2 Lifers in 3 days

    This past week was the week I was able to get out and go birding outside of my property after my positive result. With mask in hand and bins strapped along my shoulders, I ventured out to chase some rarities for the first time in about 3 weeks. 

    It started with a report out of Bronte Beach Park from a great local birder. Although seemingly annual the last couple of years I have never ventured out to see one, a Western Grebe. This would be a crazy good bird and my 293rd species on my life list if I got it. So, that evening after work I threw the scope in the back of my Escape and headed out to Oakville. 

    I talked to Liam before I got out since he had already been out to see it, he mentioned that if I just wanted to see it that going up the stairs to see it would be the best view over the whole park. He was not joking, a great view of the whole Bronte Harbour! With the help of the original observer, I finally got on it, but this was not satisfying enough to me! It was getting fairly close to the other side of the park beside an accessible Lighthouse. After waiting for my friend Colleen we both headed down there to try to get some photos of the crazy cool bird. We also listened right and left for Fish Crow as they've been reported in the area as well. No luck on that, unfortunately, but after running into a couple other acquaintances and getting so decent photos of the Western Grebe I felt satisfied with my first outing in a while! Not to mention I got my first Red-necked Grebe of the year! 

There were about 9 Red-necked Grebes I could count in the immediate vicinity of the Western which was a long-waiting first of the year for me! 

The bright white neck and yellow bill really stick out on this Western Grebe, just awaiting the next time one pops up around here! 

Couldn't help but take like 30 pics of this guy, definitely a memorable lifer! 

The second lifer of the year came to me on a trip down to Long Point from Saturday. Not going to lie, I'd never really been around Old Cut during their banding season so it was cool to see all the birds they even had around the small property that the banding station sat on! I got 6 FOYs! After missing my target bird there I decided to pop down to Big Creek NWA, definitely worth a look as I happened upon 6 Pied-billed Grebes, this marked the last of the common Southern Ontario grebes for my year list. Also added a few Blue-winged Teal and Forster's Terns along the causeway. After I decided to try one more time for my target at the "New" Provincial Park. I took out the scope and searched around the ducks to find it, and boy did I get it! Eurasian Wigeon, and the hybrid EurasianXAmerican Wigeon that had been hanging around, about 2 scope diameters away from each other. That was so cool! Even though they were so far from one another it was lifer #294! Inching ever so closer to 300! 

Even though it isn't a Eurasian Wigeon (which I could not get pics of) I did see my first Purple Martin of the year! 

Tree Swallows hanging out on the boxes in Old Cut already! 

Birding with COVID-19

     For those unaware, I got a positive result from my COVID-19 test that I took on the 23rd of March. Just for everyone's peace of mind, we are all good now! 

    Let me get into how this worked for my birding. 

    This meant me having to stick to my family property, luckily for me my family has a small wetland across the road from my house. This meant I could still go out and not worry about getting others sick too! To top it off I was still able to grab 3 FOYs! 

The first was a Fox Sparrow, not super rare and definitely expected this time of year, and I almost missed seeing it! I was walking down the first trail to get to the wetland and there is a little trail that looks out over the field to the north (which happens to be great for Savannah Sparrow all summer long) I just happened to hear a Black-capped Chickadee call and by sheer instinct, I looked over, in the small bush beside it I see a rusty coloured sparrow, Fox! That happened to be my 114th species for the year. 

The second happened just a few minutes after the Fox Sparrow. I was walking along the east side which was in a field, I can hear singing Song Sparrow and Golden-crowned Kinglets all around, then I hear an odd call, familiar, but different. This little bird happened to be a Vesper Sparrow! I unfortunately never got eyes on the bird, but will not be the last time I'll see one this year, so maybe that one will be photogenic. 

The third was definitely a complete fluke. I had been feeling like crap all day so I wasn't planning on going out to the wetland that day. I look out to my feeders and I got my yard first Rusty Blackbird! The cool blackbird was getting pestered by a Red-wing for the seeds it was around, I got some good looks and then by the time I thought, grab the camera, it took off. Guess that's how it goes for birding sometimes! 

All in all, I would like to mention, I had it and even though I got through it I was still down and out for a few days, and I am young and healthy otherwise. This definitely is not something to brush off. 

Please everyone stay safe! 

Even though I didn't get any pictures of the birds I saw for FOYs, here are a couple quarantine photos from my yard, including my first (surprisingly) yard Eastern Phoebe!