
Kingston on 1st, and Woodburn on 3rd.

CACKLING GOOSE – Wolfe Island held 4 birds at Reed’s Bay on 28th, with 2
seen at Button Bay on 29th.

TRUMPETER SWAN – birds are being seen more regularly but still in relatively
low numbers. This week, 17 were seen on North Sydenham Lake on 1st.

TUNDRA SWAN – numbers have rebounded again this week with 175 on Lake
Ontario at Kaiser Cross Road on 28th, 128 at Cataraqui Bay, Kingston on
29th, 145 on Wolfe Island on 29th, and 105 at Hay Bay on 1st.

CANVASBACK – a single bird was seen at Cataraqui Bay, Kingston, on 1st.

RUDDY DUCK – a single bird was seen at Waupoos Marina on 28th.

RED-THROATED LOON – a single bird was seen near Napanee on 1st.

GREATER YELLOWLEGS – 3 birds continued at Prince Edward Point until 28th.

LITTLE GULL – a loan bird was in with Bonaparte’s Gulls at Hay Bay on 1st.

GLAUCOUS GULL – single birds were seen at Amherst Island on 29th and at
Prince Edward Point on 1st and 2nd.

SANDHILL CRANE – last week’s large concentration of birds just outside the
area, near Demorestville, continued with a peak of 225 on 28th. The last 2
birds were seen on 1st.

GOLDEN EAGLE – there were 2 sightings this week: 1 over Martin Edwards
Reserve, Amherst Island on 29th and 1 at Sydenham on 2nd.

NORTHERN GOSHAWK – singles were seen near Woodville, Prince Edward, on 28th,
and on private property near Verona on 29th.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK – birds continue to be concentrated on Amherst Island with
26 seen there on 28th but in lesser numbers since that date.

PEREGRINE FALCON – singles were seen at Elevator Bay, Kingston, on 28th and
on Wolfe Island on 29th.

NORTHERN SHRIKE – there was just one report this week, of a single bird on
Amherst Island on 29th.

RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET – a late bird was seen just east of Kingston at
Ravensview on 2nd.

CAROLINA WREN – there were several sightings this week: 1 at Gananoque on
29th; 1 at Balsam Grove, Kingston, on 1st; 1 at Ravensview, Kingston, on
1st; 2 at Cartwright’s Point, Kingston, also on 1st; 1 at Cloggs Road,
Kingston, on 2nd; and 1 at Prince Edward point on 2nd.

GRAY CATBIRD – the Prince Edward Point bird was again seen on 2nd.

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD – after an extended absence from this location, a
single bird was seen at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on 1st.

EVENING GROSBEAK – numbers are clearly declining with high counts of 6 in
Westbrook on 30th and 7 at Bedford Mills the same day.

PINE GROSBEAK – Also declining, 4 birds were seen near Verona on 29th, with
1 there on 1st.

COMMON REDPOLL – this species remains widespread.

HOARY REDPOLL – a single bird was seen on Sand Bay Road, near Charleston
Lake on 3rd.

RED CROSSBILL – there was just one record of a single bird near Verona on
29th.

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL – there were only 2 records this week, though both
were of good numbers: 30 were seen on Amherst Island on 29th, and 21 were
seen just north of Millhaven on 30th.

PINE SISKIN – his species is also becoming lees numerous with a high count
of just 6 from Bur Brook Road, north of Kingston, on 30th and 1st.

SNOW BUNTING – there were just 2 observations this week, both from Amherst
Island where 15 were seen on 29th.

SWAMP SPARROW – a single bird was seen on Amherst Island on 3rd.

EASTERN TOWHEE – a bird was noted at Amherstview on 29th.

SUMMER TANAGER – a female-type bird was seen on private property on Amherst
Island on 29th and 3rd. It appears to have been present for about a week
prior to 29th.


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. D. Read