This post has been approved by Ontbird Moderators. Hi,
Days away from 2022 the Ontario winter bird list stands at 216, following the addition of 32 new species since my last update on December 9, 2020. Last year at this time the list was 202. In 2019- 2020 the list was 187. In the winter of 2018-2019 at this time the list stood at 197 species, while in 2016 the list was 207 species (finishing with 216). It is looking possible that the all-time record of 220 (from 2015-2016) could be surpassed. The new additions since my last update include "Eurasian" Green-winged Teal (1/14, seen one in the last 14 winters, found in Toronto at G. Ross Lord Park), Least Sandpiper (2/14, found by Blake Mann, at Keith McLean CA, Chatham-Kent), Arctic Loon (0/14, seen at St. Joseph's Island on December 26 and 28 by Kirk Zufelt), Burrowing Owl (0/14, found in Toronto at Tommy Thompson Park), Prairie Falcon (0/14, found by Dave Worthington in Durham county). The list is already at a high so there are no common species to add. There are a handful of uncommon species that are sometimes reported that are still missing from this winter’s list. These include Yellow Warbler (9/13), Wilson's Warbler (9/13), and Osprey (10/13). The Ontario Field Ornithologists are running a Winter Birding Challenge. This challenge involves eBirding <https://ebird.org/> a local area during the winter. More information about how to get involved and prizes can be found here: http://www.ofo.ca/content/winter-birding Winter listers can also keep track of what's being seen in the Ontario Birds Discord Server, found here: https://discord.gg/MTh7Bc97bB. Please report birds that are rare to Ontario in the Ontario wide channel and birds rare to Ontario in the winter to the winter listers channel. The list can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/myyulvs. I try to update the spreadsheet every couple of days or whenever I hear of a new addition. Please let me know if you hear of a new addition or any other correction to the spreadsheet. The start of the new year and the free time of the holidays should hopefully produce some interesting birds in the near future. Generally we see a rise in birder activity when people get out to start their year lists. I apologize to Barb Charlton for spelling her name wrong in the last update. Good birding, Todd Hagedorn -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
