Barbara, Ross & I went to Amherst Island 6 am and caught the 8:30 am ferry.
The car behind us in line was that of Paul O'Toole, who was taking some visiting photographers from Pennsylvania
We went directly to the KFN property, passing one Snowy Owl along the way. We hiked all around the property and saw another seven Snowy Owls including two males that were nearly all white.
There was little else to see except for small flocks of Long-tailed Ducks and Common Goldeneye off shore.
We went to Owl Woods, had lunch and hiked in on the very muddy trail. In spite of intensive searching, we did not see a single owl! The highlight was a Red-bellied Woodpecker high in a tree at the feeder.
We cruised the back roads, but raptors seen were few. We saw three each of Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Harriers. We saw two Red-tailed Hawks and a single American Kestrel.
We went down Front Road 3:15 pm ,and stopped when we saw the Pennsylvanian photographers. They had located the Short-eared Owls, and we were delighted to see about a dozen drifting about the fields in the fading light and drizzle.
We'd very much like your, and others', help in spreading the word about a serious problem for birds on Amherst Island.
ReplyDeleteAmherst Island, as you may know, is a world-renowned IBA on a major bird migration route. An industrial wind farm is in the planning stage at this point in time. (There is also a wind farm planned for Ostrander Point, Prince Edward County - another major migratory bird route.)
If the industrial wind turbine farm is built on Amherst Island as the wind developer would like (but not 9/10 of the island's residents) this may be the last chance to see Short-eared Owls, Snowy Owls, Boreal Owls, Great Grey Owls, etc. alive instead of dead at the base of turbines.
Neighboring Wolfe Island has the deadliest bird kill rate in Canada and the second deadliest in north America.
For more information, visit http://protectamherst.yolasite.com/photos.php and ”http://blog.douggreensgarden.com/youll-toast-your-bread-in-the-blood-of-owls/
How can you help? By spreading the word to other birders and by writing to the politicians (below), some of whom are condoning the slaughter. (A quick way is to cut & paste your letter into different emails.)
Those who are supporting the wind farm in this Important Bird Areas include:
Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Andrea Horwath, Head of the NDP ahorwath-qp@ndp.on.ca