Ontbirders, This Saturday, December 1 marks the beginning of the winter birding period. Blake Maybank has asked me to compile the Ontario sightings this year, and Blake will be hosting the results on his website, http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/maybank/other/onwinter.htm. Links to the lists for the other Canadian provinces and territories, as well as a few other select areas, are found near the top of the web page. The winter birding season includes the period from December 1 to February 28/29, inclusive. A cumulative total of 338 species have been recorded during the winter in Ontario, with around 200 species recorded annually. Last year, an incredible 223 species were recorded, smashing any previous record for a single winter. Highlights from last winter included American White Pelican, Smew, American Golden-Plover, Slaty-backed Gull, Razorbill, Band-tailed Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Rufous Hummingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Clay-colored Sparrow, Bobolink, and multiple sightings of Fish Crows, Mountain Bluebirds and Gray-crowned Rosy-finches. It will be a tall order to beat that, but anything is possible! Just post your sightings to Ontbirds, ebird.org, or send me an email, and I will post an update to Ontbirds and my blog every month or so. That way you can check the list and inform me of any species that have been seen but are not present on the list. Enjoy the winter birding season! Cheers, Josh Vandermeulen Guelph, Ontario joshvandermeulen@live.ca 519-222-5420 (cell) joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com (blog)