Before I get down to business, I have a couple of things to get out of the way. Firstly, I think I need an updated picture for my blog. Although I love this photo and it appears on the back of Henrietta O'Neill's Birding At Point Pelee, it's way back from the year 2002...and besides, my hair looks really greasy (and don't get me started on that coat, which lasted for 8 long years).
It's hard to believe I was only 17 when this photo was taken. I remember the day quite vividly but not the bird I was looking at. The full photo (the one on my profile is cropped to only show me) is of a group of birders searching for the first Painted Bunting to ever be seen at Point Pelee (there are now two sightings that I know of, including a female from a couple years back). Marianne and I searched for 4 hours at Sleepy Hollow to see that bird and it was only once we left the large group and walked down a separate trail that we finally found it. I remember the day well enough, but my memory of the bird itself is quite unclear. I saw the bird. I saw a glimpse of its red underside and the blue head but don't remember seeing the green back. The sighting lasted for about 4-5 seconds before another birder yelled to a large group on another trail that we had. Next thing we knew, we were being trampled. I will never forget the old lady who tried to see the bird and had her glasses knocked off her face due to the pushy, aggravated crowd. For anyone who thinks birding is a relaxing hobby, think again. It can get pretty rough from time to time. So, a new picture is necessary. The problem is I rarely get my photo taken while birdwatching.
The other thing I am currently needing to update is my equipment. It's time to buy a spotting scope. Living in Toronto certainly creates a black hole in my bank account so it's been very difficult to save any money but if I can just become a bit more thrifty and actually start a separate savings account, I should be able to afford a new scope within a year or two.
O.K. let's get down to business: THE MAY LIST! (note: new species marked with '*'; new species for Pelee marked with '~')
Cackling Goose~
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Mottled Duck*~
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
King Rail*~ (note: heard not seen, therefore not on my life list)
Sora
Common Moorhen
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Laughing Gull~
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Lark Bunting*~
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Total Species: 170
Total Warblers: 30
New Species: 2
New Species for Pelee: 5
Yet another great spring at Point Pelee National Park.
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