[Ontbirds]Kingston area birds to April 18, 2008

[Peter and Jane Good]

What a glorious week weatherwise and not so bad in the migration department
either. Common Loons and Osprey have moved onto the back lakes in spite of
the fact that they are not yet completely free of ice. Double-crested
Cormorants are back in numbers and the Bonaparte's Gull migration is in full
swing; over a thousand flew along the south shore of Amherst Island at noon
last Monday. There was a Mute Swan in the Cataraqui River at the start of
the week but most of the ducks there seem to have moved on.

Many birds have come in in large numbers this week: Brown Creepers,
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, N. Flicker, both kinglets, Tree Swallows, as well
as Swamp, Savannah, and Fox Sparrows. In smaller numbers we have tallied
Hermit Thrushes, Barn Swallows, Winter Wrens, and White-throated, Chipping,
Field and Vesper Sparrows. The first local E. Towhee was on Amherst last
Saturday as was a Rough-winged Swallow. There was a Brown Thrasher in
Amherstview yesterday.

There were Barred, Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls in the Owl Woods this week
and both Barred and Great Horned are calling north of the city. There were 2
Bald Eagles at Chaffey's Lock on Wednesday and there are numerous
Red-shouldered Hawks back on territory. Both islands continue to have
abundant raptors and a few observers have noted that it is a particularly
good year for Am. Kestrels. At least 2 Loggerhead Shrikes are back in the
area north of Napanee.

The warbler migration has started, albeit slowly, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers,
the first at Elginburg on the 12th and a Pine Warbler at the Queen's
Biological Station yesterday. Coming in with the warblers are those finches
that kept going last fall; there was a Pine Siskin at Bedford Mills on
Monday, 2 Purple Finches off Montreal Street on Monday and another at
Bedford Mills on Thursday. Lingering winter birds include Tree Sparrows, a
few Common Redpolls, 2 Evening Grosbeaks at Bedford Mills on Tuesday and 18
Bohemian Waxwings on the Opinicon Road on Wednesday.

Cheers,
Peter Good
Kingston Field Naturalists
613 378-6605