This post has been approved by Ontbird Moderators. Hello Ontario Birders,
Hope everyone is enjoying the winter listing season. I wanted to give an update on the Ontario Winter List for 2021-2022. The current list total sits at an all-time high of 224. To give some perspective, the final 2020-2021 list was 218, 2019- 2020 list was 202, the 2018-2019 list was 203, and the 2017-2018 list was 200. The average number of species for the last 13 years is 205. This year's list is currently tied with the highest all time record of 2011-2012. Given there is almost another month left, a few more species could be added. Additions since my last update on Dec. 31, 2021, include Cape May Warbler which was found in Port Dover by Tracey Gardiner(seen 8/14 last winters) , an Osprey was seen by Carrie Deer in Elgin County (10/14), Spotted Towhee near Terrace Bay (8/14), Black-throated Gray Warbler by Jason Milson (5/14) in Durham County, and Red Phalarope in Northumberland County (3/14) found by Margret Bain. Due to the current all-time high species count and how late we are into the winter season, not many common birds are left to be added. We are missing some of the uncommon winter birds seen in previous years. Some of these uncommon birds missing from the list include Black-headed Gull (7/14),California Gull (9/14), Yellow Warbler (9/14), and Wilson's Warbler (9/14). If you haven't heard, the Ontario Field Ornithologists are running a Winter Birding Challenge. This challenge involves eBirding <https://ebird.org/> a local area during the winter. More information about how to get involved can be found here <http://www.ofo.ca/content/winter-birding>. Winter Listers can also keep track of what's being seen in the Ontario Birds Discord Server which can be found here: Discord <https://discord.gg/EhvgAc2fwb>. The list can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/myyulvs . I try to update the spreadsheet every couple of days or whenever I hear of a new addition. Please let me know if you hear of a new addition or any other correction to the spreadsheet. Thank you to everyone who has notified me of omissions. Good birding, Todd Hagedorn -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
