The Bullbird

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...

The Changing Seasons is a series of blog posts focusing on notable changes in bird distribution in Newfoundland and Labrador over the past ~75 years. These changes may not be apparent to the dedicated birder of today. Certainly significant changes occurred prior to the 1950s but without a written report to review, those changes will remain a mystery. Note that this is the third in a series of blog posts on this topic. The first post about goldfinches, redpolls, and song sparrows can be found here . And the second about gulls can be found here . Todays post is about waterfowl. Tufted Ducks and other waterfowl: The first record of Tufted Duck, a Eurasian species, for the island of Newfoundland was a well documented female at Quidi Vidi lake from 2 Jan - 26 Jan, 1982 [Am. Birds, 1982]. It was another four years until the second record came about: an immature male shot at Colinet on 3 Nov 1986 [Am Birds, 1987]. The 3rd record was a female in Harbour Grace 16 Dec 1986 to 8 Jan 1987. The 4th...

Snowy Owl - Species #100 for my NL Big Year Since my last post, my birding adventure have taken me far from the windswept coast of Labrador — all the way to the stunning Santa Marta region of northern Colombia! Colombia has long been number one on my bucket list, and this 12-day birding tour far exceeded my expectations. Each day was filled with unforgettable moments — incredible new species, breathtaking scenery, and the warm hospitality of amazing people. The culture, the food, and the sheer variety of birds made it a trip to remember. There’s nothing quite like a tropical birding adventure to lift the spirits after a mentally draining Labrador winter. Caribou near Boat Harbour Speaking of winter, it was in full gear when I returned home on February 13. My first order of business? Finding species number 100 for my Big Year list! I’d hoped to reach that milestone in January, but on February 20, a lunchtime drive to Grassy Point near Forteau finally did the trick. Near the turnaround a...

Remarkably, there appears to be no up-to-date comprehensive list of butterflies of Newfoundland and Labrador. I set out to do that over the past month... and there are some surprises! There does exist a list from 1971 published in The Osprey Vol 2, Num 2  which included 39 species for the island of Newfoundland. It was compiled by Ray F. Morris. Subsequently, the same author published a book entitled: Butterflies and Moths of Newfoundland and Labrador published in 1980. This book included 55 species of butterflies from across the province and provided incredible detail on their historical records, status at that time, and ecology. I have compiled all the details in those two sources, with more recent publications including the Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America (published 2003), and The Butterflies of Canada (published 1998) by Ross Layberry et al. Further, I have cross-referenced these references with current online resources including iNaturalist (2000+ butterfl...

As part of what will likely be a lifelong effort, we are attempting to digitize historical reports of bird sightings from Newfoundland and Labrador. Ultimately, this means adding written reports to eBird whenever possible - providing a fully searchable and public database for these records. Naturally, there is great interest in records of rarities. However, just as interesting are the common species and the profound changes that birders have documented over the decades. The written record of bird distribution is fairly comprehensive from the 1950s onwards. This series of articles will focus on notable changes over the past ~75 years that may not be obvious to the dedicated birder today. Certainly significant changes occurred prior to the 1950s but without a written report to review, those changes will remain a mystery. Following is a breakdown of some of the most notable changes I have noted, including some theories to explain the changes.  Note that this is the second in a series ...

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 ...