Lots of photos today, so I'll try to keep the text brief.
This morning I woke up and headed straight to where the Mountain Bluebird has been reported. It only took a few minutes after arriving to see it as well as a male Eastern Bluebird. My first rarity of the year (and my 7th bird for the year).
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| Mountain Bluebird - Puslinch |
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| Mountain and Eastern Bluebirds - Puslinch |
After that success I booked it down to Hamilton, hoping that I could work some magic and turn up the Black-throated Gray Warbler that hadn't been reported in several days. No luck there (actually, no warblers of any kind!) but I did see a few things.
I'm trying to photograph most of the species I see this year so I grabbed some shots of even the common stuff.
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| even Mallard's are fair game! |
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| Bufflehead - Bayfront Park |
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| Greater Scaup - Bayfront Park |
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| Northern Mockingbird - Bayfront Park |
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| Herring Gull - Bayfront Park |
When doing a Big Year, a House Sparrow counts just as much as a Laysan Albatross! They are each worth "1".
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| HOSP - Bayfront Park |
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| Red-breasted Merganser - Bayfront Park |
I really cleaned up on invasive species at Bayfront, getting a grand slam! Mute Swan, House Sparrow, European Starling, and Rock Pigeon.
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| immature Mute Swan - Bayfront Park |
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| Belted Kingfisher - Bayfront Park |
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| cormie - Bayfront Park |
These guys were a nice surprise. I'd never seen one before in the winter.
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| Black-crowned Night-herons - Bayfront Park |
An adult Bald Eagle flew over, possibly patrolling the waterfront for ducks.
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| Bald Eagle - Bayfront Park |
After all of that shutterbuggery, I headed on over to Port Weller in search of a reported male King Eider. I've never seen an adult male before, plus it's a good bird to get "out of the way" when doing a big year in Ontario. After setting up the scope, literally the first bird I looked at was the one I was looking for!
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| male King Eider - Port Weller |
The Snowy Owl was also present, sitting waaaay out at the end of the west pier. A boat spooked it so I grabbed a crappy flight shot. Very cool birds!
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| Snowy Owl - Port Weller |
On my way home, I stopped in Stoney Creek to try to turn up a Short-eared Owl at dusk. No luck, but I did see the long-staying Bobolink, a Northern Shrike, and a bunch of Harriers. A Great Horned Owl hooted in the distance, and I drove home with 59 species in the bag.
Tomorrow - Kingsville for the Great Gray Owl and who knows what else!
