Hello Ontario Birders, Hope everyone is enjoying the winter listing season. I wanted to give an update on the Ontario Winter List for 2022-2023. The current list total sits at 219. To give some perspective, the final 2022-2023 list was 218, 2021-2022 list was a high 229, 2020-2021 list was also 218, and the 2019- 2020 list was 202. The average number of species for a winter over the last 16 years is 207. This season's list is above the average winter. Additions since my last update on Dec. 31, 2023, included Eurasian Tree Sparrow found around Bourget, Yellow Warbler found in Frenchman's Bay by Scott Farquharson, Lark Sparrow found by Sharon David near Kingston, Black-headed Grosbeak found by Barb Gritke in Kingsville, and Common Gull found by Paul Jones at Picton Harbour, Prince Edward County.
We are missing some uncommon winter birds seen in previous years. Uncommon birds missing from the list include Virginia Rail (seen 14 out of the last 16 seasons), Northern Parula ( 7/16), Blue-winged Teal (11/16), and Blue-headed Vireo (9/16). The winter list can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/myyulvs . Check out the OFO website for winter bird trips/events http://www.ofo.ca/site/tripsupcoming. Winter trips/events include: - Owl Banding at Hilliardton Marsh (online) - Feb. 7 2024; - Haldmand and Norfolk Counties - Feb 24, 2024; and - Amherst Island - Feb. 25 2024. The OFO also has a discord group with a Winter bird channel. A link to the OFO discord group is here: https://discord.gg/npbCzXVhZ2. Winter Listers can also keep track of what's being seen in the Ontario Birds Discord Server which can be found here:https://discord.gg/EhvgAc2fwb. 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. Thank you to everyone who has notified me of omissions. 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.
