End Of Year 2019 Bird Report

Here is an overview of my cool sightings of my yard Birds for 2019.

January 24. My sister Gloria spotted a Boreal Chickadee a few feet from her but I was quite a distance away and I only saw it flying away in the distance and we didn't see it again. Hopefully another one pop up here again sometime for some photos.

January 25. I found a small flock of Black-capped Chickadees chirping at an 

Eastern-screech Owl that was roosting in a conifer tree in my backyard! This was the first one I had ever seen so it was an awesome experience watching the Owl do nothing but sleep as it stayed all day in the tree!

February 6. I was eating Supper when my dad pointed out a large Owl that was flying by and then landed on a tree across from our property. Great-horned Owl!

It was already to dark for good photos but it was still really cool seeing my first one for Bruce County.

Spring migration started in March and lots of birds were starting to arrive and pass through the Peninsula.

So on March 14, I spotted an Eagle in the distance and as it got closer I noticed, unlike the Bald Eagle, its wings were held in a dyhedral. After observing it more closely I confirmed it as the rarer Golden Eagle! My first of the year! 

 March 31. Among a group of common Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco I found a Cismontanus Dark-eyed Junco!! Only 1 other of this rare Junco subspecies has been seen in Bruce County. I was able to see this Junco a few more times throughout April and get photos.

On April 2 and April 24, A rare Black Vulture made an appearance! At first I was confused when I first saw it on April 2, but then I realized that this was a Black Vulture! The first time I had seen one was last fall in October and I did not expect to see it (or another) again in Bruce County. Only eight other times have Black Vultures been recorded in Bruce County.

April 24. I was Observing the Black Vulture when a Northern Mockingbird popped up out of a bushy area and landed a few feet front of me! I, along with other birders, were able to observe and photograph this bird over its stay of 7 days. Then on May 13 I found this bird once more before it finally left. Here are a couple photos.

May 6. An immature male Orchard Oriole stopped by for a couple minutes! Orchard Orioles are an uncommon bird for Bruce County with most seen down by Kincardine area.
Got a decent photo.

 June 24. I saw a bird fly over the highway and as I went over to investigate it flew out of a field and landed on a fence wire for a great observation. It was a Western Kingbird!!!!! My rarest bird of the year! I went to snap some photos but I found out my card was full. So I quickly deleted a few photos and got some shots. This is only the second record of this species for the county with the other sighting back in 1992. Here's a photo.

September 7. My neighbor called me and informed me that there was an odd looking blackbird with a flock of Common Grackles at her feeder. After she called I went over to take a look and found a female Yellow-headed Blackbird!! This was only the ninth record of this species for Bruce County and the first female ever seen up here. Here is a Photo.

August 15. I saw a Cuckoo fly into a tree. I walked over expecting to see a Black-billed Cuckoo but when I saw that it had a yellow bill I realized it was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo! Yellow-billed Cuckoos have become more scarce in Bruce County with only 9 other records this year and only 3 for the Peninsula.

August 16. A female Orchard Oriole without a tail landed in a tree for a minute before flying south. My second of the year!

October 8. I heard a rare Red Crossbill calling! Red Crossbills are usually only seen every 4-5 years down in southern Ontario and it was a surprise being able to find one a few years earlier then usual.

November 12-15. A rare gambel's White-crowned Sparrow stopped by for a few days! One way to tell them apart from the common leucophrys supspecies is that there is no black line between the eye and bill. Here is a photo.

On November 11 and from the 17-20, I, and a few other birders, were able to see a Short-eared Owl that I found! It was a very cool experience watching it hunt. Most records of this species are down by Kincardine and Sagueen area while only 6 that I know of (counting the one I saw last year) have been recorded on the Peninsula.

I finished the year with 186 Species for Bruce County and 171 Species around my yard (Which is the record for the most bird species seen in/around any yard in Canada for 2019!). My goal for 2020 is to get past 200 bird species for Bruce County.