The strategy for these early weeks is much the same as last year in that we don’t want to chase common species just to up our numbers quickly. There are birders that go full out in January and amass as many species as they can as fast as they can but the reality is eventually everyone else catches up as they see and add the common species. Our time is still somewhat limited as we deal with Babi things so we are trying to be efficient with when and where we bird.
On Tuesday we opted to try for a couple of rarities that we need to get in Ontario and that have been reported since the new year. A Ross’s Goose has been hanging in Whitby for awhile and a King Eider has been seen off Tommy Thompson park in Toronto. Instead of fighting traffic we made some stops along the way to see what else we might add to our list. The Lakefront Promenade in Mississauga has been host to a Snow Goose and Harlequin Ducks and usually has some good numbers of birds around so we stopped there first. We don’t particularly need Snow Goose or Harlequin as we will likely see both somewhere else but the more we take off the list now the easier it is later. It was a frigid -10 feeling like -18 but we set up our scope and started going through the Geese hanging around and did not find the Snow Goose. We then walked quickly along the lake and did not turn up the Harlequin Ducks either. Uh-oh, not a great start to the day. We added a few common species for our year, Redhead and Winter Wren, and then we opted not to spend any more time as they were not the target for the day and we headed off to Whitby Harbour in hopes of the Ross’s Goose.
There were about 500 Canada Geese to sift through in Whitby at scope distance away and we were looking into the gusting west wind making it difficult to keep our scope steady so we could view the geese and again, no white goose. There were a number of other spots that it had been seen so we heading back to the car when we spotted a raptor in the channel. It was a Peregrine Falcon hunting the gulls and it spent a number of minutes right in front of us chasing the gulls as they squawked and flew and tried to evade it. We had fantastic views with Jerry snapping pictures and I totally forgot to pull my new 16Pro phone out and take a video! I think I could have gotten some decent video as it was super close to me. It never managed to get a gull and gave up and landed in a tree.
Peregrine Falcon
After checking a few more spots for the Ross’s Goose which involved looking through hundred’s more Canada Geese we headed to our next destination, Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto. This is a premier destination for birders but it is a huge area and requires a looong walk in to get to the birding spots. Luckily the King Eider had been seen just past the marina so only about half-way in. We added Ruddy Ducks on the way in and then American Wigeon but alas, once again we came up empty with this duck too. What can you do? Timing is what it is all about. We scoped thoroughly, was it just diving and we kept missing it or was it farther out? At 4:00 we gave up and headed back to the car.
Tommy Thompson Park with the Toronto skyline
Out of 4 species we had hoped to add we found 0! To add insult to injury we were leaving Toronto at 4:30 and due to construction sat in gridlock for an hour before getting on the highway so we arrived home at 8:00! Ugggh! we swore never to bird in Toronto again. LOL, or at least until the next rarity .
On Friday there were milder temperatures and we opted to bird for the day so we started checking a few spots in Brant County as we worked our way to Simcoe where a Greater White-fronted Goose had been reported. The park area in downtown Simcoe has been there since the 50’s and I have fond memories of family picnics there in the 60’s with my family and a stop at Hewitt’s Dairy on the way back to Hamilton. There were about 500 Canada Geese to look through to find the “one thing that was not like the others”. Our first scans turned up nothing and Jerry moved further up the canal while I turned back to give the area we had just scanned another look and suddenly there was the orange bill of a Greater White-fronted Goose in my bins! I called Jerry to let him know and then could not re-find the goose! It blended in so well and so it took a few minutes to find it again and by then Jerry was back so we both had great views of it. Last year our views of this goose was across the bay at Rondeau and we could barely make out the orange, but here there was no mistaking it.
Greater White-fronted Goose
We then headed to Hamilton, driving farm roads through Haldimand towards Hamilton but saw nothing too much and ended up along the Lake. We found two more year birds, Black Scoter and Surf Scoter off of Millen Road but too far out for pictures. Decent scope views though. We then called it a day around 2 and headed home. Just as we pulled in the driveway, a text came in from Bill letting us know that he had found a Northern Saw-whet Owl in Brant Park and giving us directions. We had missed one last week when we were moving Babi so it was nice to get another chance. We made a quick bathroom stop and headed back out again. We met up with Jason and Jenny who had also missed it last week and we walked quickly to the area we know these owls often roost in. Neil was there looking and told us that he had not found it and the owl must be gone. We all stood in the area and I glanced up at a cedar right beside me and I saw that familiar lump and there was the tiny owl sitting near the trunk of a cedar tree! It is always super exciting to find or re-find one of these owls. They are only 5-9″ tall and weigh in at 2.5 ozs so it is difficult to find them when they are tucked into evergreens. We backed up to allow viewing without encroaching and the ones with cameras took a few photos and then we left the owl to its rest.
Northern Saw-whet Owl
So unlike Tuesday when we batted 0 of 4 we managed 4 of 4 on Friday. You just never know what kind of birding day you will have when you head out. We opted not to make the Cochrane trip because we have a very good chance of seeing Willow Ptarmigans in Newfoundland in the Fall or even BC in the summer and most of the other birds we would get on the trip can also be had somewhere else. The Quebec trip is on hold for the moment and might not happen until the end of the year depending on what is still around later in February. We have booked our flights to BC leaving in a week to get winter birds and there are a few rarities that we hope will still be there when we go. My focus has been on reading ebird reports and setting up where we need to go in Vancouver and on the Island so that we can maximize our time there. Barb introduced us to David out in BC, who has been most helpful in giving us information not always readily available.
We had our Grandkids for a sleepover on the weekend so didn’t get out to bird again this week. Oh, and the ducks we missed on Tuesday were all seen the rest of the week so it was just timing that we missed them. And it probably means we do have to make another trip back to Toronto to try again…
Week 3 11 species added Ellen 96 species seen Jerry 95 species seen
Monday we had to be in Hamilton so we went early to Fifty Point and try and do a bit of lake watching to get some common ducks but the winds were coming off the the lake so fast that it was next to impossible to see anything in the waves. So we opted to search some pines for a Northern Saw-whet Owl that are often found in the area but came up empty. We decided to check more sheltered areas along the lake and added species as we went and ended up at LaSalle Marina where the proximity of the ducks makes it easy to get decent pictures. We ended up adding 11 new species for the year, all common.
The next five days were a whirlwind of getting things ready to move Babi into memory care but we managed to see a few species new for the year. On Wednesday we picked up a Northern Mockingbird that is spending its 3rd winter in my brother’s backyard when we dropped some things off. Heading home from the hospital late afternoon we were on Bay Street when a discord report of a Cackling Goose at Bayfront Park came in so we detoured quickly, grabbed our bins and saw the Goose within 15 minutes of the report! One of those great twitches! Jerry added Turkey Vulture on Thursday while I was at home and then I saw one the next day to even us out again. These early months are when it is most likely that we have different numbers because we know the other will see these common species soon enough.
Babi moved into memory care on Friday after a month in hospital and it gave us an immediate sense of relief that it is no longer just us trying to care for her. It will be a huge adjustment for her as she grieves for her apartment and all her precious belongings but we hope that she will eventually enjoy the social aspect of the place.
On Sunday we met up with Jason and Jenny for a walk through Brant Park hoping to find owls. It was a lovely day with some sunshine and warm enough as long as we kept moving. We spread out and wandered through the evergreen trees looking for any tell-tale owl shapes in the trees. Jerry was lucky enough to find 2 Long-eared Owls but they flushed as Crows mobbed them, Jason saw one of them flush but both Jenny and I missed them. We walked further down the road and went back into the trees where we heard Chickadee’s mobbing something and again Jerry got to the spot and saw a Long-eared Owl and I managed to have a quick look at it before it flushed. We stopped looking at that point not wanting to bother the Owl as it was obviously being irritated by the birds around it. We continued our walk and over 4 hours we ended up seeing 28 species, 4 new species for my year list and 7 more to my Brant County list. Jerry missed a couple of birds, Pileated Woodpecker and Red-Shouldered Hawk that the three of us heard so he will be behind me for a bit and I still need to see them as well. We ended the walk seeing a beautiful adult Bald Eagle, one of the pair that nest on the Grand River and Jerry got a lovely picture of it.
Bald Eagle
We should be able to get out and bird a bit more over the next week and see if we can catch up with some more of the common winter birds that are around. I had hoped to be taking a trip to Quebec for winter owls and ducks but I think that might not happen at this point. We are talking of a trip to Cochrane because the Ptarmigans are back up there this year and it would be easier than trying for them in Quebec. We are also starting to plan a winter trip to BC. More to come next week…
Week 2 20 new species added, no rarities Ellen 85 Jerry 83
Just my thoughts on different aspects of the Big Year, in no particular order…enjoy!
Stats and Costs of the Big Year
We drove 49,449 kms! and since we drive a hybrid plugin some of our travel was “free” so assuming average gas prices we figure we spent approximately $2,650 on gas and we spent $9,095 on accommodation and some restaurant meals although as a rule we took food with us. We walked 1,145 kms and that was truly disappointing – I had thought we would be hiking much more than that. I suppose you could suggest that we were efficient in our walking but very inefficient in our driving LOL. Jerry managed to get pictures of all but 11 birds and 7 of those were “heard only” birds anyway so he only missed pictures of 4 which is very good! We birded in every one of the 50 Counties in Ontario and found some very cool places to bird that we had never been to before.
In the beginning we were putting in long days and hiking for hours but as the year went by and the species needed were fewer and fewer we found ourselves driving many hours to spend a few minutes seeing one bird. I had hoped we would be able to bird the areas more but inevitably there were time constraints on us to get back for caregiving or other life needs. If we did not have the caregiving I imagine that this would not have been as much of an issue and we would have been able to just bird more and try to find more species for ourselves.
This hobby is really not about the numbers but instead about spending time in the company of birds and often other birders. I tried not to get sucked into the numbers too much BUT it is a Big Year after all and the expectation is that you will be trying to be the top birder in Ontario. Somehow, we have managed to stay at the top until the end with Jeremy Hatt only 3 birds behind and Margaret Hough and Jude Szabo placing 3rd and 4th in numbers. Remember that for most, if not all of us we have an extra bird with the Hoary Redpoll that was lumped with the Common so the counts are 1 bird more for the official year count. Huge Congratulations to Jeremy who managed those numbers working full time and to Margaret and Jude who are relatively new birders and managed those numbers. Margaret, Jude and ourselves often ended up at the same birds and if we were not we were cheering each other on and sharing information so we could all get the same rarities. Thirteen people have made it over the 300 this year and there have been 372 species seen in Ontario (373 if you count the Hoary Redpoll). We have seen 89.8% of the birds seen. Can I just round it up to the 90% that I wanted to achieve? There have only been 12 birders, including us, that have seen 335 or more in an Ontario year. This was far more than I thought we would achieve.
First column is checklists Second column is species of birds
Once I had got the 300 so early and I realized I could likely hit 320 I was far more relaxed as we chased a rarity and meant it when I intoned my mantra “we either see the bird or we don’t”. It is crazy to me that if I had just gone for the 4 birds I now regret not going for and maybe taken on a few of the long distance chases I could have hit 340! I’m not sure how it will feel to not bird this intensively even next year with doing Canada and I don’t really feel that I will be trying to hit 300 again but I know many people that find they go for that benchmark every year now. So we will see how the numbers and listing manifests for us…
One of the absolute best things to come out of doing this Big Year is the people we have met and the friendships that have developed. It pushed me to talk to people more, to give out my card with my blog on it, to message birders I did not know and ask for help and information and overwhelmingly birders wanted to help, wanted to cheer us on, wanted to make sure we had seen a post. I won’t name you all as I don’t want to miss someone but you all know who you are and your advice, cheering and thumbs ups kept us going through the tough times. Many kept birds in scopes, stayed with birds until we and others arrived and shared in our excitement. I love this community of passionate, interesting people with sometimes just one thing in common – a love of birds! It was only through all of the birders out there that we achieved that number. Big Years are always a communal effort and the result belongs to all the birders in Ontario. The birders who go out every day, often to the same patch are usually the ones to find the rarities or the ones that stop at a new area for the first time and find something fantastic all contribute. There are many non-birders that find something that looks different and think to post it to a facebook group so that others can see that bird too. I have enjoyed helping other birders doing big years in past years and have always gotten a thrill from helping them achieve their goals in a small way.
Another hope was that our birding improved doing these years and I feel happy with our progress, particularly in learning bird songs and calls. We used Merlin a lot at the beginning of the year and especially in the spring when the bird song is strongest. I have managed to learn quite a few more songs and I certainly am way better at recognizing a “different” call and stopping to investigate what it is. We spent a lot of time on the lakes and I can proudly say that I can identify a Jaeger from a Gull and Cormorant now LOL. I can’t tell you what species of Jaeger but I feel much more comfortable looking through a spotting scope at far away dark spots! Whenever we birded with the elite birders we tried to ask questions as much as we could and they always graciously answered our queries and that translated to learning a lot more about many species. Both of us have upped our “pishing” game and I have managed multiple times to get birds to pop up for a look. We keep saying we want to record a really good pisher and then just replay it when we are in the field but doing it yourself and getting the response is waaay better.
Historically, Big Years have been a young man’s game and certainly the record holders generally show that. But I wanted to show that you can be older, have other responsibilities and not necessarily be that knowledgable and still post great numbers. Technology has enabled that with up to the minute posting of rarities, ebird allows you to search where any species can be found at any given time, and apps can help you identify birds you see by song or pictures. If anyone is thinking it might be fun to try one I urge you to give it a go and take a chance. There were other birders who had committed to doing their own versions of Big Years and/or trying to get over the 300 number and I like to think maybe we inspired them to keep at it just as they inspired us to keep going. It was often the same group of us chasing rarities and that made it much more fun when we could celebrate others with their own numbers and lifers.
I absolutely loved doing this Big Year, yes, there were times when I wanted to give up and that it just seemed too hard, BUT, the fun times far outweighed the bad. The joy I still feel every time I am out and raising my binoculars to see a bird clearly is the same joy from the first years we started this. The thrill is still there. The peace I get from being out in nature and the calmness that comes when I’m in the woods has kept me grounded for the three years we have been caring for Jerry’s mom.
And finally, I have to give a massive shout out to my husband and partner of 46 years, who to be honest, I dragged into this by saying we would just be trying for 300 knowing full well I would want to go as hard as I could. Way back in 2013 it was my idea to get off the couch and start listing and then I suggested he could start taking pictures so we (I) could establish my reputation as an honest birder and it was my crazy idea to do a trio of Big Years when we realized we would be caregiving for a number of years and not able to travel far. He has embraced these goals of mine and happily (for the most part) come along for the ride and I think he is now hooked just as I am. He did the vast majority of those 49,500 kilometers of driving this year as I was navigating, checking updates and making plans as we traveled this province and he did it with me often criticizing his driving – too fast, too slow, watch the road, that’s the long way! etc etc. I promise I absolutely won’t do that for the Canada year….as much! LOL Love you! Thanks for helping me reach my goal!
And a big thank you to all of you for reading along, hope I have been mildly entertaining and made you feel like you came along.
I thought the year might be over, and then the stars all seemed to align after Christmas. Jerry’s mom’s unit in the hospital was locked down due to Covid and so, sadly, we could not visit for a week and then on Friday we finally found a memory care unit in Brantford that has one room available for her in another week or so and suddenly we had a bit of freedom at the end of the year. We thought we might head to Wolfe Island to try for a Gyrfalcon but a friend had already checked the area and had not seen anything. On Dec 27 a Gray-crowned Rosy-finch was seen 7 hrs away up in Matachewan but at a private residence. I made some inquiries about access and waited and nothing was reported until the 29th when it was confirmed it was still coming to the feeders and the owners were fine with birders having access. Thank you to Jared and Kari for welcoming birders and sharing this rarity! We made plans to head up on the 30th with a hotel booked until Jan 1 so that we might also get the bird for 2025.
We left at our usual 4am with rain and strong winds for most of the 7 hour drive until the last 40 kms when it switched to light, wet snow making the driving a bit slippery. We arrived at the house at 11 and there were Evening Grosbeaks and a couple of Pine Grosbeaks feeding but a quick look confirmed that the Rosy Finch was not present. We anxiously panned the area over the next few minutes and then all the birds took flight and left. We kept scanning with our bins checking every movement but no Finch. We waited and I said, “I think we might have an hour or so wait until the next feeding” and 30 seconds later a bird flew into the tree by itself and IT WAS THE GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH!!!!. BIRD #335!! We were very excited but had to be quiet so we didn’t spook the bird and Jerry had to try and get pictures. It stayed around for only 5-10 minutes and moved to a few spots where Jerry got better pics and then it flew away without feeding. We left some black-oil sunflower seeds and a thank you note for the home owners and went on our way.
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
The weather had deteriorated and the snow was staying on the road so we opted to head for the hotel and find a Tim Hortons to work on blogs until check in rather than trying to continue to bird although we are always on the look out for owls in Northern Ontario. We saw a few grouse on the roads and Jerry got a pic of this nice Ruffed Grouse. They come to the roads to pick up grit and unfortunately do not move fast. Further along we saw the remains of one that had been hit by a car.
Ruffed Grouse
On the last day of the year we headed a bit south to Hilliardton Research Station where we had seen the banding of Boreal and Northern Saw-whet Owls in September. We were hoping to see a Boreal Chickadee or a nice owl but it was pretty quiet. We did get out of our car and walk the roads and had great views of Canada Jay and later a Northern Shrike. I love this kind of birding on a quiet northern road with little traffic, easy to walk and easy to see as birds cross over the road. Animals love to use it too as we saw tracks on both sides of the road of fox or coyote.
Road BirdingCanada JayNorthern Shrike
At 10:15 the familiar ping from Discord interrupted that lovely walk on that northern road announcing that a Eurasian Tree Sparrow was coming to a feeder on Wolfe island near Kingston. Crap!, my nemesis bird was giving me one last opportunity but not quite chaseable when I was 8 hrs and 22 minutes away. We had discussed leaving to head home an hour earlier when we saw snow in the forecast for tomorrow but even if we had the timing would just not work out. The sparrow was one bird I was not going to get this year but perhaps it would stick around and I could get it for 2025? At the end of the day we found four more Ruffed Grouse on the side of the road and one male was showing his namesake, lovely black ruff. We could not resist more pictures and video.
Ruffed Grouse
We drove slowly back to the hotel and finished up these blogs satisfied and happy with how it all went.
And so we come to the end of this crazy year, at midnight on the 31st there will be a reset and all of us birders will be back to a count of 0 for the year 2025 until the alarm goes off and we rise from our beds, open the blinds and click “Start a checklist” and see what birds we can find …
Only out once to bird this week. Took a walk at Bayfront between hospital visits hoping to find the elusive Pacific Loon close enough for pictures. Met up with Barry and Doug and had a lovely walk in balmy temperatures. The Northern Mockingbird has returned to its winter home along the tracks and posed nicely for us. And we dipped on seeing the Pacific Loon.
Northern Mockingbird
Jerry’s mom remains in hospital and our focus is trying to figure out LTC options for her so lots of appointments, phone calls, hospital visits and facility tours. She will likely not be out for Christmas but we hope to find a space for her soon. Our system is certainly in disarray caring for the elderly with few options that make sense to families so it has been very frustrating and stressful for us feeling like there are few options at the moment and nothing happens quickly. I will give a shout out to all the staff we have encountered in the hospital and emergency, without exception, have been compassionate, caring and kind with us and his mom and are sympathetic to the situation. Our governments have certainly let the population down knowing that the baby boom generation would be aging out through these years and allowing a situation where you have some LTC places with 300-600 people on the wait list. I could go on in great depth of our trials this week but you are here for news about birds…
I thought you all might enjoy a look at the birds we did miss seeing and how feasible it would have been to get higher numbers so here are the birds that were seen in Ontario but we missed seeing SO FAR LOL as there is still time for one of these to show up somewhere that maybe I can get to.
1. Gyrfalcon – sensitive species so no reports on ebird but at least one seen the beginning of the year – I received one older location 5 hours away a few weeks back but didn’t go
2. Common Gull – 2 accepted reports both sightings for a very short time, no other observers, not re found not chaseable
3. Black-headed Grosbeak – Present at feeders for a few days, a few local birders saw it but access was not given to public – not chaseable
4. Eurasion Tree Sparrow – 5 attempts with one in Thessalon, should have returned to Ottawa for one but had just come back from there when it was found. Another one was seen in Middlesex just last week but the people would not allow birders to see it. I would have attempted to drive the area but we have not had the time to go. Bird 1 – regret not going for in Ottawa
5. Gray-crowned Rosy Finch – 3 reports Jan/Feb/March – all Kenora/Rainy River area 17 hrs away
6. Prairie Falcon – 2 reports – 2 days apart a week after our trip north – 7 hour drive
7. Yellow Crowned Night Heron – few reports 5 days apart in the spring from SSMarie – 8 hr drive – most people said don’t chase as we almost always have YCNH in the fall in Southern Ontario – only this year we did not – a report from Hamilton in the fall was determined not to be a YCNH although my understanding is a couple of birders maintain they saw it but no photo proof
8. Swallowtail Kite – 35 reports in May from numerous locations on Lake Erie and Ontario – we were very close to getting this bird – I blogged about our chase – but sadly we did not see it pass over us near Pelee.
9. Swainson’s Hawk – 16 reports from 4 locations – the hawk went through Hawkcliff hawk watch and we should have headed to Holiday Hawk watch the next day as it went through there! but instead we spent the day at Hawkcliff.
10. Henslow’s Sparrow – sensitive species in breeding time – I missed the best views at Pelee when we were caregiving on the weekend but thought I would pick one up on their traditional breeding place but none were found there this year and while they likely were further back in the field I was not going to walk through to flush them
11. Little Blue Heron – 2 sightings, 3 birders – one fly past at Pelee, never re found and 1 reported days later after sighting near Kingston – we went for that one in hopes to re find but did not
12. Worm-eating Warbler – 3 sightings, many birders saw at Pelee on the weekend we were caregiving, not chaseable
13. Laughing Gull – 4-5 sightings – 2 day sighting but we were up in Rainy River and missed it at Erieau – not chaseable
14. White-tailed Kite-mega rarity, first record in Ontario – 3 birders reports accepted for one sighting over 1 hour – we had driven to Pelee that morning – not chaseable
15. Eurasian Collared Dove – 2 reports – many birders saw it at the tip at Pelee – we had left 30 mins before to chase the White-faced Ibis – other report was a fly past at Zion Road – not chaseable
16. Says Phoebe – 1 report Polar Bear PP – Hudson Bay – not chaseable
17. Kirtland’s Warbler – 1 accepted report Grimsby – I was at Pelee – almost every year there is a Kirtland’s at Pelee so I took the odds that I didn’t need to drive 6 hours round trip at end of the day – that evening I saw the Ferruginous Hawk but in hindsight I could have got both birds as the hawk was seen the next day. Bird 2 – I regret not going for.
18. Painted Bunting – 1 report – at a feeder Baysville – owners did not allow public to visit – not chaseable
19. Mississipi Kite – 30+ birders saw a Kite at 4 locations spring and fall – not lucky enough to be there when seen – closest chance we were at Pelee on May 21 and left the tip around 11 and it was seen at 12:10!
20. Bell’s Vireo – 63 people saw this one bird at Pelee May 15 and we were at home caregiving. Never re found.
21. Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 1 report private residence did not allow public – ducks did not return – not chaseable
22. Townsend’s Warbler – 13 people were lucky to see the bird at Rondeau – we had left Rondeau 20 mins earlier to twitch a Blue Grosbeak, turned back but bird was never re found
23. Chuck’s Wills Widow – Long Point Tip Bird Observatory – only heard – no public access – not chaseable
24. Black-headed Gull – 1 report – private property – not re found – not chaseable
25. White-winged Dove – 5 reports – 3 far north, 1 Rondeau – I should have showed up at the door of a place north of Thunder Bay as we drove past that day instead of being “polite” Bird 3 – I regret not going for.
26. Western Kingbird – Hoped to catch up with 2 birds seen in Rainy River but did not re find, 4 single reports around Ontario, we twitched another one but no birds were ever re found
27. Lazuli Bunting – 1 report at a feeder – never re found – not chaseable
28. Lark Bunting – 20 people saw the bird in SSMarie that was around for 3 days – we should have gone for this bird but care giving gave us a very small window to go – Bird 4 – I regret not going for
29. Broad-billed Hummingbird – 1 report Georgian Bay stayed 3 days private residence – not reported until after bird departed – not chaseable
30. California Gull – 1 report from Pelee – not re found – not chaseable
31. Smith’s Longspur – reports from Polar Bear PP – Hudson Bay
32. Black Guillemot – reports from Moosenee – far north
33. Common Eider – 1 report – 5 birders – seen at Van Wagners – not re found – did many Lake watches hoping to re find
34. Ross’s Gull – 1 report Lake Huron – fly past – never re found – not chaseable
35. Tropical Kingbird – 5 birders saw it at Rossport over 4 days – made decision not to go – got the Black-tailed Gull at same time so it was a trade off
36. White Ibis – 1 report late afternoon of Black-tailed Gull find – went next morning first thing but bird never re found
37. Rock Wren – 14 birders saw it in Thunder Bay – 2 days seen – decided too far
38. Razorbill – Reports flying up the Ottawa River – still hope one will show up before end of year –not chaseable
39. Ancient Murrelet – was briefly seen by a few birders in Oakville Harbour but not re found – not chaseable
372 birds seen in Ontario this year + Hoary Redpoll that has been combined so total of 373 birds seen in Ontario and we have seen 334 including the Hoary.
