Golden-winged Warbler

9. Ross’s Goose- This bird was the second Ross’s Goose to ever be found in Muskoka and my 215 species for the county. This bird was unexpected as they are uncommon in the province, never mind the county. I would have expected to see a Snow Goose years before I would ever see a Ross’s in Muskoka, yet this was not to be the case.

8. Wilson’s Phalarope- A bird that I have chased before, to Hamilton of all places. The Wilson’s Phalarope was bird number 213 on my Muskoka list and number 296 on my Ontario life list. I did not only learn the lesson about memory cards while chasing this bird, I had just sat down with my soon to be wife and mother-in-law for dinner right before dashing out the door to chase this bird. I can’t say this will be the last time I run out on dinner for a bird, but definitely the last time I forget my memory card.



7. Red-necked Phalarope- County bird 214 was a great bird with a new friend. I showed up to see this bird while on my way to chase a Black-bellied Whistling Duck near Point Pelee on route to a friend’s bachelor party. While viewing the three phalarope I got to spend an hour talking and birding with Will Lockhart, one of Muskokas young, up and coming birders. Always great to grab a lifer while meeting someone new, who is also adding a lifer.

Red-necked Phalarope – Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons

6. Great Grey Owl- What a fun bird! Over the course of the month of February 2019, a Great Grey Owl was seen regularly by many in Bracebridge on almost a daily basis. I drove down on several occasions to try and find this bird to no avail. On February 6, I spent three hours at the Bracebridge location searching for the owl before moving on to accomplish some of the days errands. Shortly after leaving I got a message from another Muskoka birder stating that the bird was back at the location. As I was over 100 kilometers away at this point I would not be able to make it back that day.

Not realizing this at the time, but it was actually to my benefit that I would not be able to make it back to this location on that day. I went about the rest of my day paying little attention to the bird as I knew I would have a few hours the following morning to search for the bird. At roughly 5:00 pm that evening as I had just got home and started to shovel the driveway, I noticed an owl fly into a tree a couple hundred meters down the road. AS we have a resident Barred Owl I thought nothing of it an went back to shoveling. After another ten minutes the bird flew again and I got a better look. This bird was much to large to be a Barred Owl, however I did not get a great enough look to feel comfortable with an absolute ID. I waked the few hundred meters down the road to where a large Great Grey Owl was sitting road side, looking down on me. I rushed to grab my fiance Emma and messaged a few birders who lived one road over so that we could all get a look as it was getting dark.



With all the hours I had spent over the previous week looking for one and to think, one would find me. This bird spent the following three days around my place before it was last seen on the morning of February 10th, never to be seen again. This would be Muskoka life bird 200 for me. A great bird to be number 200! Great Grey Owls are know to be elusive and hard to find however in eruptive years many can be found throughout Ontario if one knows where to look. One the day of February 6, I know of four birds seen in Muskoka.

Great Grey Owl – Muskoka #200

5. Northern Goshawk- On May 11, 2019 the Muskoka Field Naturalists had their annual Big Day. It “officially” starts at the Bracebridge Sewage Treatment Plant, however many people start counting birds as soon as the wake up that day. After spending about three hours at the lagoons, we were just about to leave when we noticed a Cooper Hawk flying over, which was a new species for the day. This is when we noticed another raptor flying slightly above it that did not fit any of the boxes we initially tried to put it in. Luckily, this bird circled for several minutes and gave ample time to study. I was able to get several photo’s that we were able to confirm our already excited expectations. For several in the group this was a Muskoka lifer. Including myself as bird number 206. Northern Goshawk was a bird on my radar for Ontario as it is a regularly occurring bird in the province, however I expected it to be some time before I would ever see one.

Northern Goshawk – Bracebridge Sewage Treatment Plant

4. Northern Hawk Owl- This bird was another lifer for me and one that I thought would be the last of the year. Muskoka life bird number 216 was an awesome one! The news had gone out a week earlier of a Northern Hawk Owl in Schomberg and due to the droves of people I had told myself to be patient. I had hopes that either I would find one myself or someone close to me would find one that would be kept a secret between a close group of birders. On December 15 as the Bracebridge-Gravenhurst Christmas Bird Count was winding down I received a tip from Bill Dickenson that a Northern Hawk Owl was in the area. With little daylight left my group rushed over to where the bird had been seen so that we could spend several minutes viewing the bird before leaving to go to the tally roundup. Now the best part about this bird is that I had been telling my group the entire day that we would see one before the day was out. I had hoped that a Northern Hawk Owl would be found by my party, however this being the last bird of the day and a lifer for the members it made for a special way to cap off the day. It was cause for celebration at the roundup and made for a very memorable CBC.

Northern Hawk Owl – Back of camera

3. Blue-grey Gnatcatcher- Not one of the most outstanding birds in the province, Blue-grey Gnatcatchers are a rare annual occurrence in the county. This bird was memorable as I was leading a group walk shortly after Aaron and I had finished a Warbler Workshop and several participants had braved the rain in hope of finding a few spring warblers. Not long into our walk I heard a familiar weezy song that Will Lockhart noted sounded like a gnatcatcher. Within ten seconds of him mentioning this a blue ball with a floppy long tail appeared in front of us on top of an alder. The bird hung around long enough for our groups participants to view it before moving deeper into the marsh. Unfortunately, other Muskoka birders did not get to see the bird and because of the rain I had not brought my camera so no pictures of this bird were taken. An unexpected bird, the Blue-grey Gnatcatcher was Muskoka lifer number 208.



2. Ivory Gull- MEGA!!! As stated in my previous post this bird was a mega rarity for the county and a significantly rare bird for the province. One of my most memorable birds seen in both the province and the county to date. The Ivory Gull is a bird I thought I was not going to see until later on in life when I traveled north with the express purpose of seeing this birds. This was Muskoka lifer number 216 and Ontario lifer 300!

Digiscoped Ivory Gull – Rosewarn Landfill Site

1. Black Vulture- For me this was the best bird seen in Muskoka over the 2019 calendar year. As the Black Vulture is my first species that I have added to the Muskoka list, it is an experience I hold close to my heart. The experience of seeing this bird really solidified my love for rare birds and birding. It bolstered the knowledge within myself that I am a competent birder. The circumstances of driving up the highway, seeing a bird flying out in front of me and knowing something was off and that it was not a typical Turkey Vulture has created a confidence in myself that will help me grow further. This Black Vulture will be a special bird for me where ever I go in my birding career. The only regret I have is that I did not have a friend or a birding companion to share it with, but that’s birding sometimes.

Black Vulture – Muskoka 204

After writing this post there were two more birds that I added to my Muskoka life list in the final days of the 2019 year; a Black-backed Woodpecker near Baysville and an Eastern Screech-Owl in Bracebridge. Muskoka life bird 218 and 219 respectively. As the screech-owl was a heard only, I do not have a picture of the bird.

Black-backed Woodpecker- Muskoka 218

Lets see what 2020 has in store!