4. Bar-tailed Godwit
3. Leach's Storm-Petrel
2. Common Ringed Plover
1. Great Shearwater
Yes, it's true. Alan and I are heading back to James Bay... Rough dates of August 13-25th... But this time, we have the razor-sharp eyes of Mark Jennings as well! Here's the maps:
Southern James Bay
and......
Location of Netitishi Point. Note Moosonee to the west, Hannah Bay to the East, and the Ontario/Quebec Border
We are primed to find vagrants galore. Since this location has a few things going for it:
Southern end of the bay: --- During fall migration, everything going south (waterbirds and lost vagrant shearwaters) can pass right in front of us.
Smaller mudflats: better odds of getting closer to shorebirds, and easier time keeping an eye on the water than elsewhere on James Bay (Ontario side)
Netitishi "Point" - is actually a bit of a point on the southern shore of the bay. If we get some south winds, we expect to see movements of birds along the shore and grouping up at our "point"
Island of big trees: -- lots of small tree's to the south, but the elevated beach ridges with large trees should act as a magnet for passerines that don't totally enjoy the soggy stunted spruce south of us.
Sandy/Rocky flats: the flats here are easier to walk on, and I truly expect to find some unique shorebird species that take advantage of the sandbars off Netitishi (eg./ we saw a LOT of Sanderling in November here... More than they're seeing now at other locations on the bay).
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I also have high hopes of trying to do more serious photography while up there. Hopefully I'll have lots of photos to post when I get back!
(looking for the other one up there)
(will want to improve on my shorebird photos up there!)
Hopefully see some of these guys up there as well!
By the time I get back, I actually think I can have my highest "year list" in Ontario ever... Not that I ever try to hit a high number (I'm still missing Sora)... But it's fun to keep track. But it DOES seem odd that I could break last years 286 by the end of August. How can I bird for 10+ years in Ontario, and suddenly see so many more birds?
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While I'm away, I've set up the blog to auto-post some old stuff from Florida (just to get it back online)... and to keep things running. I'll try and post the highlights from the trip as soon as I get back!
Of course, we'll try and figure out the seal situation again!
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