Saturday 31 May 2014

Brown Creeper, Yellow Warbler

I've only ever found a Brown Creeper twice; the first time on Grand Manan and the second on Prince Edward Island. Today, I got to see one along one of the Meduxnekeag trails. 
There were four Yellow Warblers in my yard for much of the afternoon and evening today. I finally got a decent picture since they were around so much. 



Barred Owl

This morning, I went for a birding walk through the Meduxnekeag trails (http://www.meduxnekeag.org/trailguide.htm) with five other people. It's really the first time I've gone around with a group looking for different species. Over 40 species were seen or heard after a three hour walk. The highlight was this Barred Owl!




Wednesday 28 May 2014

Veery, Spotted Sandpiper

This is the time of year when you get to hear the very distinct call of a Veery. It reminds of an accordion and I've been hearing it a lot lately.
The most common sandpiper in Carleton County in my experience, is the Spotted Sandpiper. Not a lot of shorebirds do come and stay in the area, but this one is the easiest to find.



Monday 26 May 2014

Broad-winged Hawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

I finally got a better picture of a Broad-winged Hawk yesterday. This is the type of hawk I have seen the most in Carleton county over the past few weeks.

Also yesterday, this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker gave me a wave from the telephone pole in my backyard.






Saturday 24 May 2014

Bald Eagle

I don't get close to Bald Eagles very often. On my way home yesterday, there was one already close to the road though. I pulled over, rolled my window down, and got two pictures before it flew away.



Thursday 22 May 2014

Common Loon

On the way home today, I noticed two Common Loon's by Bull Lake. I pulled over so that my old two boys could see them. They are fascinated by all types of birds and take note of any that are around.
This morning a Barred Owl nearly flew right into the car as we were driving through Clarkville. It was nice for me to see it up close, but it didn't stick around for a picture.




Tuesday 20 May 2014

Cliff Swallow, Gray Catbird

I went birding around Temperance Vale for over an hour just now and found 27 different species (3 were new for the year). There were a lot of swallows around (Tree, Barn and Cliff) and I happened to notice what appears to be a nest.
Just across the road there was a Gray Catbird which I always enjoy finding (and hearing). This was only the second one I've seen so far this year.



Monday 19 May 2014

Baltimore Oriole

Two Baltimore Orioles just came to my suet feeders. Its the first time I've ever had them in my backyard. Hopefully they will come back so I can get some more pictures!


Sunday 18 May 2014

Semipalmated Sandpiper & Eastern Kingbird

It rained most of today, but I went to check out a spot this afternoon where a few different species would go to last fall. There was a nice variety for such a small spot. There were two Eastern Kingbirds (firsts of the year) and five different types of shorebirds. There was one of each of the following; Killdeer, Solitary, Spotted, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Its the first time I've found a Semipalmated Sandpiper in the Woodstock area.


Saturday 17 May 2014

Solitary Sandpiper

I saw my first Solitary Sandpiper of the year yesterday. One of my favorite birding spots in the Woodstock area is the Grafton Shore road. Right now, Spotted Sandpipers are also around however Solitary Sandpipers are a bit larger and their eyering stands out more.
Last year in May, I found 70 different species. I've already found 91 this month (121 for the year) and there is still two weeks left to find even more.


Wednesday 14 May 2014

Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper

There were eight Greater Yellowlegs that caught my eye a few days ago. Lately I've been stopping any time I see a large pool of water (farm land or open field). I almost didn't even notice two Least Sandpipers in the same spot. You can't find a lot of shorebirds in Carleton or York county so anytime I can find some, I spend a few extra minutes observing them.




White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler

There are Yellow-rumped Warblers EVERYWHERE right now. Every time I've gone birding in the past two weeks, I've seen at least one. There are certainly more males around, but I did see a couple of females over the weekend.

White-crowned Sparrows are passing through the province right now. I haven't had any in my yard yet (usually do), but I did see 6 in Temperance Vale a few days ago. The "bicycle helmet" crown separates it from a White-throated Sparrow.


Monday 12 May 2014

Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler

I found 8 different kinds of warblers today. Here are two I had only ever seen once before.




Sunday 11 May 2014

Eastern Bluebird & Bobolinks

For Mother's Day, my family met at my grandmother's house. While playing outside with my boys, I noticed my first Eastern Bluebird of the year. Just a few minutes later I spotted a dozen Bobolinks in the field beside her house.


Saturday 10 May 2014

Northern Parula

For the first time, I had a Northern Parula visit my backyard. There continue to be lots of different warbler species arrive so I'm hoping to find a few new one's this year.




Thursday 8 May 2014

Black and White Warbler

A few different types of warblers have been showing up in NB in the past few days. I went to one of my favorite birding spots tonight and managed to find one. I got to watch this Black and White Warbler for quite a while, but it just wouldn't stay still! I've only ever seen one once before so it was nice to find one again.



Saturday 3 May 2014

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

This is such a hard bird to get a picture of! It came to my yard today for the first time this Spring. Since it stayed so long, I took many pictures and eventually got a half decent one. Once again though, its from behind a window. I had better luck this way since it didn't know I was watching. You can't see its "ruby-crown" in this picture, but it did show up a few times as it was windy.


Friday 2 May 2014

Eurasian Wigeon, Tree Swallow

I got to see two different types of wigeons today; Eurasian and American. Its not often that an Eurasian Wigeon is New Brunswick, so it was nice to be able to add this species to my life list today.






Gadwell, American Coot

I got to add American Coot to my life list today. There were two in Salisbury. It was very early when I got there (7AM) and still quite foggy, but I still managed to get a picture. 
There were a couple of Gadwell in Woodstock today. It was the first time I've found this species in Carleton County. 



Pied-billed Grebe, Northern Shoveler

I got a picture of a Pied-billed Grebe for the first time today. They don't stay still very long and they are hard to get close to. It was also nice to get close to Northern Shovelers and be able to get a picture of this pair.