Morning Birds

That's all I really had time for.  Last year at this time I took the morning off to head out to Whitby for a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and after I found it, showed it to a woman named Margaret.  Well, on my stop at Nonquon Lagoons this morning looking for Red-necked Phalaropes and a Pectoral Sandpiper, I ran into her again and she showed me where  the Phalaropes were feeding.  That was nice.

We spent the rest if the time looking for the Pectoral Sandpiper, but only found Lesser Yellow-legs.  However, while I was trying to get a closer look at some shorebirds, I flushed a Wilson's Snipe, and we both got to watch it for a minute or so until it vanished into the reeds.  Both birds were year firsts for me and the Snipe was new for my Ontario Life List.  We also got to see at least a half dozen juvenile Black Terns.

Prior to Nonquon I stopped briefly at Reesor's Pond, where last July I saw a Stilt Sandpiper.  I met Bill and Mai, who were looking for the Baird's Sandpiper that had been reported a couple of days earlier.  It took about 10 minutes, but Mai was the first to find the bird.  There had also been a Semipalmated Sandpiper reported, and across the pond, it is hard to tell without a good, long look.  But after about 10 minutes of watching the bird and studying its beak, we all agreed it was a Baird's.  

So, three new year birds for my year in one morning, giving me a modest 265 for the year.  After a 12 month marathon to see 601 last year, 300 would be a fine number to finish with in this year of more relaxed birding.