My 300 (full breakdown will come at the end of 2012)

1	Here they are (in taxanomical order): All 300. Greater White-fronted Goose
2	Snow Goose
3	Ross's Goose
4	Brant
5	Cackling Goose
6	Canada Goose
7	Mute Swan
8	Trumpeter Swan
9	Tundra Swan
10	Wood Duck
11	Gadwall
12	Eurasian Wigeon
13	American Wigeon
14	American Black Duck
15	Mallard
16	Blue-winged Teal
17	Northern Shoveler
18	Northern Pintail
19	Green-winged Teal
20	Canvasback
21	Redhead
22	Ring-necked Duck
23	Greater Scaup
24	Lesser Scaup
25	King Eider
26	Harlequin Duck
27	Surf Scoter
28	White-winged Scoter
29	Black Scoter
30	Long-tailed Duck
31	Bufflehead
32	Common Goldeneye
33	Hooded Merganser
34	Common Merganser
35	Red-breasted Merganser
36	Ruddy Duck
37	Ring-necked Pheasant
38	Ruffed Grouse
39	Spruce Grouse
40	Sharp-tailed Grouse
41	Wild Turkey
42	Red-throated Loon
43	Common Loon
44	Pied-billed Grebe
45	Horned Grebe
46	Red-necked Grebe
47	Eared Grebe
48	Magnificent Frigatebird
49	Double-crested Cormorant
50	American White Pelican
51	American Bittern
52	Least Bittern
53	Great Blue Heron
54	Great Egret
55	Snowy Egret
56	Little Blue Heron
57	Cattle Egret
58	Green Heron
59	Black-crowned Night-Heron
60	White-faced Ibis
61	Black Vulture
62	Turkey Vulture
63	Osprey
64	Golden Eagle
65	Northern Harrier
66	Sharp-shinned Hawk
67	Cooper's Hawk
68	Northern Goshawk
69	Bald Eagle
70	Red-shouldered Hawk
71	Broad-winged Hawk
72	Red-tailed Hawk
73	Rough-legged Hawk
74	King Rail
75	Virginia Rail
76	Sora
77	Common Gallinule
78	American Coot
79	Sandhill Crane
80	Black-bellied Plover
81	American Golden-Plover
82	Semipalmated Plover
83	Piping Plover
84	Killdeer
85	American Avocet
86	Spotted Sandpiper
87	Solitary Sandpiper
88	Greater Yellowlegs
89	Lesser Yellowlegs
90	Upland Sandpiper
91	Whimbrel
92	Hudsonian Godwit
93	Marbled Godwit
94	Ruddy Turnstone
95	Red Knot
96	Sanderling
97	Semipalmated Sandpiper
98	Least Sandpiper
99	White-rumped Sandpiper
100	Baird's Sandpiper
101	Pectoral Sandpiper
102	Dunlin
103	Stilt Sandpiper
104	Buff-breasted Sandpiper
105	Short-billed Dowitcher
106	Long-billed Dowitcher
107	Wilson's Snipe
108	American Woodcock
109	Wilson's Phalarope
110	Red-necked Phalarope
111	Red Phalarope
112	Bonaparte's Gull
113	Little Gull
114	Laughing Gull
115	Franklin's Gull
116	Ring-billed Gull
117	California Gull
118	Herring Gull
119	Thayer's Gull
120	Iceland Gull
121	Lesser Black-backed Gull
122	Glaucous Gull
123	Great Black-backed Gull
124	Caspian Tern
125	Black Tern
126	Common Tern
127	Forster's Tern
128	Rock Pigeon
129	Mourning Dove
130	Yellow-billed Cuckoo
131	Black-billed Cuckoo
132	Eastern Screech-Owl
133	Great Horned Owl
134	Snowy Owl
135	Barred Owl
136	Long-eared Owl
137	Short-eared Owl
138	Northern Saw-whet Owl
139	Common Nighthawk
140	Eastern Whip-poor-will
141	Chimney Swift
142	Ruby-throated Hummingbird
143	Belted Kingfisher
144	Red-headed Woodpecker
145	Red-bellied Woodpecker
146	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
147	Downy Woodpecker
148	Hairy Woodpecker
149	American Three-toed Woodpecker
150	Black-backed Woodpecker
151	Northern Flicker
152	Pileated Woodpecker
153	American Kestrel
154	Merlin
155	Peregrine Falcon
156	Olive-sided Flycatcher
157	Eastern Wood-Pewee
158	Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
159	Acadian Flycatcher
160	Alder Flycatcher
161	Willow Flycatcher
162	Least Flycatcher
163	Eastern Phoebe
164	Great Crested Flycatcher
165	Thick-billed Kingbird
166	Eastern Kingbird
167	Loggerhead Shrike
168	Northern Shrike
169	White-eyed Vireo
170	Yellow-throated Vireo
171	Blue-headed Vireo
172	Warbling Vireo
173	Philadelphia Vireo
174	Red-eyed Vireo
175	Gray Jay
176	Blue Jay
177	Black-billed Magpie
178	American Crow
179	Fish Crow
180	Common Raven
181	Horned Lark
182	Northern Rough-winged Swallow
183	Purple Martin
184	Tree Swallow
185	Bank Swallow
186	Barn Swallow
187	Cliff Swallow
188	Black-capped Chickadee
189	Boreal Chickadee
190	Tufted Titmouse
191	Red-breasted Nuthatch
192	White-breasted Nuthatch
193	Brown Creeper
194	House Wren
195	Winter Wren
196	Sedge Wren
197	Marsh Wren
198	Carolina Wren
199	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
200	Golden-crowned Kinglet
201	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
202	Eastern Bluebird
203	Mountain Bluebird
204	Veery
205	Gray-cheeked Thrush
206	Swainson's Thrush
207	Hermit Thrush
208	Wood Thrush
209	American Robin
210	Gray Catbird
211	Northern Mockingbird
212	Brown Thrasher
213	European Starling
214	American Pipit
215	Bohemian Waxwing
216	Cedar Waxwing
217	Lapland Longspur
218	Ovenbird
219	Worm-eating Warbler
220	Louisiana Waterthrush
221	Northern Waterthrush
222	Blue-winged Warbler
223	Golden-winged Warbler
224	Black-and-white Warbler
225	Prothonotary Warbler
226	Tennessee Warbler
227	Orange-crowned Warbler
228	Nashville Warbler
229	Connecticut Warbler
230	Mourning Warbler
231	Common Yellowthroat
232	Hooded Warbler
233	American Redstart
234	Cape May Warbler
235	Cerulean Warbler
236	Northern Parula
237	Magnolia Warbler
238	Bay-breasted Warbler
239	Blackburnian Warbler
240	Yellow Warbler
241	Chestnut-sided Warbler
242	Blackpoll Warbler
243	Black-throated Blue Warbler
244	Palm Warbler
245	Pine Warbler
246	Yellow-rumped Warbler
247	Yellow-throated Warbler
248	Prairie Warbler
249	Black-throated Green Warbler
250	Canada Warbler
251	Wilson's Warbler
252	Yellow-breasted Chat
253	Spotted Towhee
254	Eastern Towhee
255	American Tree Sparrow
256	Chipping Sparrow
257	Clay-colored Sparrow
258	Field Sparrow
259	Vesper Sparrow
260	Savannah Sparrow
261	Grasshopper Sparrow
262	Le Conte's Sparrow
263	Nelson's Sparrow
264	Fox Sparrow
265	Song Sparrow
266	Lincoln's Sparrow
267	Swamp Sparrow
268	White-throated Sparrow
269	Harris's Sparrow
270	White-crowned Sparrow
271	Dark-eyed Junco
272	Scarlet Tanager
273	Western Tanager
274	Northern Cardinal
275	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
276	Indigo Bunting
277	Dickcissel
278	Bobolink
279	Red-winged Blackbird
280	Eastern Meadowlark
281	Western Meadowlark
282	Yellow-headed Blackbird
283	Rusty Blackbird
284	Brewer's Blackbird
285	Common Grackle
286	Brown-headed Cowbird
287	Orchard Oriole
288	Baltimore Oriole
289	Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
290	Pine Grosbeak
291	Purple Finch
292	House Finch
293	Red Crossbill
294	White-winged Crossbill
295	Common Redpoll
296	Hoary Redpoll
297	Pine Siskin
298	American Goldfinch
299	Evening Grosbeak
300	House Sparrow

James Bay - short summary and photos

Earlier this month, I was given the opportunity to help w/ a Red Knot study on the James Bay Coast: 2 weeks in a remote camp counting shorebirds. So rewarding and a study I would love to take part in again. Many thanks to Mark Peck of the ROM for the opportunity and Christian Friis of Canadian Wildlife Service for arranging my safe arrival and departure to the project. Also many thanks to the Moose Cree First Nation for renting our their camps for the study and their support of the project.

Major highlights:

- Having a Gray Wolf walking unbelievably close to Mark P. and I at the end of our 20k walk from Little Piskwamish Camp to the Longridge Camp. I will never forget that moment.

- A family of Beluga Whales with two adults and one juvenile at Beluga Bay. I spent many days scanning for Belugas so it was such a reward to get relatively close looks of them just off the coast.

- A huge flock of White-rumped Sandpipers flying and separating around me so that I could hear their wingbeats as I was surrounded.

- Successfully reading the tags of Red Knots and seeing 250+ birds in a single day.

- The sense of accomplishment of finishing the 20km walk from Little Piskwamish to Longride with Mark P. even though I had an injured knee and terrible heal sores.

- Seeing my first Sharp-tailed Grouse from the Polar Bear Express as it perched on the hydro wires next to the tracks.

- A spectacular show of Northern Lights. Huge sheets of green waving and shifting across the sky looking like a portal into another universe. I literally gasped.

I wanted to share a few of my pictures on my blog from the trip as well.

 Our helicopter into camp. My first helicopter ride.

 The gorgeous James Bay Coast at low tide. You could get kilometers away from shore and still be in shallow water. The feeling of total isolation is amazing.

 Our study bird, the Red Knot. We were getting counts on adults versus juveniles and also tracking banded birds.

 The Gray Wolf. A truly beautiful moment.

 Another example of the coast. 

 Hudsonian Godwit juvenile - one of 3 new year birds for my 300 year. I came back from James Bay sitting at 299. 

The Team:

 Left to right: Mark Peck, Alex Howard, Aus Taverner, myself, Mark Field, and Greg Stuart.

 When wildlife entered the camp, the cameras came out.

One of my favourite mornings. So quiet and calm and those colours spilling over the horizon.

 View of the coast from the chopper ride back to Moosonee. We flew over flocks of Sandhill Cranes, Canada Geese, and Snow Geese.

Sunset while riding the Polar Bear Express.

Our Big Little Sit at Delaurier

On Thursday evening, Marianne suggested we do a Big Sit at Delaurier parking lot in Point Pelee on Friday morning. The weather report called for north winds, useless for jaegars or Sabine's Gulls at the tip, so Marianne thought it'd be cool to do something completely different. I'm glad she did.

A Big Sit is where you park your keister onto a Muskoka (or lawn) chair and let the hours pass by, recording every bird you see or hear. You'll want good company, a notebook or the eBird BirdLog app for keeping track (+ a cell charger cause the app sucks the battery life from your phone like a starved lamprey on a succulent Yellow Perch), sunscreen/hat, etc., food, bins/scope/camera, and a cooler of beer to really get some interesting sightings (we of course could not have an obvious cooler of beer sitting there since we were in a national park...we brought flasks*).


*we did not actually consume alcohol.

We began our Big Sit at 8am, enough sleeping in to recover from my hangover (ok, I promise that's my last joke about alcohol...I'm 10 characters away from an intervention here). We sat until 12:30pm, a total of 4.5 hours. Big Sits are usually a day-long affair but we decided to go for just a morning Sit. The day started off pretty well with flyover flocks of Pine Siskins, American Goldfinch, and House and Purple Finch. (Totals: PISI - 29, AMGO - 30, HOFI - 5, PUFI - 8).

Lots of blackbirds flying over with 3 Red-wings identified and 2 Brown-headed cowbirds w/ flocks of unidentifieds totaling 150 (conservative). The highest count for the day was European Starlings w/ a total of 1,495 birds. Next highest was of course Blue Jays, which are in full-force migration right now. We counted 690 birds but there were likely more. One thing that is difficult about doing a Big Sit at Point Pelee is that the peninsula funnels migrants (hawks and passerines) toward the lake and many turn around and fly back north, complicating counts to a degree since you don't always know if you're counting the same flocks over and over again! Our general rule was we counted birds flying south but not north.

As the morning went on, raptor flights started to pick up. Highest count was Turkey Vulture w/ 35 birds followed by Sharp-shinned Hawks - 28. Other raptor totals: Bald Eagle - 6, Red-tailed Hawk - 16, Northern Harrier - 10, Broad-winged Hawk - 4, Cooper's Hawk - 2, and American Kestrel - 2.

iScoped Instagram of a Sharp-shinned Hawk perched near Delaurier parking lot. This individual had a Northern Flicker and Blue Jays really riled up.

Close to our Sit end, Marianne stood up from her chair as a corvid approached. It was large, soaring, had a wedge-shaped tail...this was looking good for raven, a difficult bird to get for the Pelee Birding Circle. There are few records in Pelee since the 70's so we were excited when the bird flew directly overhead confirming Common Raven. This was a new species for my Pelee list so I was excited at the sighting. It flew over us heading south and not long after flew back north, calling. 

I was quite pleased w/ our count of Chimney Swifts, which were migrating south in good numbers. We counted a total of 59 birds just in the morning. We ended up w/ 29 Tree Swallows and a single late migrating Barn Swallow though I see from eBird that they are still being seen throughout southwestern Ontario. I wonder who will have the late date for BARS in Pelee?

Other #'s: 

Canada Goose - 15

Mallard - 2

Wild Turkey - 3

Double-crested Cormorant - 12

Great Blue Heron - 1

Sandhill Crane - 2

Killdeer - 10

Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs - 1

Ring-billed Gull - 8

Herring Gull - 1

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2

Northern Flicker - 4

Downy Woodpecker - 2

Eastern Phoebe - 2

Horned Lark - 1

Black-capped Chickadee - 1

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 4

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2

American Robin - 4

Gray Catbird - 1

Brown Thrasher - 1

Cedar Waxwing - 17

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 3

Song Sparrow - 1

White-throated Sparrow - 1

Dark-eyed Junco - 11

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1

iScoped Instagram of an Eastern Phoebe perched on a dead tree in the fields just south of the Delaurier parking lot.

Someday I'd like to do a Big Sit right at the end of Point Pelee and see what the day brings.

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to Marianne's place for lunch where we found a lifer for me, an "Eastern" or "Yellow" Palm Warbler. It had a bright yellow wash down its front, especially around its belly. Its throat was yellow and the supercilium was yellow as well. We found it w/ 2 other "Western" Palms so had a good comparison of the extent of yellow. This was my favourite bird of the day and one of many new lifers for my year. 

300

On September 23th, I hit a milestone in my birding career when I saw a Red Phalarope at the tip of Point Pelee. This species took my year list for Ontario to 300, my personal goal I set out to do in February of this year.

I hate to sound pretentious but this, of course, means that I will now be a complete superstar, a celebrity birder joining the ranks of the ornithological A-list, and yes, let's be honest here...become world renowned. I have no doubt that I will be signing a contract later this week for a new hit reality series on birding and polishing an Emmy by next year.

**crickets chirping**....

In all seriousness though, It's been an exciting year and hitting 300 was a great accomplishment for me, something I thought I'd be struggling to do in December. So to hit my target in September and still have a few months to add additional species feels pretty good and makes all the traveling and expenses worthwhile.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience for my 300th bird. Steve Pike, Marianne Reid, Blake Mann, Michael Agueci, myself, and a group of other birders all arrived at the tip to see a group of Sanderlings running along the beach at the end of the tip trail. Steve called out that there was a phalarope with them and while eyes were getting on the bird, he called it Red. The consensus was quick. My heart was pounding and after observing the bird long enough to identify it to species myself, I turned to the group and said, "Guys, I just hit 300."

In the time it took for my eyelids to complete half of a blink, Steve had glomped* me 10 feet into the ground, making me wish I hit 300 more often. Marianne and I then screamed incoherencies at each other and embraced, surprisingly not scaring the phalarope away. Though I didn't see their faces, I imagine the rest of the birders at the Tip looked on with expressions of horror and incredulity.

* v, to glomp

- A glomp is often preadatory and lies somewhere in the grey area between a caring embrace, and a flying leap to tackle someone (sic) - Urban Dictionary

We didn't have to worry about being loud since this had to have been the tamest Red Phalarope on the planet. It was on the sand, which was already surprising (my last Red Phalarope was a distant bird on the lake disappearing behind waves), but as we watched it, the darn thing walked within about 15 feet of us! Later, when Steve was photographing the bird while sitting in the sand, it was within not much more than a meter of his camera. I can't wait to see those shots.

Every new bird from now to the end of the year will be icing on the cake. I would like to try for 305 if I had to set a realistic goal but some optimistic folks think I should push for 310. The birder in me says, "Come on! Go for it! Go for 310, YOLO!" but my bank account says, "Get a job, you idiot." Time will tell.

Blenheim Sewage Lagoons / Laughing Gull / and bird #294

Although I had a breeding Laughing Gull earlier this year near Rock Point Provincial Park, a good bird is a good bird, and I wanted to check out the nonbreeding Laughing Gull that was reported from Leamington Harbour by Alan Wormington (thanks for getting me on this one!). So, on the 11th, I went down to the boat ramp in the afternoon when gulls are loafing on the docks nearby, or looking for handouts from children with bread crumbs.

It didn't take me long as I scanned a large group of Ring-billed and Bonaparte's Gulls to pick out the darker mantle of the Laughing Gull. It had its head tucked but the dark gray feathers behind the eye were also obvious. Eventually the bird stood up and gave me decent enough views to iScope it for a record shot.

For some reason, I thought this species was OBRC-reportable but I see only records from pre-1994 require documentation. I just filled out a report for the Little Blue Heron at Holiday Beach Conservation Area Mark Field and I drove down from Toronto to see earlier in the summer and was in Rare Bird Report mode but I guess I don't have to do one. Oh, and yes, I have tampered w/ the photo a bit. This is post-Instagram to bring out the mantle colour a bit more.

Yesterday evening (August 12th), I had great luck at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. There were fewer shorebirds than the last time I visited but the variety was decent. The Red-necked Phalarope hanging out there that had many, including me, confuzzled (man, I wish it had been a Red!) was absent.

Tangent: I went for that bird the day after it had been reported and when I found it, something just didn't feel right. Its bill was just a bit too long and thin for me to feel comfortable. I went back and forth with my opinion, but ultimately decided to send my iScoped photos around to see what people thought (I was able to snap one that showed a long, pointed bill). After more discussion on the bird and better subsequent photos, the conclusion was made: Red-necked Phalarope. A good bird, but not a year bird.

Back to yesterday evening: Amongst the shorebirds present included a White-rumped Sandpiper (I think I've seen more of these this year than any other year), a couple Short-billed Dowitchers, and a dowitcher that had me quite interested (black barring in the tail feathers thicker than the white bars, completely reddish underbelly, and some barring that didn't fit Short-billed. It also had a different structure when foraging: rounded, hunched back, and looked plumper than the nearby Short-billeds). I studied the darn thing for some time and wanting to make sure I was making the correct identification (just to be safe), sent off my iScoped photos to confirm my ID. I was right and the Long-billed Dowitcher took me to #294 for my Big Year. Just 6 away from my 300 goal!

On this photo, you can see that the black barring in the tail is wider than the white barring. Short-billed Dowitchers have white bars that are, on average, as wide or wider than the black bars. On the upper photo, you can see the extent of red on the bird.
Some other birds of interest included a juvenile or female Ring-necked Duck, one of the long-staying Greater Scaups, a few Redhead, and a good number of Blue-winged Teal. I love these lagoons.

My next target species is the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. I imagine one will be showing up in the Onion Fields pretty soon. Other shorebirds on my radar include the aforementioned Red Phalarope, Red Knot (this one is a guarantee in James Bay), Hudsonian Godwit, and Willet (a boy can dream...since I ain't driving all the way to Presqu'ile).

Pelee Area August 10

With the poor weather conditions, I decided against a trip to Blenheim Sewage Lagoons today even though I really wanted to look for Long-billed Dowitcher there. On a nicer day, I'll head over and see if I can find one amongst the many shorebirds that have been there in the last week.

Instead, I decided to birdwatch around the Pelee area including the Onion Fields, Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, Leamington Marina, and Pelee Days Inn/Sturgeon Creek.

I didn't have a lot of luck today, but a few interesting birds nonetheless. The Onion Fields produced a few shorebirds but still no Buff-breasted (later in the month I expect to get one before I head up to James Bay for the shorebird surveys). I ended up seeing 4 Semipalmated Plovers, a single Semipalmated Sandpiper, 9 Leasts, and a total of 31 Killdeer. Tons of blackbirds and starlings are present now and along Mersea Rd. 19, it sounds like gun-fire noises are being made periodically to keep them away from the crops.

At Pelee Days Inn, I unfortunately couldn't get a good view of any mudflats so I only had a quick view of a flyovers including peeps and yellowlegs; however, I did see a Green Heron in the harbour area, a nice addition to the day list.

Next stop was Leamington Harbour, where there was a Laughing Gull reported from the boat launch, but I didn't see it. I was birding from the Pelee Island ferry terminal so I wasn't at the right side of the Marina to get this one. I'll be trying for it tomorrow though. A long-staying Pied-billed Grebe was still in the area and I had a group of 4 Ruddy Turnstones at Seacliff Beach among the Bonaparte's, Ring-billed, and Herring Gulls.

I made a brief stop at Hillman Marsh before heading home and got another Pied-billed Grebe for the day as well as a 2nd Green Heron and a Black-crowned Night-Heron juvenile. I viewed all 3 from the bridge at the northwest end of the conservation area (Mersea Rd 2 and Mersea Rd 19).

Good numbers of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons are in the vicinity. I had 34 Great Blue Herons: 1 in the Onion Fields, 7 at Sturgeon Creek, 1 at Leamington Marina, and 30 at Hillman Marsh, and 17 Great Egrets: 6 at Sturgeon Creek and 11 at Hillman Marsh. I didn't check Muddy Creek this evening but I'm sure there were a number of both of these species present.

Hillman, Onion Fields, and Leamington Marina

A hot day of birding and butterflying today around the Point Pelee area. I started at Hillman Marsh Conservation Area w/ a walk over to the Shorebird Cell. The Cell is planted w/ crops right now so nothing in the way of birds there but the lane around the Cell was good for butterflies. One of the first ones I saw was a Dainty Sulphur, a lifer for me as I continue to learn my butterfly identification and put more effort into finding uncommon species.

Dainty Sulphur at Hillman Marsh - I ended up seeing 4 in total.

Next up was a calling Willow Flycatcher where you would expect at the Shorebird Cell corner w/ the bench. Ridiculously, I completely forgot to keep an eye and ear out for Dickcissel so I didn't even end up getting this species today despite them being reported there recently. 

I was also able to take a photo of what I believe to be a Pearl Crescent (if anyone disagrees w/ this ID, please let me know. I had about 12 Northern Crescents in Hillman as well, all of which lacked the full black line across the above hindwing. This individual does have orange on its antenna clubs but my understanding is that female Pearl Crescents may have orange here as well). 

Pearl Crescent? - Hillman Marsh

Many Painted Ladies about and 1 Common Checkered Skipper were other highlights.

Butterfly list from Hillman:

Cabbage White

Silver-spotted Skipper-1

Painted Lady

Dainty Sulphur-4

Viceroy-3

Monarch-4

Red-spotted Purple-1

Common Checkered Skipper-1

Eastern Comma-1

Orange Sulphur

Buckeye-1

unidentified skipper-1

At the south end of Hillman near the lake I also found 12 Northern Crescent just at the parking lot and many more Cabbage Whites.

Next stop were the Onion Fields. As of today, there are some mudflats in the north end of the Pelee Marsh on the gravel turnoff at the end of Concession E. Shorebirds present here included 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Least Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer. I was hoping for more shorebirds today and Pelee Days Inn did not disappoint. 

In Sturgeon Creek, there are some mudflats visible from the boardwalk at the back end of the Days Inn. Here I had a good number of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, a single Wilson's Snipe that I flushed near the boardwalk, 4 Pectoral Sandpipers, and single Lesser Yellowlegs. 

I finished my day at the Leamington Marina where I added my first juvenile Bonaparte's Gull for the year, found both Common and Forster's Tern (juveniles of each species present), and added Northern Mockingbird and Pied-billed Grebe to my day list. 

Not a terrible morning but still hoping to run into a surprise year bird one of these days around the area!