A Big Year Begins - The First Week

A Big Year is a marathon, but the first week is a sprint. This critical time demands swift action to focus on any rarities lingering from the previous year, so they don’t end up on the regrets list come December. My journey began with an ambitious week of birding across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thursday - Jan 2nd:

The spotlight was on the capital region. My first stop: hoping to see a Yellow-breasted Chat and an Orange-crowned Warbler at a known feeder. Sadly, it seems the chat didn’t survive New Year’s Day, but I successfully ticked the warbler. Next, it was off to find gulls.

Adult Common Gull (on the left)

A fleeting glimpse of a Bonaparte’s Gull in Kelligrews was followed by stops in Goulds for a Common Gull (European) and a Ring-billed Gull. Goulds also delivered an unexpected bonus—a Lesser Black-backed Gull! From there, I moved to Virginia Lake for an American Coot and Quidi Vidi Lake for a Baltimore Oriole and a Yellow-throated Warbler, all three showing beautifully.

This particular Yellow-throated Warbler has a particularly long-bill, and is very likely the exact same individual that over-wintered at the same spot in the Winter of 2023/24.

American Coot - St. John's is the only reliable spot to see this species in the entire province.

Baltimore Oriole - Quidi Vidi lake

Two birds remained on the target list for the day: a Brown Creeper and the now-famous Pink-footed Goose at Burton's Ponds. Rain began to fall as I arrived at Bowring Park. After an hour of walking, looking, and listening in a torrential downpour, I had to abort the search for the Brown Creeper. The Pink-footed Goose, however, was an easy tick from the car to end the day.

Friday - Jan 3:

Friday morning brought a return to Bowring Park, joined by great friends Catherine and Alvan. The Brown Creeper showed itself quickly, marking another species off the list - remarkably we ended up seeing no less than 5 individual Brown Creepers that morning. But there was no time to waste.

Brown Creeper - Bowring Park

Mid-morning, news arrived of a storm brewing in the Strait of Belle Isle for Sunday. If I wanted a chance at seeing the Turkey Vulture reported in Charlottetown, Labrador, I’d need to catch the 8 AM ferry at St. Barbe—ten hours away. As I prepared to leave, Clara messaged from Renews: “Pine Warbler is here!” Decision time.


It wasn’t a hard choice. Off to Renews I went. Thank you, Clara! After ticking the Pine Warbler, now a twelve hour drive lay ahead. Finally, not long after midnight, I crawled into my sleeping bag in the back of my Sorrento for some much-needed rest.

Pine Warbler in Renews

Saturday - Jan 4:

Saturday’s ferry ride back to Labrador was calm and sunny—perfect for a seawatch. I enjoyed good views of Black-legged Kittiwakes, Dovekies, and a Northern Fulmar before catching some rest ahead of the four-hour drive to Charlottetown.



Along the way, I spotted a few needed finches for the year list, but the highlight came just outside Port Hope Simpson: a Northern Hawk Owl perched treetop. What a stunning bird!

Northern Hawk Owl - a very sparce species in the province and only my second one ever for NL.

Unfortunately, my time in Charlottetown searching for the Turkey Vulture proved fruitless—it’s usually seen only in the mornings. Looks like I’ll have to try again another day as it was seen again on Jan 5th!

Sunday - Jan 5:

Sunday was a more relaxed day with some seawatches, which rewarded me with a King Eider. Final tally, my year list stands at 79 species—a solid start to the adventure! The next few weeks will see a more relaxed pace as I return to work and search for birds locally.

Thanks for following along and happy birding everyone,

Vernon

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Predictions for NL's Next New Species

Image
Newfoundland and Labrador’s birding history is fascinating. Due to our position on the edge of North America, and the isolation of the island of Newfoundland off the coast of the Atlantic, NL acts as a first point of contact for wayward vagrant birds from Europe and a last point of land from North American birds trying to migrate over the continent. Oceanographic conditions generated from the interaction of cold and warm currents off our coast, and numerous weather phenomena all add to the propensity of birds to find their way to our shores. Documenting rare birds in Newfoundland historically involved the collection of weak or dead individuals, or by shooting live birds - perhaps with the purpose of sharing them with a museum (or even private collections). Historically, the frequency of rare vagrant birds showing up in NL has been high, and well-kept collections of odd specimens allowed for good documentation and study of the rare birds. Currently, the list of birds that have occurred ...
Read more

Canada's First Greater Sand-Plover

Image
On April 12 th , 2025, Richard Thomas spotted a small plover on a sandflat upstream of the Biscay Bay River bridge. His initial thought was "wow, that's incredibly early for a Semipalmated Plover". However, when he put his binoculars up and saw a long-legged, grey-brown plover with a distinct pattern of orange and black around its head, neck, and chest, he knew he was looking at a Sand-Plover. Any species of Sand-Plover would be a huge first-ever record for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and a mega for Canada, North America, and the ABA. Sand-Plover found in Biscay Bay , NL 📷Richard Thomas, April 12, 2025 Richard has experience with Sand-Plovers and recalled the field marks that separate Greater from the Lesser complex. His first thoughts were that the bird was small and had a jizz (a birding term meant to signify the general impression of size and shape) resembling that of a Lesser Sand-Plover. The structure of the bird from its leg length to its bil...
Read more

A Mysterious Nutty Nuthatch

Image
An unusual nuthatch was spotted at a well-known bird feeder in Fermeuse yesterday, May 6th 2025, by Vernon Buckle.  Initial views revealed typical nuthatch behaviour, and a surprisingly white face. As soon as it was seen, it disappeared leaving a lot to the imagination. White-breasted Nuthatch (WBNU) was strongly suspected and the alert went out, including notifying the homeowner of the rare visitor. Afterall, this would be the 6th or 7th record for the province! A true rarity for the province, and one that many birders still haven't seen in the region. Linda, the homeowner, eventually secured some photos later that day. That's where the mystery began. What was this nuthatch? An aberrant Red-breasted Nuthatch, or a White-breasted Nuthatch? Jean-François Rousseau (of Ivory Gull fame) was the first to point out the inconsistencies. The bird continued to be seen today (May 7th) and several more photos came in. These only added to the mystery. What do you think this nuthatch is? Li...
Read more