In early July I did a short trip to Alberta to visit Mira. We traveled around Edmonton and the nearby Rocky Mountains and turned up 124 species of birds.
The number of waterfowl there is astounding - it really is a duck factory!
There's only one thing nearly as awesome as the ocean. The mountains:
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches were one of the highlights of the trip for me:
Shorebirds also breed in the province in large numbers. Black-necked Stilts were one of the species I wanted to see most:
Coming across Mountain Bluebirds at the treeline as we were hiking up one of the mountains was another awesome experience:
A month long trip to Newfoundland during shorebird season was great as I hadn't spent a good chunk of time there in the past few years, nor during shorebird season:
Fall birding in Waterloo was highlighted by a Greater White-fronted Goose:
And then another:
A large flock of 1000+ Turkey Vultures migrated through my neighbourhood over a 2 day period:
Then back in Newfoundland to finish off the year.
The Yellow-breasted Chat living in my yard for over 2 weeks (and still there!) was certainly one of the highlights:
Purple Sandpiper was one of the last species I added to my year list:
Some quick and fun stats:
571 species seen/heard, across 1370 eBird checklists! 273 life birds.
Big miss: Rough-legged Hawk!!! Yes, I did not see that species in the year 2012...
Embarrassing.
