This past weekend, 10 teams took part in the Carden Challenge, with OFO Past President Jean Iron as the celebrity birder. Her team of Eleanor Beagan, Ron Reid, and Andew Keaveney captured the Carden Cup with a total of 132 species seen in the 24-hour period. all within the Carden Plain CBC circle. While this did not break the record of 135 species set last year, the Challenge as a whole identified 153 species, including 8 species new to the Challenge. The most surprising find, a singing *Kirtland's Warbler* at the corner of Wylie Road and Alvar Road, was posted previouly by Martin Parker, but has not been seen again. Other unusual species for this area seen for the first time during the Challenge included *Pine Siskin* (with at least two family groups fledged recently at Uphill), *Black-bellied Plover*, a flock of *Dunlin*, and *Red-bellied Woodpeckers *both at a feeder in southern Carden and on a snag on Alvar Road.
The 2012 Challenge raised $23,000 for the conservation programs of the Couchiching Conservancy. Thanks to all who participated and to those who supported their friends with pledges. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
