Bird-A-Day 2016

It has been a few years since I attempted the Bird-A-Day challenge. The object is to see how many days in a row you can see or hear a different species. In a previous attempt, I was able to reach the end of February. Just reaching the end of February this year will be a personal best. It's a leap year.

January 1

Travelling along the Niagara River from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Dufferin Islands above the Falls produced 28 species on New Year's Day. Of these, a Brown Creeper spotted at our last stop seemed a worthy bird to start off the challenge.

January 2

On the Saturday of our three day weekend, Jean and I participated in the Port Colborne CBC. Our friend and fellow PFN Board member Lynn joined us for a day of counting in the Township of Wainfleet. The species for this day was not observed during our 80 kilometres of driving along rural roads. We had a hot tip and after the count, we went to the south-west of Welland to search for two Sandhill Cranes extending their stay in the Niagara Region. Though they were some distance from the road, we had some good views of the #2 species through our scope. The Snowy Owl observed in St. Catharines later in the afternoon was pocketed for a future date.

January 2:  Sandhill Crane
January 1:  Brown Creeper