2025 Lifers

 We saw three new birds in our home province of Saskatchewan in 2025.

Two of them we heard about and went looking.  The first of these I reported earlier in the year.  

In July we saw two Long-eared Owls in a park in Saskatoon after learning about it on the rare bird alert.

Our next bird was less planned.  On a September Sunday, instead of going for a drive to see what was at Gardiner Dam, we accepted an invitation to lunch.  We had no sooner stepped out of our car at their acreage a woodpecker fly across the yard.  We both knew immediately that is was not one we've seen. Turns out it was a young Red-headed Woodpecker. 

No red head.  But maybe next time.

Our final lifer of the year came in October, again as a result of the rare bird alert.  This was a Clark's Grebe.  For many years I've checked every Western Grebe in case one of them had an eye in the white.  When we arrived at the right spot on the river in Saskatoon, no searching was necessary.  The bird was right in front of us.  And so was the eye in the white.

 So there we are.  Three new Saskatchewan birds.