Two lifers at Holiday Beach

I've been reading about Broad Winged Hawk counts at various raptor migration hotspots all over Ontario all week, so I figured I would stop by Holiday Beach after work and join the party! Oddly enough, I did not see 4288 Broad winged Hawks like many other hawk counters have seen ... but rather, one (perched about 30m from the tower)!

Compared to last Friday, the bird activity seemed to be much quieter. I walked along the beach then walked toward the observation tower and hardly saw any birds. I wish I would have seen some Vireos such as Philly, and Blue Headed... but I have really seen any this fall. I have seen Red eyed & Warbling though on earlier fall birding trips.

I spent an hour or two on the Hawk Observation tower talking about birding, migration and photography with several other people. At one point, I was looking down to the scrubby brush near the tower and noticed a large-tailed bird... A Black billed Cuckoo!

Some birds seen tonight:
Broad Winged Hawk (1 juvenile lifer 202)
Bald Eagle (juvenile)

Black Billed Cuckoo (lifer -201)
Blue Grey Gnatcatcher
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Wood Thrush
Wilsons Warbler
White throated Sparrow
Magnolia Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Black Capped Chickadee
Various Ducks
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret

I'm pretty excited! I am getting a pair of 10x42 Bushnell Sportsman Binoculars tomorrow! Hopefully I can get out a little more this weekend. I would love to stop by Hillman Marsh and photograph some late season shorebirds.

I don't know if I can use binoculars and a camera at the same time. That might seem difficult at first. I might focus (no pun intended) on using the binoculars rather than photography.

Good Birding!
Dwayne