Leader: Bonnie Patterson-Collins
Participants: Fred Jazvac, Bonnie Patterson-Collins, Wayne Collins, Judy Duncan, James Turland, Ralph and Mary Anne Knowles, Werner Sukstorf, Norma Nanni, Stewart Nutt, Nancy White, Arlene Richards, Norah Toth, Alice and John Kain, Doug Pedwell, Liz Addison, Bruce Edmunds, Doug and BJ Martin, Jim Punnett, John and Kay Thompson, Christine McMaster, Marilyn Ohler, Bob and Linda Droin, Becky Grieveson, Bob and Anne Marie Taylor, Joan Godden, Marshall Byle, Tania Gilchrist, Heather Gowanlock, Lynne Crop, Cindy Cartwright, Judy and Kiah Jasper, Linda Fraser-Waldman and Stephan Waldman (40)
Hi Everyone,
On a day like today when you get some great birds, your mind wonders, who is the star of today's big show. The truth of the matter is that the star of the day was Bonnie, and the entourage of people who helped provide us with a wonderful day of birding, filled with fellowship, a lot of smiles,some serious bird discussions and some humour. Thank you Bonnie for organizing this venue year after year. Thank you Wayne who always makes us feel welcome. Thank you to Bonnie's sisters, Heather and Lynne, who put together and organized our breaks and meals, doing it with smiles, friendliness and efficiency. Thank you, Alice, who not only brought the coffee, but helped Bonnie the day before, cleaning windows so that we could more clearly see the birds that visit Bonnie and Wayne’s home. Also thank you to both, Mary-Ann for looking after the bird list, and subbing in at the end, Linda Droin. And finally, but not last, thank you, Norma for arranging our gift to Bonnie.
Oh yeah, the birds we saw. We had a total of 92 bird species seen today, setting a new record for Bonnie’s all day orgy of feasting and birding. The previous record might have been 86. We saw 10 species of sparrows today, which was a considerable accomplishment in itself. And of course, the American Woodcock came out to play and end our day, as the darkness of night was took over.
Did I mention the great food that people brought. What great treats and variety of delicious food they presented to us. Some of us were good and ate moderately and most of us succumbed to the food put in front of us, over and over again, as the day progressed.
The weather was wonderful, in that the predicted rain did not happen. The winds were brisk making the spring temperatures feel a bit cooler than it really was.
Places visited:
1) Bonnie and Wayne’s House
2) Brucedale Cons. Area
3) Bruce-Pailsey Townline
4) J1 Line
5) Baie Dud Dore
6) Hunt Camp
7) Ducks Unlimited Pond
Birds Seen:
• Canada Goose (CANG)
• Mute Swan (MUSW)
• Tundra Swan (TUSW)
• Wood Duck (WODU)
• Gadwall (GADW)
• American Wigeon (AMWI)
• American Black Duck (ABDU)
• Mallard (MALL)
• Blue-winged Teal (BWTE)
• Northern Shoveler (NOSH)
• Green-winged Teal (GWTE)
• Canvasback (CANV)
• Redhead (REDH)
• Ring-necked Duck (RNDU)
• Bufflehead (BUFF)
• Common Goldeneye (COGO)
• Hooded Merganser (HOME)
• Common Merganser (COME)
• Red-breasted Merganser (RBME)
• Ruffed Grouse (RUGR)
• Wild Turkey (WITU)
• Pied-billed Grebe (PBGR)
• Double-crested Cormorant (DCCO)
• Great Blue Heron (GBHE)
• Great Egret (GREG)
• Turkey Vulture (TUVU)
• Bald Eagle (BAEA)
• Northern Harrier (NOHA)
• Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA)
• Rough-legged Hawk (RLHA)
• Sandhill Crane (SACR)
• Killdeer (KILL)
• Greater Yellowlegs (GRYE)
• Lesser Yellowlegs (LEYE)
• Upland Sandpiper (UPSA)
• Wison's Snipe (WISN)
• American Woodcock (AMWO)
• Ring-billed Gull (RBGU)
• Herring Gull (HEGU)
• Glaucous Gull (GLGU)
• Great Black-backed Gull (GBBG)
• Rock Pigeon (ROPI)
• Mourning Dove (MODO)
• Belted Kingfisher (BEKI)
• Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWO)
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (YBSA)
• Downy Woodpecker (DOWO)
• Hairy Woodpecker (HAWO)
• Northern Flicker (NOFL)
• Pileated Woodpecker (PIWO)
• American Kestrel (AMKE)
• Merlin (MERL)
• Eastern Phoebe (EAPH)
• Great Crested Flycatcher (GCFL)
• Blue Jay (BLJA)
• American Crow (AMCR)
• Common Raven (CORA)
• Horned Lark (HOLA)
• Tree Swallow (TRES)
• N Rough-winged Swallow (NRWS)
• Barn Swallow (BARS)
• Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH)
• White-breasted Nuthatch (WBNU)
• Brown Creeper (BRCR)
• Winter Wren (WIWR)
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet (RCKI)
• Eastern Bluebird (EABL)
• American Robin (AMRO)
• Brown Thrasher (BRTH)
• European Starling (EUST)
• Pine Warbler (PIWA)
• Yellow-rumped Warbler (YRWA)
• American Tree Sparrow (ATSP)
• Chipping Sparrow (CHSP)
• Field Sparrow (FISP)
• Vesper Sparrow (VESP)
• Savannah Sparrow (SAVS)
• Fox Sparrow (FOSP)
• Song Sparrow (SOSP)
• Swamp Sparrow (SWSP)
• White-throated Sparrow (WTSP)
• Dark-eyed Junco (DEJU)
• Northern Cardinal (NOCA)
• Red-winged Blackbird (RWBL)
• Eastern Meadowlark (EAME)
• Rusty Blackbird (RUBL)
• Common Grackle (COGR)
• Brown-headed Cowbird (BHCO)
• House Finch (HOFI)
• Purple Finch (PUFI)
• American Goldfinch (AMGO)
• House Sparrow (HOSP)
92 Species of birds seen. Any errors or omissions, please contact sender.