April Ebird Challenge

You have probably heard me mention Ebird several times in my posts, but in case you haven't, it is an online program that allows you to log bird observations anywhere in the world, providing important data for researchers monitoring bird populations.  Every now and then Ebird will suggest a challenge, this month's challenge was to carry out a 1 hr, stationary point count, and record all the birds observed including high flying migrants.

I was home in Kingston for Easter and decided to go to Lemoine Point Conservation Area adjacent to Lake Ontario to do mine.  It actually turned out to be a lot of fun! I chose a spot that was adjacent to a wetland, the lake, open fields, and forested habitat to better my chances of getting species.

In the 1 hr I was there, Caitlyn and I were able to tally 35 species.  Some of the highlights included a wilson's snipe, common loons, bonaparte's gulls and the first barn swallows of the year for me.  The complete list can be viewed here:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17976903

The 1hr point count location at Lemoine Point