30 to go????

With it being the first day of August I've been giving it some thought on whether or not I can realistically make it to 300 species for my Ontario year list. I'm sitting at 270, with some fairly easy species that I can still get. For me, keeping a year list is a fun way to compare years from one another and to keep motivated, even when there are more pressing things to do.....

I don't have too many 'special' birding trips lined up for the rest of the year, with the exception of 2 weeks on James Bay in November!!! I'm really pumped for it and have been looking forward to it for the entire year! Our plan (my brother Mike, Brandon Holden and Alan Wormington), is to drive up to Cochrane, take the train to Moosonee and then charter a helicopter to Netitishi Point. Last year Brandon and Alan went for roughly the same time period (they left a week later) and had 5 species that I've never seen in Ontario, along with several others that I've only seen once or twice before.

Along with this trip and the usual day outings, I think I have a fairly good chance to get 300 or darn close. I've listed 30 species that I think I have a reasonable chance to see in the remaining 5 months of 2011.

1. Trumpeter Swan
2. White-rumped Sandpiper
3. Red-throated Loon
4. Red-necked Grebe
5. Snowy Owl
6. Golden Eagle
7. Brant
8. Long-billed Dowitcher
9. Barred Owl
10. Short-eared Owl
11. Pine Grosbeak
12. King Eider

13. Whimbrel - Hamilton, May 2004

14. Hudsonian Godwit
15. Black-legged Kittiwake
16. Sabine's Gull
17. Pomarine Jaeger
18. Long-tailed Jaeger
19. Ross's Goose
20. Harlequin Duck

21. Gyrfalcon

22. Red Knot - Port Burwell, September 2008

23. Purple Sandpiper
24. Buff-breasted Sandpiper
25. Northern Hawk-Owl
26. Great Gray Owl
27. American Three-toed Woodpecker

28. Black Guillemot
29. Sharp-tailed Grouse

30. Northern Fulmar ---- I know what your thinking with this one, but you never know...Netitishi


Though its pretty much a given that I won't see all or maybe even too many of these species, there's still thed chance I'll add several species that I haven't listed....maybe something like a Gray-hooded Gull!

Or maybe something alittle more realistic, like these....
 

Western Kingbird - Rainy River, August 2006

American Avocet - Whitby, November 2008

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Luther Marsh, August 2010