Rondeau Big Day 2008

On May 10/11, some of us worked a 24h Birdathon. This is an annual event where we try to see as many birds in the Rondeau Birding Area as possible. I combined it with the Baillie Birdathon to raise money for bird research and our Sydenham Field Naturalists. This was the sixth year of the Rondeau thing, and I did fairly well by myself. (I could not recruit anyone to help me!). Nice birds included White Pelican, Marbled Godwit (2) and Worm-eating Warbler. (I had a Worm-eating Warbler on a Big Day in 2000 if I remember correctly). My list is below.
Two friends came up with an excellent total of 164. That, coupled with other sightings in the area, showed a total of at least 174 species of birds in the Rondeau area on May 10-11, 2008. In 2006, there were at least 178 species of birds in the area. That year I came up with 140 species. The best I ever accomplished was 148 in 24h many years ago, but I did it with a couple of other people.
Some people go all over southwestern Ontario to do a Big Day and do not do much better. It shows that if you pick one good area, you can do quite well.

Rondeau 2008 Big Day List Total Count: 142
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow