January first 2026

The new year started off quickly with 40 species of vertebrates on day one and reports coming in from other participants of even more great starts to the new year! At some point there will be a recap of how the first couple of weeks have been going for everyone involved, but I figured I would get my day-one recap out before anything else! The day started at my house with a White-breasted Nuthatch being the first bird of the year, and was followed shortly by a Western Meadowlark and a Yellow-headed Blackbird nearby. After that highlights were a Northern Hawk Owl that caught a vole as we watched (but could not be counted as by the time I saw the vole, it had already moved on from the land of the living) and a great view of a Cooper’s Hawk and Northern Pintail. The next bird of the day was a Tufted Titmouse and then it was off to Casselman to try to find some early-season gulls. The gull goal was achieved, getting Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Greater Black-blacked Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull at the dump, and shortly after, a Snowy Owl was added to the list. The day ended in Oxford Mills with a successful outing for Mudpuppy! All in all, an exceptional first day and hopefully a good sign for what is to come in the Big Year!

Alex Skevington

Northern Hawk Owl

Cooper's Hawk

Northern Pintail

Tufted Titmouse

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Snowy Owl

Western Meadowlark

Mudpuppy