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As of the end of June my species total is 263 for the Carolinian Zone -- just seven species shy of my "modest" target of 270 with half a year to go. Getting there since my last post in early May has been quite a birding delight. In one afternoon at Point Pelee, I added two species to my all-time Ontario life list: a most obliging Chuck-Will's-Widow and the ever-elusive (in Ontario) Mississippi Kite. This was on May 16. I had heard about the Chuck-Will's-Widow, which was discovered earlier that day along the Woodland Trail south of the Visitor's Centre....

I had great time birding at the Point Pelee and the Rondeau areas from May 7 through 9.  Highlights in and around Pelee area incl

I think I'm very much on track for my goal of 270 species (in counties within or overlapping with the Carolinian zone of Ontario).  "Best" birds so far have include

On Monday, June 9, I woke up at 3:45 A.M., fifteen minutes before my alarm, had breakfast, and set off from our home in Stratford for a day of fieldwork as part of the Elgin Natural Heritage Inventory. Each of the properties I would visit had been volunteered for survey by landowners keen to expand their knowledge of the flora and fauna with which they share their lands. On this gorgeous early summer day I would have the privilege to explore places I would normally never get a chance to visit and, best of all, to meet some great people whose enthusiasm, love and care for the lands of Elgin County is second to none.