Now that a new year has begun, I'd like to look back at the birding highlights of the last year. My best birds of the year were Gyrfalcon, Swainson's Hawk, Dusky Flycatcher and Eurasian Kestrel. The rarest was the Eurasian Kestrel with an ABA code of 4 which represents a bird recorded less than annually in North America. My most memorable photographic moments were with the Yellow-headed Blackbird, Cattle Egret, Black Skimmer and Little Blue Heron.
2014 provided me with 36 lifers! It seems like a lot when they are all presented together. Here is the list from latest to earliest. The self-found species are annotated with an asterisk (*).
Eurasian Kestrel (2nd record for NS)
Dusky Flycatcher (4th record for NS)
White-eyed Vireo*
Red-shouldered Hawk*
Marsh Wren
Cattle Egret
Swainson's Hawk*
Hooded Warbler
Lincoln's Sparrow*
Cooper's Hawk*
Northern Wheatear
Blue-winged Warbler*
Mourning Warbler*
Northern Goshawk*
Manx Shearwater
American Avocet
Yellow-headed Blackbird* (with Ronnie and Ellis)
Royal Tern
Purple Martin
Black Skimmer
Laughing Gull*
Forster's Tern*
Common Murre
Chimney Swift
Great Crested Flycatcher
Veery
Willow Flycatcher*
Bank Swallow*
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron*
Snowy Egret
Northern Saw-whet Owl*
Thayer's type Gull*
Gyrfalcon*
Carolina Wren
Ruddy Duck
Below are some photos of the interesting birds that I took during the last year.
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Carolina Wren - Arcadia - February 2, 2014.
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Thayer's Gull - Pubnico - February 15, 2014.
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Gyrfalcon - Yarmouth - March 5, 2014.
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Snowy Egret - Melbourne - April 19, 2014.
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Little Blue Heron - Port La Tour - April 26, 2014.
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Tricolored Heron - Cape Sable Island - May 8, 2014.
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Willow Flycatcher - Belleisle - June 17, 2014.
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Great Crested Flycatcher - Middleton - June 19, 2014.
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Western Kingbird - The Hawk, Cape Sable Island - June 28, 2014.
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Forster's Tern - Cape Sable Island - July 5, 2014.
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Royal Tern - Cape Sable Island - July 6, 2014.
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Laughing Gull - Pubnico - July 6, 2014.
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Gull-billed Tern - Cape Sable Island - July 6, 2014.
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Black-Skimmer - Mavilette - July 6, 2014.
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Bonaparte's Gull - Pubnico- July 20, 2014.
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Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Pinkney's Point - August 3, 2014.
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Yellow-headed Blackbird - Cape Sable - August 10, 2014.
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American Avocet - The Hawk, Cape Sable Island - August 10, 2014.
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Great Skua - German Bank - August 16, 2014.
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Great Egret - Bon Portage Island - August 23, 2014.
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Olive-sided Flycatcher - Goodwin's Island - August 24, 2014.
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Blue-winged Warbler - Brier Island - August 30, 2014.
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Northern Wheatear - Yarmouth - September 3, 2014.
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Warbling Vireo - Cape Forchu - September 7, 2014.
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Philadelphia Vireo - Rocco Point - September 16, 2014.
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Prairie Warbler - Cape Forchu - September 21, 2014.
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Cooper's Hawk - Argyle - September 23, 2014.
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Stilt Sandpiper - Cape Sable Island - October 5, 2014.
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Rusty Blackbird - Pubnico - October 7, 2014.
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Nashville Warbler - Rocco Point - October 16, 2014.
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Orange-crowned Warbler - Rocco Point - October 16, 2014.
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Hooded Warbler - Duncan's Cove - October 25, 2014.
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Red-bellied Woodpecker - Tusket - October 29, 2014.
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Western Marsh Wren - Miner's Marsh - November 10, 2014.
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Cattle Egret - Pubnico - November 11, 2014.
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Lesser Black-backed Gull - Pubnico - November 15, 2014.
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Red-shouldered Hawk - Cape Sable Island - November 16, 2014.
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Lesser Black-backed Gull - Pubnico, November 21, 2014.
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Northern Shoveler - Pubnico - November 21, 2014.
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Hybrid HERG x GBBG - Pubnico - November 22, 2014.
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Northern Shoveler - Cape Sable - November 29, 2014.
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Ipswich Sparrow - Cape Sable - November 29, 2014.
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White-eyed Vireo - Pubnico - December 7, 2014.
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American Coot - Cape Sable Island - December 26, 2014.
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Glaucous Gull - Pubnico - December 26, 2014.
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Eurasian Kestrel - Hartlen Point - December 29, 2014.
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Oregon Junco - Deerfield - December 31, 2014.
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