Things are finally starting to pick up in the yard again as summer nears it's end. Really looking forward to the birdy weeks ahead!
- Aug 13
On the 13th I actually got up a sunrise to try an impromptu skywatch. The first half hour was very quiet, but things started picking up after 7am when a flock of Bobolinks went over. Shortly after that I heard a Solitary Sandpiper, which was a yard lifer for me! I looked up just in time to see three some them go over.. that alone made the morning worth while, it's not too often that I score a yardbird.
There was then another lull in activity, but that ended when a flock of 4 White-winged Crossbills flew over. There have been a decent number of WWCR sightings in Bruce this summer and I've had them here 5 times since June, but it's always a highlight seeing these nomadic finches. Unfortunately they were too far for photos..but I still tried.
Some other highlights of thr morning listed below
- 2 Eastern Bluebirds
- 1 Blackburnian Warbler
- 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
- 1 Tennessee Warbler
- 1 Baltimore Oriole
- Aug 14
I spent the first few hours of the day at Sauble Beach (wasn't great, list here), but I did a skywatch for an hour around 11:00. It turned out to be surprising decent for raptors, probably the most I've had on an August day. Total below
- 3 Turkey Vultures
- 1 Northern Harrier
- 1 Cooper's Hawk
- 1 Bald Eagle
- 1 Broad-winged Hawk
- 4 Red-tailed Hawk
- 1 American Kestral
- 1 Merlin
8 raptor sp (throwing TV in there), not too shabby!
Great Horned Owl calling at dusk too..
- Aug 15
Got up at sunrise and spent an hour birding the yard..and it was.... badddd. A few Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and a Blackburnian Warbler were the only real highlights.
The best bird of the day came in the afternoon though, when I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling. The cuckoo was a yard lifer for me, so that made the sighting even better. On a roll ~ 2 yard lifers in a week!
 |
| - Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
When I first saw the cuckoo I didn't have my camera.. and me running to the house and back resembled this.. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UkalaEyjyEE
That's all I got for now!
New additions to yard yearlist since last yardbirding post;
- Pine Siskin
- Rock Pigeon (!😱)
- Solitary Sandpiper
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yard yearlist at August 15 - 158
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