17 brave souls started out in the rain to bird Barrie's lakefront. The rain gradually let up and give way to a cold north west wind. Their resolve was rewarded with great looks at 12 plus Little Gulls among the hundreds of Common Terns and Bonaparte’s Gulls. Two Merlins buzzed a couple of American crows in a game of chicken that looked like both sides were enjoying themselves. A rare leucistic Chipping Sparrow peaked interest for a bit and a Gray Tree Frog surprised a few people on the woodland trail. Several rafts of Common Loons contained hundreds ( possibly well over a thousand ) of birds but we could not find the elusive Pacific Loon. Ducks, except for Mallards, were missing from the count. Normally we would have rafts of many species of waterfowl this time of year. So no ducks, hundreds of Common Terns, flocks of Chipping Sparrows in Mid-October, are all unusual for Kempenfelt Bay. Climate change? Thanks for all the good eyes on the trip. Much appreciated. If anyone got a picture of the white sparrow. I would appreciate a copy. Thanks. We had a total of 33 species plus the frog, an excellent tally for the time of year. Posted on Ebird   Jim Coey eBird Checklist - 12 Oct 2019 - Barrie--Heritage Park - 33 species Barrie Heritage Park can be reached off the Hy 400 unto Essa Road North to Lakeshore Drive. Sent from Mail for Windows 10