Firsts for 2010

[angieinto]

When I think back over 2010, I had a great year for "firsts".

GHO
Snowy Owl
Winter Wren
Great Egret
Belted Kingfisher
Virginia Rail
Scarlet Tanager
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Black-throated  Blue Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Gray Jay
Black-backed Woodpecker

Anyone have any firsts last year, or special birding moments?

[thouc]

My firsts for Ontario (3 of them I have seen elsewhere before) 2010 were:
Snow Goose (seen twice)
White-faced Ibis (seen twice, likely same bird)
Cattle Egret (seen twice)
Canada Warbler (seen twice)
Alder Flycatcher
Red-necked Phalarope
White-rumped Sandpiper (seen twice)
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Philadelphia Vireo
Fox Sparrow (seen twice)
Rusty Blackbird (seen twice)
Golden Eagle
Ross's Goose

It's remarkable that I saw so many of them a second time

I'm still missing Great Horned Owl, Virginia Rail and Gray Jay from your list.

[angieinto]

Wow, the only bird I've seen on your list is the Alder Flycatcher!  :lol:

[Reuven_M]

Alright...
s.f. = self found
Whimbrel s.f.
Western Grebe s.f.  
Black Vulture  
Olive-sided Flycatcher s.f.
Upland Sandpiper
Sedge Wren
Loggerhead Shrike  
Common Moorhen s.f.
Northern Goshawk s.f.
Black-backed Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
Acadian Flycatcher
Whip-poor-will s.f.
Stilt Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Boreal Chickadee s.f.  
Saw-whet Owl s.f.
American Pipit
Thayer's Gull
Barred Owl

I think snowy owl was this year (may have been late last year), and I've probably missed Something

[angieinto]

You saw a Whip-poor-will!!?? Do you mind if I ask where?

I saw a Black-backed Woodpecker last year too for the first time, I forgot til I read your list. ( I really should write a list)

Still waiting to see a Tufted Titmouse.

[Reuven_M]

Whip-poor-will was a very surprising flyby at the Old Cut field station in early August. It was just a silhouette (although it was very close), so it took quite a while to figure out what it was.

The titmice (the first, although I saw one in Niagara later) were in the same spot as this ontbirds post:
http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Ma ... rds/701165
There was a family with at least 3 young, and they could still be around.

[thouc]

On my list all were self-found except the first Snow Goose, the Cattle Egrets and the Red-necked Phalarope. The White-faced Ibis was not self-identified as I thought it was a Glossy Ibis, but other birders later identified it as White-faced and I could confirm it myself the second time I saw it (closer up and better lighting).

As for Tufted Titmouse, they are pretty easy to find here in the Southwest, specially during winter. The feeders at Pinery Provincial Park, Rondeau Provincial Park and Ojibway Park in Windsor often have them. It's already on my 2011 list  

From Reuven's list I'm still looking for Black Vulture, Sedge Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Goshawk, Acadian Flycatcher, Boreal Chickadee, Saw-whet Owl and Thayer's Gull.

[Rob'in'To]

Great Horned Owl
Snowy Owl
Winter Wren
Scarlet Tanager
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler (is a maybe for me, from my Arboretum RFI back in September...  some may recall the debate with that photo)
Black and White Warbler
Common Yellow-throat Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Ovenbird
Orchard Oriole
Blue-headed Vireo
Fox Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Gray Jay
Merlin
Black-backed Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Belted Kingfisher
Virginia Rail
Alder Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Solitary Sandpiper
Red-necked Grebe
Northern Shoveler
Long-tailed Duck
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Common Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser

I think that's it.  It was a great year now that I think about it.

[Reuven_M]

Black-throated Blue Warbler (is a maybe for me, from my Arboretum RFI back in September...  some may recall the debate with that photo)

You must have missed it, but your last post in that thread showed that it was clearly an orange-crowned warbler:
http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/v ... highlight=

[Rob'in'To]

Oh yeah, I forgot where that ended.  Thanks!

[Leslie Kinrys]

Here are my firsts from 2010. They are a mix of Ontario and farther away.

Ontario: Varied Thrush

Florida: Red Knot and Sandwich Tern

Tadoussac, Quebec: Northern Gannets, plus great looks at a Humpback Whale

I wonder what my first new bird will be in 2011.

[newfoundlander61]

Cobourg Ont: Eared Grebe

[Sahria]

This is the first year that I really took birdwatching seriously and actually went out in search of birds. My year list racked up 127 species, including your garden birds, so it was a really good year for me. I won't list them all, but the highlights were:

Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
Cedar Waxwing
Both Kinglets (because I got both unexpectedly walking my dog one morning)
Winter Wren (he seems to be overwintering in the BBQ at work)
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Orchard Oriole
And every single bird I saw on my first trip to Nevada.

Looking over my list I see I need to do some serious shore birding this year. It's going to be a great year and I look forward to learning so much more.

[GStuart]

The birds that were new for me in Ontario in 2010 include

Pacific Loon
Black-Bellied Whistling Duck
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Harris's Sparrow
Painted Bunting
Blue Grosbeak.

And new for my life list (although I had to go to its breeding grounds to get it),

Worm-eating Warbler.

[angieinto]

You saw a Painted Bunting!? In Ontario?! Wooo.....I didn't think they a came up here.