Well it seems that I didn't read the challenge in it's entirety (What? You're supposed to read the instructions first! That's no fun.) I now realize that we were supposed to count all 10 days together, not just 1. No matter though because the only trip I made was the aforementioned to Elgin Park and Blackie Spit. I just don't go out very often anymore due to Covid19. I find too many people are not practising social distancing and I have more than 1 risk factor for the disease. 95% of my birding is from my back yard and I'm fortunate enough to live next to a green space with a creek so there are lots of birds and other critters around.
Anyway getting back to the challenge - for my 10 days, 10 kilometers list I have the following:
(from my 1 outing)
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Great Blue Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Gulls (lots of those but they were distant so I couldn’t accurately ID them)
House Finch
Western Sandpiper
And from home, most of the regulars made an appearance:
American Goldfinch
American Robin
Anna’s Hummingbird
Barred Owl – this time he graced me with his presence (see photo below)
Bewick’s Wren
Black-capped Chickadee (included above)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bushtit
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
House Finch (included above)
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Steller’s Jay
The grand total is: 22 different species in the 10 days (again I didn't write anything down so may be missing 1 or 2).
Just this morning the Juvenile Barred Owl paid a visit and very close to me too! When I went out on the patio to have a morning coffee he was perched on the fence less than 12 feet away. I didn't notice him at first and he wasn't at all concerned about my opening the door, walking around and getting my mug, iPad & camera in order. It was when I sat down that I noticed him sitting there staring at me. He stayed about 5 minutes looking around and not finding any mice he flew off to do Barred Owl stuff I guess.
Barred Owl (Juvenile) by
Jewill on Flickr
There are many different species that are breeding in the green space and it's fun to watch the babies go from hatchling to fledgling to juvenile.
Black-headed Grosbeak (Juvenile) by
Jewill on Flickr
I hope other birders will participate in this challenge too. (BTW James - good idea, keep 'em coming)