An excellent start to the winter season. In total I saw 52 species today, starting the morning at Cranberry Marsh and finishing at West Side Marsh in Bowmanville.
Highlights include:
@Cranberry
-1 N. mockingbird
-1 robin
-4m 2 f N. pintail
-1 N. shoveler
-3f wigeons
-1 N. goshawk
-1 kestrel
@ Whitby waterfront
-1 snowy owl
-1 N. shrike
-11m 2f goldeneye
-1 juvenile greater black-backed gull
-1 GBH
@Thickson
-1 GHO ( I could hear a second but never laid eyes on it)
-1 swamp sparrow
-4 pine siskins
-1 f N. Flicker
-1 coopers hawk
-1 gc kinglet
-1 N. mockingbird
@ Second Marsh
-4 f hooded mergansers
-2 dc cormorants
-1 rc kinglet (a really late spot for me) it was right by the lookout on the N. end of the Marsh
-2 GBH
Also on the waterfront trail, near the S. end of Courtice Rd. I spotted a large flock of brown-headed cowbirds. There must have been 150+ birds foraging on both sides of the road.
An excellent start to the winter season on a day that felt nothing like winter.
Cheers and happy birding!
Tim
