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!
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| 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! |
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| The bright white neck and yellow bill really stick out on this Western Grebe, just awaiting the next time one pops up around here! |
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| 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!
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| 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! |
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| Tree Swallows hanging out on the boxes in Old Cut already! |
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