Checking in on my Nature Goals

In January, I made a list of Nature Goals I would like to achieve in 2017. With two and a half months to go, I decided to see how I am doing with them, and which ones I have to try harder at.

Here we go!

1. Observe 57 new species to get my life list up to 300.


So far this year I have seen 37 new species, so I am still a bit off from my goal. I wrote a blog post about this about a month ago.

2. See a Prothonotary Warbler.

3. Go birding in 100 new spots.

When I made this goal, I wasn't really thinking about how I would keep track of it. If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say that I have achieved this goal, or am very close to achieving it.

4. See all 5 Great Lakes


It looks like I will have to settle for seeing four of the five. I'll see Lake Michigan one day!

5. Hand feed a Gray Jay.


Success! So far I have fed at least one on all my trips (2) to Algonquin this year.

6. Complete the 100 species Challenge at Point Pelee in one day.

I finally did it! Here is a cheesy little video that for some reason I thought was a good idea to make.

7. See/Hear Wolves


I have yet to hear them, but I did see one running across the road in Algonquin.

8. Find a rare....anything!


I certainly have found some uncommon stuff, and a few local rarities, but I have yet to find something big!

9. Volunteer at a banding station.

Nothing yet, but right now we are in the early stages of me helping out with banding at Hawk Cliff.

10. Complete a "Weekend Big Year"

So far, so good!


I can't wait to see what the rest of 2017 has in store!

Revisiting my Wish List

As some of you may recall, in mid-July of last year I made a list of birds I wanted to try to see before the end of 2016, hopefully getting my life list up to 250. That hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure that soon I'll hit the 250 mark. The birds I observed are in bold print and the birds I tried for are marked with an asterisk.

1. Red-throated Loon
2. American White Pelican
3. Least Bittern
4. Black-crowned Night-Heron
5.White-winged Scoter
6. Surf Scoter
7. Black Scoter
8. Black Vulture
9. Red-shouldered Hawk*
10. Golden Eagle*
11. Spruce Grouse
12.Common Gallinule*
13. Ruddy Turnstone*
14. Sanderling
15. Red Knot
16. White-rumped Sandpiper*
17. Baird's Sandpiper
18. Stilt Sandpiper
19. Short-billed Dowitcher
20. Wilson's Phalarope
21. Red-necked Phalarope*
22. Little Gull
23. Thayer's Gull
24. Lesser Black-backed Gull
25. Northern Mockingbird*
26. Black-billed Cuckoo*
27. Long-eared Owl
28. Short-eared Owl
29. Northern Saw-whet Owl
30. Olive-sided Flycatcher
31. Gray Jay*
32. Boreal Chickadee
33. Gray-cheeked Thrush*
34. American Pipit
35. Tennessee Warbler
36. Common Redpoll*
37. Vesper Sparrow
38. Lapland Longspur
39. Yellow-headed Blackbird*
40. Rusty Blackbird
41. Evening Grosbeak*
42. Purple Finch
43. Eared Grebe
44. Ross's Goose
45. King Eider
46. Piping Plover
47. Willet
48. Purple Sandpiper
49. Long-billed Dowitcher
50. Parasitic Jaeger
51. Black-legged Kittiwake
52. Sabine's Gull
53. Franklin's Gull
54. White-winged Dove
55. Eurasian Collared-Dove
56. Black-backed Woodpecker
57. Fish Crow
58. Cave Swallow
59. Bohemian Waxwing
60. Prothonotary Warbler
61. Pine Grosbeak
62. White-winged Crossbill*

Not that bad considering I didn't get out as often as I would have liked and that the weather wasn't the greatest for when I did get out. A number of these species, if not all of them, I'm sure I'll be able to see this year! I'm looking forward to it!

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!

2016 Life List Goals

Yes, I'm a lister. I'm sitting at 208 species as I write this post (not bad, I started birding Feb. 2015). We are just over halfway through the year, and I think that 250 species is reachable. Obviously, since spring migration is over, I've missed out on a lot of "easy" birds (Prothonatary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler etc.), so I'll have to relay on fall migration and a few trips to help me reach my goal.

I've put together a list of 42 species (208+42=250) that will be fairly easy to observe in the next 5 or so months. These are species that are going to pass through this autumn sometime, and I'll just have to be in the right place at the right time! But, these are birds. Birds don't have calenders, so we could get some pretty weird stuff that I would never imagined we'd get. With El Niño, I'm sure some "strays" will show up. Anyway, enough with the chit-chat (Ah, Yellow-breasted Chat. Where are you?), lets take a look at the list!

1. Red-throated Loon - A good number of these birds go through in the fall.
2. American White Pelican - Lake St. Clair maybe an area to check out in august
3. Least Bittern - Chatham-Kent would be a good county to find this species
4. Black-crowned Night-Heron - Peer's Wetland, just outside of Wallaceburg seems great.
5.White-winged Scoter - Still can't believe I don't have any of the scoters! They all move through in fall, and L. Ontario is a good spot in the winter.
6. Surf Scoter - see above
7. Black Scoter  - see above
8. Black Vulture - Niagara-on-the-Lake is a reliable spot.
9. Red-shouldered Hawk - Fall migration at Hawk Cliff should yield some.
10. Golden Eagle - Hawk Cliff in October
11. Spruce Grouse - Algonquin Park in the Fall
12.Common Gallinule - Lake St. Clair area looks good.
13. Ruddy Turnstone - Sewage Lagoons across SW Ontario
14. Sanderling - The Great Lakes
15. Red Knot - The Great Lakes
16. White-rumped Sandpiper - Sewage Lagoons across SW Ontario
17. Baird's Sandpiper - Sewage Lagoons across SW Onatrio
18. Stilt Sandpiper - Sewage Lagoons across SW Onatrio
19. Short-billed Dowitcher - Sewage Lagoons across SW Ontario
20. Wilson's Phalarope - Blenheim Sewage Lagoons has had them in past years
21. Red-necked Phalarope - Blenheim looks promising.
22. Little Gull - Erieau in late November....Niagara in December
23. Thayer's Gull - Niagara in December
24. Lesser Black-backed Gull - Niagara in December
25. Northern Mockingbird - Anywhere in SW Ontario really.
26. Black-billed Cuckoo - Anywhere in SW Ontario really....Skunk's Misery?
27. Long-eared Owl - Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto.
28. Short-eared Owl - Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto
29. Northern Saw-whet Owl - Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto
30. Olive-sided Flycatcher - Migration in SW Ontario.
31. Gray Jay - Algonquin Park
32. Boreal Chickadee - Algonquin Park
33. Gray-cheeked Thrush - Migration in SW Ontario
34. American Pipit - Migration in the fall
35. Tennessee Warbler - Fall Migration (Ugh! Fall warbler plumage!)
36. Common Redpoll - Hopefully this is a good winter for them. Feeders in SW Ontario.
37. Vesper Sparrow - Fall Migration
38. Lapland Longspur - Early Winter
39. Yellow-headed Blackbird - Angler Line in Chatham-Kent. Known Location.
40. Rusty Blackbird - Migration throughout SW Ontario. A few will stick around.
41. Evening Grosbeak - Algonquin? Hopefully it's a good winter.
42. Purple Finch - Winter in SW Ontario. Rondeau feeders seems like a good place to start.

   There are some other birds I have a chance of seeing, but are a tad bit more hard to find. These birds may be very nomadic, meaning they don't stay in one place to long, or the birds many occur in just one or two locations. Some of the species are regular, but few are seen each year. Here it is:

1. Eared Grebe - One may show-up this fall in L.Erie.
2. Ross's Goose - Some should show-up this fall. Will the be chaseable? Hopefully!
3. King Eider - L. Ontario looks like the best place. They usually hang out with Scoters.
4. Piping Plover - Can I get to the nests before they leave?
5. Willet - It was a good spring for them, so hopefully fall is the same.
6. Purple Sandpiper - Niagara is my best bet. They may appear at other locations though.
7. Long-billed Dowitcher - Less common then Short-billed, but may be found in sewage lagoons.
8. Parasitic Jaeger - A lake watch on a good day will have one.
9. Black-legged Kittiwake - Unlikely, but Niagara might have one.
10. Sabine's Gull - L. Ontario on a good day. L. Erie had one last year.
11. Franklin's Gull - L. Erie is the area I should check out.
12. White-winged Dove - Provided the Rondeau one hangs out.
13. Eurasian Collared-Dove - They will start to appear at feeders in the fall and winter.
14. Black-backed Woodpecker - Algonquin
15. Fish Crow - Niagara has a population.
16. Cave Swallow - Hopefully we get some weather that pushes them up here!
17. Bohemian Waxwing - Nomadic but regular.  Pinery is a good spot.
18. Prothonotary Warbler - I'm being hopeful...these have managed to elude me for 2 years!
19. Pine Grosbeak - Algonquin in winter is almost a guarantee...Pinery on a good day.
20. White-winged Crossbill - Almost anywhere in SW Ontario in winter (providing it's a good winter)

Barn Swallow (Not a Cave Swallow!)

Now, of course, keeping a life list, year list, or even trip list is fun, but it isn't why we bird. We bird because it gets us outside and we meet new people. We bird because birds intrigue us, whether it be their plumages - with the exception of fall warblers :) -, their songs, or their behaviours. We bird because it calms us down. Birders bird for moments like this;

Of course, some birders (me) bird because we have no choice. Man...I miss the good ol' days when if a saw a little bit of movement in the top of a tree, or heard a "chip" note, I didn't have to know what it was! (Just kidding...I bird because of all the reasons above too)

Okay...I now have the "wisdom" part of the post :)

As much as I hope I can get 250 species, and as I said earlier, it is possible,  just being outside and listening to a Veery or a Red-eyed Vireo is worth 1000 species (hyperbole).

Veery

Anyway, hopefully I can reach my goals and see some pretty awesome birds. I'll do a post sometime in early January 2017 to re-visit my "wish list' and see if I completed what I set out for.

Horned Grebe (Not an Eared Grebe!)

Good Birding!