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: Southerly winds brought the anticipated arrival of early spring migrants on 10th/11th along with a major depletion of snow cover. Likewise, Lake Ontario is opening up and waterways/bodies are, well, becoming more watery. A good variety of waterfowl arrived, along with god numbers of Winter finches continue in the area, though in decreasing numbers. Here are the highlights of the past week: SNOW GOOSE - as is typical, this species has a migration corridor that runs through the more easterly sections of the area. The 11th and 12th saw birds beginning to come through with a high count of 300 at Gananoque on 12th, and an additional 120 at Lansdowne the same day. CACKLING GOOSE - 3 birds were in fields at Joyceville on 11th. TRUMPETER SWAN - With birds beginning to disperse, the highest counts this week came from Chaffey's Locks and Bedford Mills where 15 were seen on 7th and 9th. TUNDRA SWAN - with birds persisting through the winter, it is increasingly hard to identify new arrivals but sightings came from across the area this week. A high count of 18 came from Amherst Island on 8th. WOOD DUCK - birds were back in the area on 10th, with 7 seen at Belle Park, Kingston. Sightings became widespread the following day. BLUE-WINGED TEAL - 4 birds were seen on Wolfe Island on the early date of 11th. NORTHERN PINTAIL - again, it was the 11th which saw this species arrive in the area with a high count of 150 noted on 5th Line, Wolfe Island. GREEN-WINGED TEAL - 6 overwintering birds continued at Belle Park, Kingston, being seen on 10th and 11th. Three genuine migrants were seen on Wolfe Island on 11th. SANDHILL CRANE - 1, possibly 2 birds, were in the Lansdowne area on 10th and 11th. KILLDEER - the first of the season was reported from Amherst Island on 9th. There were numerous widespread sightings on 10th and 11th. AMERICAN WOODCOCK - 2 birds were seen on Wolfe Island on the morning of 12th, with 1 at Lansdowne the same evening. BLACK VULTURE - outside the area, the continuing bird was seen at Cherry Valley on 10th. GOLDEN EAGLE - an adult bird was seen near Charleston Lake on 12th. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK - a single bird was seen at Waterton on 11th. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - despite me reporting declining numbers on Amherst Island over the last few weeks, the second highest count of the season (49) came from there on 8th. There were also widespread sightings across the area but in low numbers. YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER - continuing birds were seen at Fairway Hill Park, Kingston, on 7th, and at Bedford Mills on 6th. PEREGRINE FALCON - pairs were seen at the OPG Power Station, Bath, on 12th and in Kingston's downtown area on 10th. NORTHERN SHRIKE - there were just 3 different birds reported this week, two of which were seen at or near Prince Edward Point; the other in Kingston. TUFTED TITMOUSE - the continuing bird at Fairway Hill Park, Kingston, was seen on 7th and 12th. CAROLINA WREN - continuing birds were seen at Balsam Grove, Old Front Road, and Wartman-Patterson Park, all in Kingston, this week. GRAY CATBIRD - a continuing bird was seen at Meadowbrook forest, Kingston, on 7th. TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE - First seen on 25th just west of Escott, this rarity was refound on 10th and subsequently seen on 12th. BOHEMIAN WAXWING - the only observations this week came from Prince Edward Point where birds were seen on 3 occasions: 230 were seen on 9th. 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 several dates this week. RED CROSSBILL - continuing birds were seen at Bedford Mills on 8th and 10th. Other sightings came from Verona on 6th and 7th. Please remember to look out for breeding evidence for this species and submit data to the Breeding Bird Atlas. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL - 8 birds were photographed in Kingston's west end on 12th. PINE SISKIN - 2 birds were seen at Bur Brook Road, just north of Kingston, on 6th. LAPLAND LONGSPUR - 3 birds were seen near Crosby on 6th with 4 seen on Wolfe Island on 9th. SNOW BUNTING - the vast majority of sightings came from Amherst and Wolfe Islands. A single flock of 900 birds was seen on Wolfe on 9th. GAMBEL'S WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW - the immature bird located near Prince Edward Point was seen on 6th only. SWAMP SPARROW - 1 bird continued at Little Cataraqui Creek CA, Kingston, being seen on 8th and 9th. EASTERN MEADOWLARK - the first of the season was seen near Lower Brewers on 11th. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD - this species is now widespread across the region, with the first migrants apparently arriving on 8th, though the main push came on 10th to 12th. COMMON GRACKLE - 2 apparent migrants were at Gananoque on 8th but the main arrival of this species began on 11th with widespread observations. 450 were seen on Wolfe Island on 11th. 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. Mark D. Read 337 Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, Kingston, Ontario K0H 2Y0 Canada Mobile: +1 (613) 217-1246 Email: <mailto:markdread@gmail.com> markdread@gmail.com <https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48000803210-sensiti ve-species-in-ebird> eBird Guidelines for Reporting Sensitive Species