Well, its been a few weeks since I lasted posted. I'm still here.......and kicking. Work has increasingly been busy, and I'll be working everyday more or less until July 10th. If any birders out there are available for some temporary work we have lots, so let me know if you want some (email me <kburrell@nrsi.on.ca>).

Breeding bird work is about half way down, so we're entering the time period where we need to be getting our butts in gear. Most of my next few weeks will be mostly spent birding Bruce County in an area bounded by the Greenock Swamp to the W, Underwood to the NW, Hwy. 9 to the S, and Kincardine to the SW. The site is pretty nice, with Cerulean Warbler, Upland Sandpiper, Dickcissel's around, so I have some interesting birds to look for!

Mourning Warbler - definitive alternate male - Breakwater, Long Point - May 2006

First thing this morning I had a bird survey at the south end of Kitchener, near Huron Nature Area (there is a Clay-coloured Sparrow on territory there, fyi - rare in Waterloo), and had Mourning Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, as well as a really cool butterfly - a Variegated Fritillary! This is my first Variegated away from Lake Erie, and without saying for Waterloo Region. I wasn't able to snag a pic of it, but have attached one, that I found on the web.

Coincidentally, Brandon 'the Hulk' Holden put out a blog post about rare butterflies possibly on their way nord, so its looking like he knows abit (...) about what he's talking about!