Tuesday, December 13, 2011

December 12, 2011 Amherst Island birding

The birding on Amherst island was good today with a total of 5 Snowy owls, 3 on the KFN property and 2 along the Southshore Road. At the gravel bar at the east end a Purple sandpiper was observed feeding and a surprise find a late Marsh Wren feeding in the cattails. There were 15+ Tundra swans resting off the point too. Ben and I checked the "Owl Woods"  but only came up with one Long-eared Owl, no luck with  small owls. The late afternoon was spent driving the various roads looking for raptors. overall ,somewhat quiet but we did find 1 Merlin, 2 Americas Kestrel, 11 Northern Harrier, and a small number of both Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks. At 3:15 p.m. we counted 14 Short-eared Owls just east of Stella feeding over the fields with 3 swooping down at a Northern Harrier as it was perched on a fence post. Overall a nice sunny day with a high of +7c! 


Directions: Amherst Island: Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Rd. 4, Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy. 33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry. The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the island on the hour. Cost is $9.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas stations on the island. There are restrooms on the ferry, and at the island ferry dock. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the island on the east side of the Lower Forty Foot Road.

Because of liability issues, visitors to the Kingston Field Naturalists'property at the east end of Amherst Island MUST be accompanied by a KFN member. For KFN contactinformation or how to become a member, please visit http://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/ ."


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