Species Accounts

The rarest of the rare. See below for a brief account on each of the rarest or most sought after bird species recorded in the Great Lakes region. Each account follows a basic style: 

• Species Name

  • link to their regional eBird map

  • Number of records or frequency of occurrence 

  • Seasonality

  • Assumed mechanism of vagrancy.

  • Notes on their movement pattern relative to the Great Lakes Geography and habitat usage. 

  • Additional notes:

    • See more below!

    • etc. 

• Fulvous Whistling-Duck

  • eBird map

  • Fewer modern records; however, a small irruption occurred in spring 2022. 

  • Most in spring (Apr-early June) and fall (Sep-Nov); however, summer observations also occur. 

  • Anomalous warm air surges or storm-flee response may be the primary mechanisms of local vagrancy. Initial effects like breeding success, drought or flooding may initiate movements. 

  • Nocturnal or Diurnal Migrant? Associated with wetlands including ponds, sewage lagoons, coastal wetlands etc. Sometimes observed in active flight. 

  • Notes:

    • May be irruptive and/or may occur in small flocks. 

    • Beware juvenile Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in fall, which has started breeding in the region. 

    • Has been recorded locally as an escape from captivity; however, most records are considered natural occurrences. 

• Tundra Bean-Goose

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Pink-footed Goose

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Barnacle Goose

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Garganey

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Mottled Duck

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Mexican Duck

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Tufted Duck

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Common Eider

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Smew

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Masked Duck

  • eBird map

  • Records

  • Mechanism

  • Behaviour & Habitat

  • Notes:

    • Text

• Willow Ptarmigan

  • eBird map

  • 
    

• Rock Ptarmigan

  • eBird map

  • 
    

• American Flamingo

  • Text

• Clark's Grebe

  • Text

• Band-tailed Pigeon

  • Text

• Inca Dove

  • Text

• Common Ground Dove

  • Text

• Smooth-billed Ani

  • Text

• Groove-billed Ani

  • Text

• Lesser Nighthawk

  • Text

• Black Swift

  • Text

• White-throated Swift

  • Text

• White-collared Swift: 

  • New to Ontario and Canada (2002) 

• Mexican Violetear

  • Text

• Green-breasted Mango

  • Text

• Black-chinned Hummingbird

  • Text

• Costa's Hummingbird

  • Text

• Allen's Hummingbird

  • Check order

• Broad-tailed Hummingbird

  • Text

• Anna's Hummingbird

  • Text

• Calliope Hummingbird

  • Text

• Broad-billed Hummingbird

  • Text

• White-eared Hummingbird

  • Text

• Buff-bellied Hummingbird

  • Text

• Berylline Hummingbird

  • Text

• Purple Gallinule

  • Text

• Black Rail

  • Text

• Limpkin

  • Text

• Whooping Crane

  • Text

• Common Crane

  • Text

• Southern Lapwing

  • Text

• Northern Lapwing

  • Text

• American Oystercatcher

  • Text

• Eurasian Dotterel

  • Text

• Common Ringed Plover

  • Text

• Siberian Sand-Plover

  • Text

• Wilson's Plover

  • Text

• Mountain Plover

  • Text

• Snowy Plover

  • Text

• Long-billed Curlew

  • Text

• Black-tailed Godwit

  • Text

• Bar-tailed Godwit

  • Text

• Surfbird

  • Text

• Marsh Sandpiper

  • Text

• Common Redshank

  • Text

• Spotted Redshank

  • Text

• Black Turnstone

  • Check order

• Greenland Dunlin 

  • First "Greenland" Dunlin for Ontario and Canada (1994)

• Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

  • Text

• Curlew Sandpiper

  • Text?

• Little Stint

  • Text

• Red-necked Stint

  • Text

• Atlantic Puffin

  • Text

• Long-billed Murrelet

  • First Record of the Asiatic Marbled Murrelet in Ontario - Oct 11, 1993

  • Tompkins County, New York - Dec 17, 2001

• Black Guillemot

  • Cayuga County, New York - Oct 30, 2004

• Thick-billed Murre

  • Text

• Razorbill

  • Text

• Dovekie

  • Text

• Ancient Murrelet

  • Text

• Ross's Gull

  • Text

• Ivory Gull

  • Text

• Black-tailed Gull

  • Text

• Heermann's Gull

  • Text

• Common Gull

  • Text

• Mew Gull

  • Text

• European Herring Gull

  • European Herring Gull in Ontario. Notes on an accepted specimen record from 1974; however, it is my opinion that the identification is incorrect. Further notes to follow. 

• Vega Herring Gull

  • "Vega" Herring Gull in Algoma District: A new taxon for Ontario (2010)

• Kelp Gull

  • Text

• Glaucous-winged Gull

  • Text

• Black Skimmer

  • Text

• Large-billed Tern

  • Text

• Least Tern

  • Text

• Gull-billed Tern

  • Text

• White-winged Tern

  • Text

• Sandwich Tern 

  • Text

• Elegant Tern

  • Text

• Royal Tern

  • Text

• Arctic Loon

  • Text

• Yellow-billed Loon

  • Text

• Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross

  • First Record for Ontario (2010)

  • 
    

• Band-rumped Storm-Petrel

  • Text

• Wilson's Storm-Petrel

  • Text

• Leach's Storm-Petrel

  • Text

• Black-capped Petrel

  • Text

• Trindade Petrel

  • Text

• Mottled Petrel

  • Text

• Cory's Shearwater

  • Text

• Great Shearwater

  • First Occurrence of the Greater Shearwater in Ontario (1997)

• Manx Shearwater

  • Text

• Audubon's Shearwater

  • Text

• Short-tailed Shearwater

  • Text

• Northern Fulmar

  • Text

• Wood Stork

  • Text

• Magnificent Frigatebird

  • Text

• Lesser Frigatebird

  • Text

• Northern Gannet

  • Text

• Brown Booby

  • Text

• Anhinga 

  • Potential Historical Records of Anhinga in Ontario

• Great Cormorant

  • Text

• Brown Pelican

  • Text

• Reddish Egret

  • Text

• Little Egret

  • Text

• White Ibis

  • Text

• Roseate Spoonbill

  • Text

• White-tailed Kite

  • Text

• Snail Kite

  • Text

• White-tailed Eagle

  • Text

• Harris's Hawk

  • Text

• Short-tailed Hawk

  • Text - add SNKI 

• Ferruginous Hawk

  • Text

• Burrowing Owl

  • Text

• Williamson's Sapsucker

  • Text

• Red-naped Sapsucker

  • Ohio TBD 

• Lewis's Woodpecker

  • Text

• Acorn Woodpecker

  • Text

• Red-cockaded Woodpecker

  • Text

• Black Merlin

  • Text

  • https://ebird.org/checklist/S11761066 

• Prairie Falcon

  • Text

• Crested Caracara

  • Text

• Small-billed Elaenia

  • Text

• Western Wood-Pewee

  • Text

• Gray Flycatcher

  • Text

• Dusky Flycatcher

  • Text

• Hammond's Flycatcher

  • Text

• Western Flycatcher

  • Text

• Vermilion Flycatcher 

  • Text

• Great Kiskadee

  • Text

• Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

  • Text

• Variegated Flycatcher

  • Text

• Tropical Kingbird

  • Text

• Couch's Kingbird

  • Text

• Cassin's Kingbird

  • Text

• Thick-billed Kingbird

  • Text

• Gray Kingbird

  • Text

• Fork-tailed Flycatcher

  • Text

• Black-capped Vireo

  • Black-capped Vireo: New to Canada (1991)

  • 
    

• Gray Vireo

  • Text

• Plumbeous Vireo

  • Text

• Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  • Text

• Clark's Nutcracker

  • Text

• Carolina Chickadee

  • The Ontario Specimen of Carolina Chickadee (published 1988). A worthwhile read about the age and subspecies of the first Canadian record - but also how preliminary analysis can be further updated or corrected. 

  • Identification Criteria for Carolina Chickadee as a vagrant in the Great Lakes. 

• Violet-green Swallow

  • Observations and interspecific pairing of a Violet-green Swallow and Tree Swallow in northwestern Ontario (2017)

• Yellow-browed Warbler 

  • Text

• Brown-headed Nuthatch

  • Text

• Pygmy Nuthatch

  • Text

• Rock Wren 

  • 
    

• Curve-billed Thrasher

  • Text

• Fieldfare

  • Text

• Siberian Rubythroat

  • Text

• Phainopepla

  • Text

• Sprague's Pipit

  • Text

• White Wagtail

  • Text

• Brambling

  • Text

• Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

  • Text

• Cassin's Finch

  • Text

• Lesser Goldfinch

  • Text

• Chestnut-collared Longspur

  • Text

• Shortgrass Longspur

  • Text

• Cassin's Sparrow

  • Text

• Bachman's Sparrow

  • Check placement

• Brewer's Sparrow

  • Text

• Black-throated Sparrow

  • Text

• Golden-crowned Sparrow

  • Text

• Sagebrush Sparrow

  • Text

• Baird's Sparrow

  • Text

• Rufous-crowned Sparrow

  • Text

• Green-tailed Towhee

  • Text

• Hooded Oriole

  • Text

• Streak-backed Oriole

  • Text

• Bullock's Oriole

  • Text

• Scott's Oriole

  • Text

• Shiny Cowbird

  • Text

• Bronzed Cowbird

  • Text

• Great-tailed Grackle

  • Text

• Swainson's Warbler

  • Text

• Lucy's Warbler

  • Text

• Virginia's Warbler

  • Text

• MacGillivray's Warbler

  • Text

• Grace's Warbler

  • Text

• Black-throated Gray Warbler

  • Text

• Townsend's Warbler

  • Text

• Hermit Warbler

  • Text

• Painted Redstart

  • Text

• Hepatic Tanager

  • Text

• Flame-coloured Tanager

  • Text

• Pyrrhuloxia

  • Text

• Black-headed Grosbeak

  • Text

• Lazuli Bunting

  • Text

• Varied Bunting

  • Text

• Painted Bunting

  • Text