Report by Steph MacPhail

Global Big Day is a yearly event put on by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where birdwatchers from all over the world team up to see how many different bird species they can spot in just one day.

The 2nd Annual Big Day at Bush Lake Izaak Walton was on May 10th, 2025. We had four participants and although migration wasn't cooperating as I hoped it would have, some warblers put on a good show for us and fun was had by all! 50 bird species were found on the property between 8 and 10 a.m. on the 10th, down from the 58 species recorded last year (see earlier blog post).  Check out the full list of species documented in 2025 below.

1. Canada Goose
2. Trumpeter Swan
3. Wood Duck
4. Mallard
5. Mourning Dove
6. Chimney Swift
7. Killdeer
8. Spotted Sandpiper
9. Ring-billed Gull
10. Common Loon
11. Double-crested Cormorant
12. Green Heron
13. Great Egret
14. Great Blue Heron
15. Red-tailed Hawk
16. Red-bellied Woodpecker
17. Downy Woodpecker
18. Northern Flicker
19. Least Flycatcher
20. Eastern Phoebe
21. Great Crested Flycatcher
22. Eastern Kingbird
23. Yellow-throated Vireo
24. Warbling Vireo
25. Blue Jay
26. American Crow
27. Black-capped Chickadee
28. Tree Swallow
29. Barn Swallow
30. White-breasted Nuthatch
31. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
32. Northern House Wren
33. American Robin
34. American Goldfinch
35. White-throated Sparrow
36. Song Sparrow
37. Baltimore Oriole
38. Red-winged Blackbird
39. Brown-headed Cowbird
40. Common Grackle
41. Golden-winged Warbler
42. Tennessee Warbler
43. Nashville Warbler
44. Common Yellowthroat
45. American Redstart
46. Magnolia Warbler
47. Yellow Warbler
48. Palm Warbler
49. Yellow-rumped Warbler
50. Northern Cardinal