Birders Nearby

08/17/2026

My birthday wish for a rare bird came true the very next day. A long staying Black Vulture in Hamilton found its way to the roof of an apartment building on King St. East in Hamilton. I was able to view it from across the road as it roosted alone on the roof. About 15 minutes later it flew off giving me a great look at the black wings with the white wingtips. Black Vultures can be seen across the Niagara River from the Queenston Overlook but rarely come close to the Canadian side of the border. Sightings in Hamilton are even rarer still, with only a few over the years.

For those too busy birding on Sunday, now’s the time to check out the newest episode of The Big Year Podcast with Chicago birder Tarik Tarik Shahzad, who set and beat his own Big Year record for a Cook County Big Year in 2024 and 2025. And While you’re at please subscribe to The Big Year Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, PodBean or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Learn about what it takes to do a Big Year from the birders who experienced one first hand.

08/17/2026

The Big Year Podcast is back, with Chicago birder, Tarik Shahzad Tarik who set and broke the Cook County Big Year record in back to back years.
Join us for my “birthday edition” of the Big Year Podcast…

Please check out and subscribe to The Big Year Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, PodBean or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Learn about what it takes to do a Big Year from the birders who experienced one first hand.

08/16/2026

Season 4, Episode 5: Tarik Shahzad’s Cook County Big Years

It’s my birthday and I’ll bird if I want to bird if I want to. You would bird too - if it was you. Welcome to the birthday edition of the Big Year Podcast. Well, the only thing that makes it a birthday edition is, well, because it’s my birthday. I’m Robert Baumander and I’m 66 years old today. Do you like numbers? ...

It’s my birthday and I’ll bird if I want to bird if I want to. You would bird too – if it was you. Welcome to the birthday edition of the Big Year Podcast. Well, the only thing that makes…

08/11/2026

Read all three panels. The last one might surprise you.

08/10/2026

Brown Pelican, Hamilton, Ontario: Well it took me until the summer of 2025 to see my first Brown Pelican in Ontario, and this year I get to see one again. Perhaps it’s even the same one that was on the Niagara River in Fort Erie last summer. I captured this video using my MAGicScope adapter, spotting scope and my iPhone 17. It was such a treat to spend an afternoon with many lovely birders watching and studying this beautiful descendant of the dinosaurs. How it took so long for us to realize that we had been living with them all along, is perplexing.

Join me August 16,(my birthday), for a new episode of The Big Year Podcast with a Big Year Birder from Chicago, Illinois, as he talks about his back to back Cook County Big Years. In the meantime, please check out past episodes of The Big Year Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, PodBean or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Learn about what it takes to do a Big Year from the birders who experienced one first hand.

08/03/2026

https://americasfavcouple.org/2026/robert-and-sue

One couple will share their love story in a Variety Magazine advertorial, take home $20,000, and enjoy a triple date with Jeff & Emilie Goldblum, plus Charlie Day & Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

08/02/2026

Eurasian Collard Dove in Brantford! I’d have never expected to add this bird to my Brant County list, but I also never expected a White-faced Ibis, earlier this year. When birding, expected the unexpected. These birds are rare for Ontario, and only seen when they venture north of the Great Lakes. Though ubiquitous throughout The US and some parts of western Canada, they are not found in the North East. I met one of the homeowners, Marge, while viewing from the woods and she was very gracious and invited us into the yard for closer looks. She’s very proud of her celebrity bird, and thanks to Marge and her son, birders are invited to view the bird from the side of the house on Lynden Hill Crescent, right here in Brantford. Just please be respectful of the property and do not go into the backyard.

While you’re here, please check out The Big Year Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, PodBean or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Learn about what it takes to do a Big Year from the birders who experienced one firsthand. A new episode is coming August 16, 2026, coincidentally as I celebrate my 66th birdday.

07/17/2026

The Big Year Podcast is back on the road again. I’ve spent the last year speaking to birders from all over Ontario and put them all together for your listening pleasure. I’ve also got a special guest at the end. Someone I’ve talk about but you have never heard from. We spoke while, yeah, on the road. Actually on the road while driving. Stick around to the end to finally meet this special person in my birding life.

07/15/2026

Back on the Road Again

Yes, once again, I am back on the road again. Welcome back to the Big Year Podcast, I remain and am still Robert Baumander and you’re well, you. And thanks for being you and taking the time to listen. Today we’re taking a little break from Big Year Birders and talking to a few birders I’ve met on the road and talked to over the past year. ...

Yes, once again, I am back on the road again. Welcome back to the Big Year Podcast, I remain and am still Robert Baumander and you’re well, you. And thanks for being you and taking the time to li…

07/13/2026

Male and female Dickcissels right here in Brantford. A rare summer sighting of this sparrow-like bird. Here in southwestern Ontario, we are at the furthest north of their breeding range. From the back these birds can be mistaken for a House Sparrow, but from the front the male’s distinctive yellow throat and black “beard”is unmistakable. The female is just as beautiful but lacks the “facial hair.” 😉 So having a pair, possibly nesting here, is a treat. Once the male has mated with the female, she becomes a single mother, responsible for building the nest, incubating the eggs and raising her young, to get them ready for the trip south to the tropics for the winter. I got to enjoy watching this pair of birds with a pair of birders, my friend Andy Nguyen and his partner.



While you’re here, please check out The Big Year Podcast, with a new episode, Back on the Road Again, coming on July 15, 2026. The Big Year Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, PodBean or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Learn about what it takes to do a Big Year from the birders who experienced one first hand. My new book, “Have You Seen a Seagull?” is now available in print at Wild Birds Unlimited Kitchener and The Old Cut Field Station in Long Point, Ontario. It’s also available digitally on Apple Books.