The rarest Ontario bird I've ever seen!

 With September almost over I have some catching up to do, but that is not 100% my fault! The birding has been amazing! I've even immersed myself in a new style of birding - Lakewatching. This is where this story starts. 

The date: September 8th, 2020. This was the Tuesday after labour day and I decided to take a vacation day so I could do some Lakewatching and it did not regret it in the slightest! The day had already been phenomenal, 20 Jaegers offshore both Parasitic and Long-tailed, a pile of Sabine Gulls and even some Black Tern! This was exactly what I was hoping for! That's when it happened. I'd been standing with some fellow younger birders when one of them thought they had their eyes on a bird they called a Jaeger close to the Wave Tower (a km out from the lookout) this was closer than most of the birds have been so we all scanned over to it, then he yelled nevermind, Cormorant, but then a few of us were thinking "isn't it a bit too white?" As a matter of fact, it was too white, because it wasn't a cormorant at all, it was a BROWN BOOBY!!! 

    To give you a little background of why this is such a big, this bird is usually a tropical bird, hunting for flying fish in the Caribbean or along the southeastern coast. Why in the hell is it over 700 kilometres inland??? Well, the best guess is it got pushed this direction after a Hurricane in the south and some real erratic winds. This was only the second time this bird has EVER been reported in Ontario and the first time in Hamilton. And I was there to witness it! This is a moment I will never forget till the day I die! 

    I hope that stops anyone from asking why I bird a lot, right there, the rush of finding those birds that just wow you, even if they're a common bird. We are onto day 13 now with the bird still coming back, and the whole province has been on the edge of its seat to see how long we get pleasured with it's presence! 

The hardest birds to ID - Gulls

 Everyone discredits gulls. They're "boring" and most of the time aren't considered "good" birds. I however believe gulls to not only be one of the best adapted (specifically Ring-billed there) but some of the most interesting ID problems in the birding world. 

    Why do I think that? You may ask, with Empidonax flycatchers, peep sandpipers, and ever so difficult Mallard-like-ducks existing what makes gulls my nemesis for ID? To that, I have two words for you; prolonged ageing. Certain species of gull can go through 4-5 different plumage variations in their lifetime, and the majority going through at least 3-4. And these are only standard plumages let alone worn or "bleached" birds. 

    Have I lost you yet with the jargon on gulls? Let's start out with the basics. Let's use Ring-billed Gulls as an example. All gulls have young, juvenile, immature, and adult plumages. Ringers have 8 different plumage types; Juvenile, 1st Winter, 2nd Summer, 2nd Winter, 3rd Winter, 3rd Summer, adult basic, and adult alternate. Not to mention albinism or partially leucistic plumage. That is a lot of plumage variations to remember... so you can see why even the most experienced birders still get confused with gulls. Compared to fall warblers who have 3-4 different plumage types (typically, male, male basic, female, and first-winter male), gulls can be overwhelming. So here are a few ways I find works for gulls:

1. Always have a guide/ID app on you
• now, this maybe isn't a new thing for birders, especially new ones. This is the easiest way to find solace in the struggle of identification. This is especially key, I find, with gulls. The plumage variation can make any person question their sighting, so keep that guide by your side! 
2. Make sure you have more than 1 positive ID feature in view
• this is one that most veteran birders are very familiar with. Birds are not always so easy as an American Robin or Wood Duck. These birds are obvious birds to ID but once you get into more difficult or rare birds it's good to get a 100% look at a bird if possible. If you don't then you can't call it anything but gull sp.  
3. Ask for an outside opinion
• this is what I find to be most effective if you can't figure it out. There will always be someone who might know better than you, so why not take a chance? Maybe you missed something, maybe you just can't get a good stick and you're jumping to rarity, whatever it is, outside help will always have better results than killing yourself over it. 
4. Take PHOTOs 
• I know there are birders who don't like cameras, I get it, photographers can be relentless to get that "perfect shot" but it can also help with those tricky IDs. Photographing a bird has gotten me out of a bind a few times, and they're the best photographs you'll ever take. Taking a photo also gives you the opportunity to look back at that picture and be like, you know, I think that's this not that. 

Hope these little tips (even though pretty straight forward) are helpful. They seem to be effective for gulls for me. And don't forget to get this great guide for a more in-depth look at gulls and terns. 

Gulling out of here and terning the page on this topic! 

Good birding guys and girls! 

Adult Herring Gull sitting in the waters of Lake Erie - Haldimand ON

This Ringer is enjoying the sand between its toes - Haldimand ON

Juvenile Common Tern catching some fish at the local pier - Haldimand ON

Found a banded Juv. Herring Gull - turns out it was banded in Ohio and made the trip over to Ontario - Haldimand ON

This month has been shorbly one of my favourite this year.

     August has been a whole different ball game for me. The birds haven't been the typical passerines I usually target. Shorebirds have been on my mind since late July. This has torn me away from my typical birding places like Selkirk Prov Park and Rock Point Prov Park and pulled me to places like Windermere Basin Park and Townsend Sewage Lagoons. This has been nothing short of exciting, bosting some of my favourite birds of the year and an exciting lifer. 

   August also saw me go to 2 new counties in Ontario (Perth and Huron)! To top it off I met Ken Burrell (the leader of the trip). We went to 3 lagoons and saw some really great birds! 
The first lagoon was Milverton. That lagoon was packed with Lesser Yellowlegs! 189 individuals in a single cell! Tucked in with them was a Wilson Snipe, plenty of Pectoral Sandpiper and an early Dunlin!! This was peak shorebirding! 
After moving on from Milverton we went to the West Perth Wetland or the Mitchell Sewage Lagoons. These lagoons were less filled with shorebirds but still gave us all some great looks at Green-winged Teal. The only shorebirds we managed to find were a pair of Wilson Snipe and a beautiful Solitary Sandpiper! Nonetheless, this was still a really nice spot for rounding out the waterfowl we missed at Milverton. 
Finally, we ended up in Huron County at the Exeter Sewage Lagoons. This was a great spot and brought my second Marbled Godwit of year following the one I found at the Wainfleet Wetlands! Yet again Lesser Yellowlegs reined supreme with a count of 101 individuals! The more we looked the more birds we found. This included a Black-bellied Plover, a few Stilt Sandpier and a Baird Sandpiper! 
After we left the lagoons Liam and I decided to chase down a local sighting of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper near Unity Rd in Caledonia. After searching for what seemed like an hour in the blistering heat, we looked over in the shade behind a house and saw a small sandy coloured spec in the field. That was it! After snapping some really bad pictures of the bird he and I both decided it was time to call it a day, and what a day it was! 

At then end of the day I accumulated 53 species and 16 species of Shorebird! Among these shorebirds I found my 228th and 229th bird species of the year (Baird Sandpiper and Buff-breasted Sandpiper)! 

Here are the species I got new for the year in August (bolded birds were lifers for me):

223: Pectoral Sandpiper 
224: Black-bellied Plover

225: Sanderling

226: Willet

227: Red Knot

228: Baird Sandpiper

229: Buff-breasted Sandpiper

230: Black Scoter

231: Purple Finch

232: Long-tailed Jaeger

This is one of the largest shorebirds in Eastern North America: Willet - Turkey Point, ON

This is one of the larger of the peeps - Pectoral Sandpiper, IDed by its bicoloured bill and bold brown bib - Perth County, ON

This is one bird I always love seeing - Wilson Snipe - Perth County, ON

Solitary Sandpiper - these stary-backed shorebirds are always a treat - Perth County, ON

These large Stilt Sandpiper are often mistake for Lesser Yellowlegs but their bright white supercillium and brown overall colour draw them out of the crowd - Huron County ON

Yet another Marbled Godwit! Absolutely stunning, not to mention HUGE - Huron County, ON

This is a juvenile Red Knot, it doesn't shore the gorgeous colour of the breeding plumage adults unfortunately! - Norfolk County, ON

My first Sanderling of the year was an absolute stunner and is the closest I've ever been to these pretty little birds! - Haldimand County, ON

Black-bellied Plover are the largest plover on this side of North America at a whopping 11.5"! Love seeing these guys come through in the fall! - Niagara County, ON