BirdTheRock - Newfoundland Bird & Nature Tours

26/05/2025

First small group tour of the season tomorrow! I'm excited to meet some new friends (clients) AND catch up with some old ones (birds like the ones pictured here) 😉

Kowa Sporting Optics US Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism

23/05/2025

The ups and downs of life have kept me away from birding these past few weeks - but I'm excited for the start of tour season next week :) Our tours are filling up fast, but there are still a few spaces left to join us and enjoy awesome birds like these!

Kowa Sporting Optics US Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism

27/04/2025

"The sea was angry that day, my friends."
- George Constanza

It was cold, windy, and even snowing as the waves lashed the rocks ar Cape Spear earlier this week. My clients and I braved the elements to hike a section of coastal trail, hoping to refind a mega rare Eurasian Oystercatcher that had been spotted there earlier that morning. We didn't have much luck finding the bird, but boy did we enjoy nature's show of force.

24/04/2025

Not the best photos, but I was excited to share these EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS with some clients today. They were visiting from the USA and picked their dates in hopes the weather gods would bless them with some trans-Atlantic winds and Euro vagrants -- and voila! An even rarer Eurasian Oystercatcher was also spotted nearby today, but flew off before we could get there. Fingers crossed they can refine that cracker of a bird tomorrow ;)

Kowa Sporting Optics US American Birding Association Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism

20/04/2025

Happy Easter from our family to you & yours. This may not be the Easter Bunny, but snowshoe hares like this one are a fun part of spring here in Newfoundland. Remarkable creatures of the northern forests, they are known for their oversized, fur-covered feet that enable movement across the snow which coats their homes for months each year. Their coat changes color with the seasons—white for winter camouflage and brown for summer. They are nocturnal herbivores, feeding on plants and twigs, and play a vital role in their ecosystem as prey for formidable animals such as lynx, marten, coyotes and at one time the Newfoundland wolf.

15/04/2025

MEGA!!! Reports of this GREATER SAND-PLOVER roused me from hibernation this weekend!! A mind-boggling visitor for Newfoundland, this incredible bird represents a first not only for the province but for Canada, and just the third for North America. It is so far off-course that I can't imagine how it even found its way here! Greater Sand-Plovers breed in Central Asia and winter in Australasia and the east coast of Africa, leaving a lot of real estate between there and Biscay Bay, NL.

I decided to delay looking for this bird myself on Sunday due to an important family celebration, but drove down early Monday morning when my pal Paul Lagasi flew in from Ontario to join me on the chase. We arrived in fog and cold, drifting rain (a far cry from the beautiful sunny day that others had enjoyed the day before), but soon relocated the bird foraging on the wet roadsides just a 100m from its earlier haunts. With a little patience, we were eventually rewarded with amazing views as it walked right up to and past the car we were "hiding" in. Paul & I celebrated with a big hot breakfast on the way back to St. John's, and a couple local brews later that evening ;)

Huge thanks to Richard Thomas for originally spotting and reporting this awesome bird on April 12. It was continuing today (April 15).

American Birding Association Kowa Sporting Optics US Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism

27/03/2025

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26/03/2025

All across the country, Canadians are choosing to support mom and pop shops. But why stop there? There’s never been a more important time to buy Canadian.Aro...

25/03/2025

21/03/2025

Despite traveling quite a bit recently, I did get to share some great winter birding with visitors from across Canada and the US back in January. Our rugged coastlines are always a hit, no matter the season, and a smattering of snow and winter waves only adds to the charm.

Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism

07/03/2025

Tom Johnson was a prolific contributor to ABA publications, a valuable mentor in the ABA’s young birder programs, a highly popular podcast guest, an active and innovative member of the ABA Checklist Committee, and a brilliant guide at ABA events. Most importantly, he was a close friend to many on our staff and board—and, of course, to so many in the ABA membership.

Doug Gochfeld has contributed a remembrance of Tom Johnson to North American Birds Vol. 75, No. 2. In memory of Tom, ABA is offering free, open access to this article, which can be found at the link on the NAB home page here: https://www.aba.org/north-american-birds-vol-75-no-2/