This is, Birdathon Part Two! The afternoon and evening birding.
After we got home from Oak Hammock Marsh at around 1:30 we ate lunch and took a bit of a break. We went biking for a bit, saw Swainson's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Western Kingbird, and a Merlin. Christian met us on the road. He was coming to look at the Long-eared Owlets.
We went back to the house to check them out.
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| Long-eared Owls |
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| Long-eared Owls |
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| Long-eared Owlet |
After a photographing session, and discovering the (we are quite sure) Cooper's Hawk nest, we headed back to the house. On the way we saw a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher! Another lifer! It's possible I could have seen one before, but not been able to identify it. Thanks to Christian for this one!
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| Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Lifer! Will took this photo |
We had some supper while we started to tally up some birds, and discuss what we would do next. Christian said he would come with us for more birding.
We decided on Assiniboine Park first, and Birds Hill Park later.
On the way we saw a Peregrine Falcon on the Investors Group Building (where they are nesting). Two of them in one day!
We went to a trail where the Great-horned Owl fledglings were hanging about. We found one pretty quickly, they are big! It was just a fantastic experience to see an owl so large so close.
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| Great-horned Owl fledgling |
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| Great-horned Owl fledgling *wink* |
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| Great-horned Owl - Close up |
The other birds we were looking for was the Indigo Buntings that are nesting there. Christian played it's song on a sound player and it sang back. We waited until we spotted it, and it came closer. It flew onto a branch right above us.
And I just realized that I spelled Indigo wrong on the photos! Haha! Whoops.
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| Indigo Bunting |
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| Indigo Bunting |
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| Indigo Bunting |
We found another Great-horned Owl fledgling, there are three in the area.
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| Great-horned Owl fledgling |
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| Great-horned Owl fledgling |
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| Great-horned Owl fledgling |
On the way home Christian called to stop the car. There was something in the field. Black-bellied Plovers. We crossed a muddy ditch to get a better look. There were seven or eight of them if I remember correctly, and an American Golden Plover as well! The Black-bellied was a lifer, but we saw Golden Plovers in Churchill.
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| Black-bellied Plover |
After we got home we went to Birds Hill Park and saw a few birds, not too many though.
So that's my first Birdathon! 95 species, 9 lifers. I think very successful! The lifers were: Gadwall, American Bittern, Peregrine Falcon, Sora, Dunlin, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Forster's Tern, Indigo Bunting and last but not least, Black-bellied Plover!!
The full species list is as follows:
- Canada Goose
- Wood Duck
- Gadwall
- Mallard
- Blue-winged Teal
- Northern Shoveler
- Green-winged Teal
- Canvasback
- Redhead
- Ring-necked Duck
- Lesser Scaup
- Common Goldeneye
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Double-crested
Cormorant
- American White
Pelican
- American Bittern
- Great Blue Heron
- Turkey Vulture
- Northern Harrier
- Cooper's Hawk
- Bald Eagle
- Swainson's Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Sora
- American Coot
- Black-bellied Plover
- American
Golden-Plover
- Killdeer
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Hudsonian Godwit
- Dunlin
- Baird's Sandpiper
- Wilson's Phalarope
- Franklin's Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Black Tern
- Forster's Tern
- Rock Pigeon
- Mourning Dove
- Great Horned Owl
- Long-eared Owl
- Ruby-throated
Hummingbird
- Downy Woodpecker
- Hairy Woodpecker
- American Kestrel
- Merlin
- Peregrine Falcon
- Yellow-bellied
Flycatcher
- Least Flycatcher
- Eastern Phoebe
- Great Crested
Flycatcher
- Western Kingbird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Blue-headed Vireo
- Red-eyed Vireo
- Blue Jay
- Black-billed Magpie
- American Crow
- Common Raven
- Purple Martin
- Tree Swallow
- Bank Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Cliff Swallow
- Black-capped Chickadee
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Eastern Bluebird
- Gray-cheeked Thrush
- Swainson's Thrush
- American Robin
- Gray Catbird
- European Starling
- Northern Waterthrush
- Tennessee Warbler
- American Redstart
- Yellow Warbler
- Chipping Sparrow
- Clay-colored Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Indigo Bunting
- Bobolink
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Western Meadowlark
- Yellow-headed Blackbird
- Brewer's Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Purple Finch
- Pine Siskin
- American Goldfinch
- House Sparrow
Thank you Christian for making it such a success!
There's still time to donate! The Great Canadian Birdathon is a fundraiser for bird conservation and research.
If you would like to donate you can go to my page here.
Thank you to everyone who has donated!
