March 28th, 2012

At Christmas time, Al Woodhouse at the Camp Heidelberg Outdoor Centre challenged me to see which one of us could see more species of birds on his centre’s property in 2012.  We started keeping track on January 1 and the year’s total now stands at:

Al (Camp Heidelberg) – 47

Sean (Laurel Creek) – 46

My most recent species was an eastern phoebe, but with our wacky spring weather I have already seen tundra swans, turkey vultures, kildeer, and a great egret.

Al’s last species was a screech owl.  I am happy to be this close to Al’s total so far.  I am a little worried about what will happen when warblers come through on their migration north.  There are probably 30 or 35 species that might show up in Ontario this spring.  Many of the warblers are similar in size and colouring, and can be a challenge to identify.  Al has the warblers figured out along with their songs.  I could do alright with warbler identification if the birds were sitting in front me, but looking through binoculars at little yellowish birds flitting through the tree tops is a tougher test.  I need to start studying their songs now.  I might ask Levi Moore from the Wrigley Corners Outdoor Centre to help me out some Saturday morning this May.

Al thinks we are on course to see 100 species birds each in 2012.  Al has a better birding ear than I do, but I have a lake at Laurel Creek that will attract more waterfowl than Camp Heidelberg.  We’ll see.  We never decided what we were wagering.  What prize would be appropriate for a birding contest?