The Quest to 300...

In my 2017 Nature Goals, I stated that I wanted to get my life list up to 300 species before 2018 rolls around. 300 would be an easily attainable number if not for one thing...I can't drive. It always hurts when I could have twitched a rare bird, but the only thing holding me back was the fact I'm still a few years off from my license.

Don't get me wrong, however. My parents are very supportive and try their best to accommodate for my (expensive) passion.

I need to find 26 lifers for my World life list to hit 300, and I need 33 for my Ontario List. 198 is needed for for my Algonquin list, though 143 would be sufficient to break the current record!

I have made a list of birds I would need to find for my World life list that is reasonable to find here in Ontario and according to trips that we have planned (mostly around SW Ontario). Of course there are many birds that could show up and I didn't have on the list (for example, I would not have even thought Wood Stork a possibility!) I have organized the birds with a legend (according to their status in the areas I will be birding):

Bold is widespread and should be easy to find.
* is widespread but uncommon
** common and easy to find in traditional places*
*** uncommon and hard to find in traditional places
**** rare and very hard to find in traditional places
Italics occurs at least couple times per year somewhere
Bolded Italics occurs with some regularity, but not every year

*Traditional places refers to somewhere where the bird regularly occurs

1. Eared Grebe****
2. Magnificent Frigatebird
3. Northern Gannet
4. Anhinga
5. Neotropic Cormorant
6. Snowy Egret
7. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
8. Glossy Ibis
9. White-faced Ibis
10. Ross's Goose***
11. Brant**
12. Barrow's Goldeneye
13. Red-shouldered Hawk*
14. Swainson's Hawk
15. Golden Eagle*
16. Gray Partridge
17. Common Gallinule*
18. American Avocet****
19. Hudsonian Godwit****
20. Buff-breasted Sandpiper***
21. Purple Sandpiper***
22. Long-billed Dowitcher***
23. Red Phalarope
24. Pomarine Jaeger***
25. Long-tailed Jaeger***
26. Black-legged Kittiwake****
27. Sabine's Gull***
28. Black-headed Gull
29. Franklin's Gull***
30. White-winged Dove
31. Long-eared Owl*
32. Great Gray Owl***
33. Boreal Owl***
34. Three-toed Woodpecker***
35. Western Kingbird
36. Cave Swallow
37. Bohemian Waxwing***
38. Connecticut Warbler***
39. Louisiana Waterthrush***
40. Le Conte's Sparrow***
41. Nelson's Sparrow***
42. Yellow-headed Blackbird***
43. Hoary Redpoll

Additional birds for my Ontario List:

1. Fish Crow*** (though becoming more common)
2. Northern Mockingbird***

While a lot of these will be a longshot and will require a lot of luck, I think it will be possible to either hit the 300 mark or at least come very close to it. I am looking forward to the months ahead!