Birders, December 1 marked the first day of winter listing, the period of time running until February 28. I will be compiling the winter bird list in Ontario again this year. Approximately 348 species of birds have been recorded in Ontario during the winter period, with 200 to 220 species typically recorded in a given winter. Last winter 200 species were recorded which represented the second lowest total out of the last eight winters. Despite the relatively low total there were many highlights, including the first Townsend’s Warbler for the all-time winter list, as well as Black-throated Gray Warbler, Northern Gannet, Nelson’s Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, American Bittern and early migrant Lesser Yellowlegs.
We are already off to a good start this winter with the Great Kiskadee miraculously appearing again, representing the first winter record for Ontario. Just post your sightings to Ontbirds (if sufficiently rare), ebird.org<http://ebird.org> or send me an email, and I will update the list accordingly and provide an update to Ontbirds every couple of weeks. That way you can check the list and inform me of any species that have been seen but are not present on the list. The list can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/myyulvs . I have also provided a link on my blog, located at http://joshvandermeulen.blogspot.ca/p/ontario-winter-bird-list.html . I try to update the spreadsheet every couple of days or whenever I hear of a new addition. Please let me know if you hear of a new addition or any other correction to the spreadsheet. Good (winter) birding, Josh Vandermeulen joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com<http://joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com> _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
