Recent First-Timer Birds

Do I pretty much only talk about birds, food, and gardening now? The answer is probably yes, but these simple pleasures are more than pulling their weight this year.

As a relatively new birder, I still have lots and lots of relatively common birds around me that I haven't noticed/ID'd yet. Pretty much every time I go out for a walk, especially to the retention pond, I see something new and it is a wonderful and exciting rush. Here are a few of my latest "first timers" (or at least the first photo evidence I've gotten of said birds).

I've been waiting a long time to see another American Avocet after noticing one at the side of the road a couple years ago. I know they are common and there are places I can go to find them in the city, but I've been stubborn and trying to stay birding at my own neighbourhood pond. Finally found this one just standing around last week on a very windy day! This is such a cool bird. Blue legs!

I have mixed up common grackles and Brewer's blackbirds in the past, but the blue head very clearly identifies this guy as a grackle!

Eared grebe! This bird was so far away in person that I assumed it was a red-necked grebe, and was pleasantly surprised to find out what it was through my telephoto lens!

I am pretty sure this is a Forster's tern due to the lighter outer wings, but correct me if this is a common tern! I think we've got both around and they are hard to tell apart.

I snapped a bunch of pictures of these two, assuming they were mallards from afar but upon looking closer realized they were gorgeous northern shovelers! Look at those giant bills!

Yesterday I was booking it home after the scary clouds rolled in, had put away my camera, and suddenly saw a yellow headed blackbird right in front of me in the grass! I had to take my camera back out to get this (admittedly terrible) photo, but still made it back home before the rain. I felt like a true Pokemon master after this, because I had seen five different types of blackbirds in a one-hour span (yellow headed, red winged, Brewer's, grackle, and brown-headed cowbird).

My favourite backyard birding experience lately! I saw a white throated sparrow (left) for the first time a couple weeks ago at the pond, and then the next day one was hanging around in my backyard! Then later, it had brought a white crowned sparrow (right) friend! They have not been back much but this was such a cool thing to see.