2016: A Year in Review

Last year I completed my very first “year review”, and I have been looking forward to completing this years!  2016 was a year that was full of unexpected adventures and a backyard full of birds. 

My year list for 2016 reached a total of 216 species and included 33 new lifer species bringing my life list up to 266 species. It doesn’t feel like too many species considering the vast number of species that are out there, however considering I haven’t birded for many years or much outside of where I live, and I haven’t been much of an assertive birder (or twitcher), it isn’t too shabby!  A few of these species will have links to the original blogs that I wrote about them if you are interested in reading more.

The first bird of the year was a Black-capped Chickadee, not too unusual for living in Peterborough.  A month or so into the new year I picked up my first lifer of the year (and #235), Red Crossbills, while hiking at Petroglyphs Provincial Park.  A visit home to Chatham supplied me with my next lifer of the year, a Lapland Longspur!  Little did I know I would get to see them on their wintering AND breeding ground this year! Back in Parry Sound I got my third lifer of the year, a Pine Siskin at our feeder.

Hiking at Petroglyphs Provincial Park

The next wave of lifers came during my next visit home in the spring.  My father kept trying to describe to me a bird that was visiting the backyard for about a week. Finally I was able to spot it and was surprised to see a Blue-headed Vireo!  Then came Palm Warbler (#239), Willet (#240), Cape May Warbler (#241), and Lincoln’s Sparrow (#242) during a day trip to the Leamington area.

Cape May Warbler

Another visit to Rondeau brought two new lifers, the Prothonotary Warbler (#243) and a rare visitor to the area, a White-winged Dove (#244).

Prothonotary Warbler at Rondeau Provincial park

I then snuck in two more lifers before heading off to do some field work up north.  These were a Virginia Rail at Killbear Provincial Park and my first time seeing Piping Plovers at Darlington Provincial Park (the first pair to nest their in over 80 years!). 

Adult Piping Plover on nest inside its protective enclosure

Then 2016 brought an experience I wasn’t quite expecting, the chance to help with some field work in Nunavut!  This amazing experience brought me a handful of life birds that included: Northern Wheatear, Thick-billed Murre, King Eider, Common Eider, Cackling Goose, and Pacific Loon.  It also brought me many flora lifers and a few mammal lifers such as polar bears, walrus, and caribou (which I will be blogging about next!).

Thick-billed Murre on Coats Island

I then went on another amazing adventure to Washington, D.C. to present at an international conference (the North American Ornithology Conference). What an amazing experience it was to talk to other ornithologists and fledgling scientists, learn about other projects (both large and small) occurring across the continent, and making connections with amazing people I still keep in contact with months later. This conference also gave me a huge respect for the role that social media can play in science and science communication.  I met many people who held blogs, youtube pages, and very active twitter accounts and use these to spread messages of science communication in a fun and engaging way, which I something that I hope to become more involved with in the 2017 year. 

This trip brought me a number of other lifers.  It was also the first time I had been to this part of the USA and road tripped home for the sole purpose of birding.  We picked up lifers such as: Mississippi Kite, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Blue Grosbeak, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Least Tern, American Oystercatcher, Clapper Rail, Brown Pelican, Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Heron, and Tri-coloured Heron (Blogs still to come on this!).  During this trip we also managed to find a tiny Fence Lizard!

The last two lifers of the year took place in Parry Sound.  The first at our bird feeder, Evening Grosbeak, and the second during the annual Burk’s Falls Christmas BirdCount, a Gray Jay!

I hope that 2017 will be an equally as adventurous and birdy year.  I can't wait to see what my first lifer will be and hope that the first thing I accomplish will be this Master's Degree! Hopefully once that is under wraps I will be able to spend more time reading more blogs, engaging in citizen science and science communication, and....get a job!  Thank you to everyone who has made my 2016 memorable, whether I have gone out and birded with you, banded with you, tweeted on twitter with you, spoke to you at the NAOC or up in the Arctic, was inspired by your own blogs, exchanged greetings or advice while out birding....thank you!  I cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store for myself and for every else. 

Below, is my final year list (pending I don't see anything tomorrow!) with just a few of my favourite photos from the year. 

1. Black-capped Chickadee

2. White-breasted Nuthatch

3. Ring-billed Gull

4. American Tree Sparrow

5. Canada Goose

Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch at our feeder in Parry Sound

6. Rock Pigeon

7. Dark-eyed Junco

8.  American Goldfinch

9. Downy Woodpecker

10  American Crow

11. European Starling

12. Blue Jay

13. Common Goldeneye

14. Mallard

Common Redpoll at feeder

15. Common Merganser

16. Greater Scaup

17. House Sparrow

18. Wild Turkey 

19.  Brown Creeper

20. Red-breasted Nuthatch

21. Common Raven


22. Common Redpoll

Wild Turkey in Parry Sound

23. Red Crossbills  (LIFER!)

24. Wood Duck

25. Herring Gull

26. Bufflehead

27. Mute Swan

28. Long-tailed Duck

29. Gadwall

30. Red-breasted Merganser

31. Lesser Scaup

Great Black-backed Gull

32. American Robin

33. Red-tailed Hawk

34. American Kestrel 

35. House Finch

36. Tundra Swans

37. Bald Eagle 

38. Northern Harrier

39. Canvasback

40. Redhead

41. Snow Goose

42. Snow Bunting

43. Horned Lark

44. Lapland Longspur (LIFER #236)

Lapland Longspur during the winter

Lapland Longspur on breeding grounds

45. Mourning Dove 

46. Sharp-shinned Hawk

47. American Coot

48. Great Black-backed Gull  

49. Coopers Hawk

50. American Black Duck

Skating American Coot

51. Belted Kingfisher

52. Killdeer

53. Red-winged Blackbird

54. Turkey Vulture

55. American Wigeon

56. Song Sparrow

57. Golden-crowned Kinglet

58. Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Herons nesting

59. Common Grackle

60. Ring-necked Duck

61. Hooded Merganser

62. Trumpeter Swan

63. Red-necked Grebe

64. Eastern Phoebe

65. Cedar Waxwing

66. Tree Swallow

67. Pileated Woodpecker 

68. Chipping Sparrow

69. Northern Cardinal

70. Great Blue Heron

71. Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

72. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

73. Barred Owl

74. American Woodcock 

75. Osprey

76. Purple Finch 

77. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

78. Eastern Meadowlark

79. Greater Yellowlegs

80. Green-winged Teal 

81. Pine Siskin  (LIFER #237)

82. White-throated Sparrow

83. Brown Thrasher

Yellow-rumped Warbler while banding in Leamington

84. Sandhill Crane

85. Fox Sparrow

86. Broad-winged Hawk

87. Yellow-rumped Warbler

88. Ruffed Grouse

Rusty Blackbirds in Parry Sound

89. Double-crested Cormorant

90. Hairy Woodpecker 

91. Brown-headed Cowbird

92. American Bittern

93. Common Loon

94. Winter Wren

95. Pine Warbler

96. Rusty Blackbirds

97. Black-throated Green Warbler

98. Chimney Swift

99. Yellow Warbler

100. Blue-headed Vireo (LIFER #238)

101. Warbling Vireo

102. Nashville Warbler

103. Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian and Canada Warbler in Leamington

104. Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

105. Barn Swallow

106. Bank Swallow

107. Purple Martin

108. House Wren

109. Palm Warbler (LIFER #239)

Eastern Bluebird at Rondeau PP

110. Northern Parula

111. American Redstart

112. Eastern Bluebird

113. Gray Catbird

114. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

115. Baltimore Oriole

116. White-crowned Sparrow

117. Black-and-white Warbler

118. Common Yellowthroat

119. Great Horned Owl

120. Black-bellied Plover

Willets in Wheatley

121. Least Flycatcher

122. Swamp Sparrow

123. Northern Waterthrush

124. Canada Warbler

125. Willet (LIFER #240)

126. Ruby-throated Hummingbird

127. Carolina Wren

128. Orchard Oriole

129. Chestnut-sided Warbler

130. Bay-breasted Warbler

131. Cape May Warbler (LIFER #241) 

Magnolia Warbler at Point Pelee Park

132. Bonaparte's Gull

133. Common Tern

134. Marsh Wren

135. Scarlet Tananger

136. Veery

137. Swainson's Thrush

138. Black-throated Blue Warbler

139. Magnolia Warbler

140. Lincoln's Sparrow (LIFER #242)

141. Eastern Kingbird

142. Red-headed Woodpecker 

143. Prothonotary Warbler (LIFER #243)

Hooded Warbler

144. White-winged Dove  (LIFER #244)

145. Willow Flycatcher

146. Red-eyed Vireo

147. Wood Thrush

148. Hooded Warbler

149. Ovenbird

150. Mourning Warbler 

151. Wilson's Warbler

152. Eastern Towhee

153. Spotted Sandpiper

154. Whimbrel

Whimbrel on beach at Rondeau Provincial Park

155. Caspian Tern

Piping Plover chick at Darlington Provincial Park

156. Great Egret

157. Indigo Bunting

158. Hermit Thrush

159. Cliff Swallow

160. Northern Rough-winged Swallow

161. Field Sparrow

162. Black-billed Cuckoo

163. Bobolink

Northern Wheatear in Iqaluit

164. Virginia Rail (LIFER #245)

165. Great Crested Flycatcher

166. Piping Plover (LIFER #246)

167. Red-throated Loon

168. Glaucous Gull 

169. American Pipit

170. Northern Wheatear (LIFER #247)

171. Thick-billed Murre (LIFER #248) 

172. King Eider (LIFER #249)

173. Peregrine Falcon

174. Cackling Goose (LIFER #250)

175. Semipalmated Plover

176. Common Eider (LIFER #251)

177. Semipalmated Sandpiper

178. Iceland Gull

179. Northern Pintail

Thick-billed Murre colony with Polar Bear swimming below

180. Pacific Loon (LIFER #252)

181. Snowy Egret (LIFER #253)  

Mississippi Kite

182. Carolina Chickadee

183. Red-bellied Woodpecker 

184. Tufted Titmouse

185. Green Heron

186. Mississippi Kite (LIFER #254)

187. Blue Grosbeak (LIFER #255)

188. Brown-headed Nuthatch (LIFER #256)

189. Laughing Gull (LIFER #257)

190. Lesser Black-backed Gull

191. Royal Tern (LIFER #258)

192. Forster's Tern 

Snowy Egret 

193. Least Tern (LIFER #259)

194. Black Tern 

195. Sanderling

196. Ruddy Turnstone

197. Lesser Yellowlegs

198. American Oystercatcher (LIFER #260)

199. Clapper Rail (LIFER #261)

200. Black Scoter

201. Brown Pelican (LIFER #262)

202. Northern Mockingbird

203. Glossy Ibis (LIFER #263)

204. Black Vulture

American Oystercatcher

205. Short-billed Dowitcher 

206. Little Blue Heron (LIFER #264)

207. Tricolored Heron (LIFER #265)

208. Least Bittern

209. Surf Scoter

210. Horned Grebe

211. Savannah Sparrow

212. Ruddy Duck

213. White-winged Scoter

214. Evening Grosbeak (LIFER #266)

215. Northern Shrike

216. Gray Jay (LIFER #267)

Surf Scoter at Killbear Provincial Park

Cheers to a happy, healthy, adventurous, and birdy 2017 everyone!

Georgian Bay Sunset