It's been a while...

Ok, so I know I haven't posted anything birding-related for a while, so here it is, a summary of my month and a week since the last post. First off, I've added 55 species to the year list, bringing it up to 122 - a reasonable total for this time of year although I'm still missing a ton of birds that are around. There hasn't been much out of the ordinary - last ski day was April 4, on which I found my FOS Red-shouldered Hawk - always a nice bird up here. I went to Sudbury for Easter, and on the way there managed to find 2 Ross's Geese and a Cackling Goose, both of which used to be super rare in the area but are annual now. The day after my return I went out and found another Ross's Goose, along with a lot of waterfowl. The first shorebirds have returned, with Greater Yellowlegs and Woodcock on the list. I managed to shatter my record numbers of Pintails and Green-winged Teal in a field, with 120+ and 60+, respectively. On April 19, saw 11 breeding-plumaged male Lapland Longspurs, something you don't see too often. Yesterday I went to Whitefish Point for the first time this year, and we had a good day despite the rain and constant NW wind - basically the worst conditions for spring birding. We managed 76 species by the end, with 16 year birds and 2 new for my SSM list! The new ones were American Avocet (2nd point record) and Spruce Grouse (FINALLY!!!!). I also added Short-eared Owl to my WPBO list, one that has been missing for too long. Went out today to look for a yellow-throated warbler, with no success. It probably took off with the cold front yesterday. Managed to add Brewer's Blackbird though. That's it for now - we should be seeing a massive influx of migrants over the next week if the weather cooperates, there are a ton of new species coming in to southern ontario!

Ross's Goose - Desbarats

Mallard - Sudbury

Trumpeter Swan - Sudbury

Hoary Redpoll - Sudbury

Common Redpoll - Sudbury

Short-eared Owl - WPBO

American Avocet - WPBO

Spruce Grouse - Vermillion Rd.