Weekend Big Year: Mid-Year Update

We are now more than halfway through 2017, which also means that I’m halfway through my “Weekend Big Year”. I have so far seen 229 species, 222 of which I’ve observed in Ontario. While it is a longshot from any record (then again, maybe it is a record because this is the first “Weekend Big Year” that I’ve heard of), I am happy, and honestly quite surprised by that total. By this point last year, my life list hadn’t even reached 225. I have surpassed in 6 months (only about 8 days a month) what took me 2 years to accomplish.

Here are some highlights from the Big Year so far…

Smith's Longspur (Long Point)

Sandhill Cranes (Long Point)

Evening Grosbeak (Algonquin)

Boreal Chickadee (Algonquin)

Gray Jay (Algonquin)

Pine Grosbeak (Algonquin)

Cackling Goose (Aylmer WMA)

Brown Pelican (Virginia Beach)

Laughing Gull (Virginia Beach)

Snow Goose (Alymer WMA)

House Wren (London)

Blue-winged Warbler (Rondeau)

Black-necked Stilt (Tilbury)

Prothonotary Warbler (Point Pelee)

Dunlin (Wheatley)

Black Tern (Point Pelee)

Tree Swallow (Bruce)

Sedge Wren (Bruce)

Blackburnian Warbler (Hurkett Cove)

Purple Finch (Algonquin)

Olive-sided Flycatcher (Algonquin)

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Algonquin)

I'm sure that the next 6 months will be just as exciting. Is 250 an attainable goal?

The Point Pelee BIG DAY Ahead!

Tomorrow is my Great Canadian Birdathon in the Point Pelee birding area. I'm super excited!

The purpose of this post is to discuss my plans, and what type of day I think it's going to be.

Starting with what type of day I think it's going to be....

I think it's not going to be the type of day that all  birders dream of - you know, the days where the neotropical migrants can be found in numbers in every tree, bush, and field. While they will be migrating, I highly doubt that any fallout will happen.

Based on this map, which shows the wind direction (yes I know that's Brandon's thing), the migrants will be faced with 10-ish kilometer NORTH winds. Great for birding in the fall, but definitely not ideal in the middle of May.

Later in the evening on Saturday there is a trace of some south winds, which means that there just might be a fairly large number of birds the NEXT morning...when I'm not there.

The forecast is pretty clear, so there will  no doubt be at least SOME movement. That's good for me!

Because of the weather forecasted, I think that even though birds won't be in every tree and bush, there should still be pockets of birds...you'll just have to wander a bit to find them. This might be a case of quality over quantity.


My plan for the day is a little bit different from last year. Instead of heading down to the tip first thing in the morning, I'm going to try starting with Tilden's/Shuster/Cactus Trail (T/S/CT) and Woodland Nature Trail (WNT). T/S/CT and WNT seem to be the birding "hubs" right now, and based on my eBird findings, it will probably be most worthwhile to hit those two up front when the sun comes up. Like last year, I'll be arriving at 5:00 am.

I will go down to the tip after T/S/CT and WNT to pick up the water birds that like to hang out down there. I've heard that it's a good year for terns in the park, and they would make a welcome addition to the Big Day list. Any rarities found by the "morning shift" would hopefully still be around as well.

The beaches and dunes on the west side of the park seem to also be a very good area, so I'll make sure to check them out. Of course, DeLaurier will be searched for birds such as Whip-poor-will, Bald Eagles, and sparrows.

Hillman Marsh Conservation Area is a spot that you just can't miss on a Big Day attempt. Here I can expect to pick up shorebirds, rails, herons, terns, gulls, and ducks.

The onion fields are a bit more of a crap shot when it comes to birding - however the real prize here would be one or two Ring-necked Pheasants and some Rock Pigeons (all birds count!).

Of course, I'll probably end up at other sites around the area, too...it really depends on what is being seen!

I'm also hoping to reach a few milestones:

1. Essex life list up to 200 (requires 53 more). It would then surpass my Middlesex life list!
2. Life list up to 270 (requires 8 more)
3. Weekend Big Year list up to 200 (requires 51 more)

In regards to my Weekend Big Year, since I'm at 149, I wonder what my 150th species will be? The two most likely candidates are Eastern Whip-poor-will and Eastern Screech Owl.

Whatever the day has in store, I'm sure it will be jam-packed with great birding!

Let the BIG DAY Begin!

Weekend Big Year: Revised Rules

I’ve been thinking about my “Weekend Big Day” in a bit more depth recently, and I thought that I should make a few changes. While the rules will remain basically the same, the section about the “extra days” didn’t make as much sense as I originally thought. Here are the new rules:

1.       I will only count birds on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) or “extra day” (see below)

2.       I will allow myself to have 20 “extra days” for when I want to count birds that aren’t seen on the weekend.

3.       I may only take an “extra day” one day before or one day after the normal count period (basically, only Fridays and Mondays are eligible for “extra days”).

4.       Holiday Mondays or Fridays DO NOT count as the weekend, and an “extra day”, if available, must be taken.

5.       I can only count birds I see in the ABA area (Which shouldn’t be a problem as I’m not leaving it!)

6.       Have some fun!

It should be interesting to see how this pans out.  You can keep track of my species total and the number of “extra days” I take at the side of the blog between the “About Me” section and the Middlesex BirdTrax. Good birding!

2017 Nature Goals

I've composed a list of  10 goals I hope to achieve in 2017. It will be interesting to see how many I complete!

1. Observe 57 new species to get my life list up to 300.
This shouldn't be all to difficult. There are a few planned trips that will help me achieve this.

2. See a Prothonotary Warbler.
This species has evaded me for the last two years. This year I will see one!

3. Go birding in 100 new spots.
This may be a little difficult to keep track of, but I'm up for the challenge.

4. See all 5 Great Lakes
So far I've seen 3 out of 5. Superior and Michigan here I come!

5. Hand feed a Gray Jay.
Algonquin is the best and most accessible place for this.

6. Complete the 100 species Challenge at Point Pelee in one day.
I came close last year, 82 species, however it was a VERY bad migration day at Pelee, with only eight or nine species of warblers and no tanagers, only three species of flycatchers (no Eastern Kingbird), and 5 species of Shorebirds, only 4 of which were at Hillman. This year I planned my Big Day so it's a week later than usual. Maybe it'll make a difference.

7. See/Hear Wolves
I think that'll be pretty neat.

8. Find a rare....anything!
Whether it be a bird, butterfly, dragonfly, herp, or plant.

9. Volunteer at a banding station.
Banding is something I'm really interested in. If any of you know of a banding station that likes volunteers in Southern Ontario, please let me know!

10. Complete a "Weekend Big Year"
Since weekends are really the only time I'm able to go birding anyway, I figured why not do a big year where I only count birds seen on the weekend (with a few exceptions.)

The rules are simple:

1. I will only count birds I see on the weekend OR extra day (see below)
2. I will allow myself to have 20 "extra days" for when I want to count birds I see during the week. This may come in handy when I have a trip planned for a weekday, but I want to have those birds count for my big year, or when I see a rare bird during the period of Monday-Friday. Limit of two "extras" per week.
3. Holiday Mondays DO NOT count as the weekend and I must use an "extra day"
4. I will only count birds I see in the ABA area.
5. Have some fun.

Also, if you are a birder who keeps track of their sightings, maybe consider of doing a "Weekend Big Year" as well and make up your own rules. It would be fun to compare results at the end of the year!

I'll be keeping track of my total at the side of my blog under the "About Me" section.

Smith's Longspur...Seen on the Weekend!

Well, let the fun begin!