Swamp Sparrow, Tree Swallow

The Swamp Sparrow can be hard to find, but if there is one around, it will respond very quickly to phishing. I recently found two on a trial that runs along the Meduxnekeag River.

Tree Swallows are everywhere right now. In one spot close to Hartland, there must have been almost one hundred (too many to count!) flying around a lake. I won a photography contest a few weeks ago and the prize is two bluebird/swallow houses. I have yet to have birds nest on my property so once I can put them up, maybe that will happen!

Chimney Swift, Greater Yellowlegs

There have been ten Chimney Swifts around Woodstock over the past couple of weeks. What a challenging bird to photograph! One of these evenings, I want to go downtown and see if I can find what chimney they are using. A couple will even fly up above my house with a few Tree Swallows, but most stay in the downtown area.

There aren't a lot of shorebirds around Woodstock. Greater Yellowlegs (pictured) can be found, and Killdeer and sometimes Lesser Yellowlegs. Soon I should be able to find some Least Sandpipers and maybe even a Semipalmated Sandpiper or two.

Wilson's Warbler

I took these photos and completely forgot about them. The day I took them, I was in a hurry and wanted to see if a Wilson's Warbler was still around that I had found the day before. Its only my second time seeing one and the first time I could get a few photos. It wasn't very cooperative, but man, I almost got a great shot!

Pine Siskin/American Goldfinch hybrid

I had this bird in my yard back in April. It came for a few days and really stood out from the many American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins that were around. Nothing came up when I did a few searches online, but based on the features I think it is a hybrid of the two species. Someday maybe someone will come across this post that has had one before or eventually sees one!

Bobolink, Pied-billed Grebe

Bobolinks are a threatened species. Prince Edward Island actively meets with farmers to encourage them to change their farming practices. Many have and now wait a few weeks before cutting their fields so that Bobolinks can properly nest. New Brunswick should follow suit, but they are all over the place with what is protected and what isn't.

Pied-billed Grebes aren't easy to find around Carleton County. There is one spot where I've now found them back to back years. I actually got to hear it call for the first time when I found one this week. Last year I found a juvenile so now I'm thinking they nest around this lake outside of Hartland.

Indigo Bunting

I had an Indigo Bunting in my yard for the first time today! I had been hoping to see one around so it was a bonus that I just had to look out my window. The trees are starting to fill in so getting a decent photo is pretty tricky now.

I've slowed down over these past two weeks, but I am going birding with a group on Saturday and should be able to check a few more species off. I'm up to 138 for the year and 124 for the county. I was challenged to find 155 just around here so I have lots of time left to get there!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Anytime I am home, every one in a while I take a quick look outside to see if anything is around. I looked out yesterday and saw a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It is the first time I've ever had one in my yard before and it was nice to get a decent photo. I kept looking into the evening and eventually the male showed up too and they took turns feeding.

May has been a great month for birding. So far I'm up to 95 species although I checked and last year I got up to 107. This is doable however as I've yet to see a few species that I'll eventually see for much of the summer (ex. Eastern Kingbird, Common Nighthawk, Least Sandpiper). I'm up to 134 for the year so I'm already just 31 away from beating last year's total!