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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A secretive marsh-dweller, this Least Bittern was an unusual capture in the mist nets at Long Point’s Tip on Thursday. @longpointbirds.bsky.social #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Pleased to find this juvenile Piping Plover at Long Point’s Tip last week. It fledged on North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan less than a month prior. @longpointbirds.bsky.social 🇨🇦🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I’ve recently spent some time designing a website. It includes a gallery of Canadian #birds photographed this spring. Feel free to check it out! maxhellicar.wixsite.com/home/longpoint-spring2026

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Setophaga warblers at the @longpointbirds.bsky.social Tip this May: Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, and Northern Parula #birdringing

Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens)

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Setophaga warblers at the @longpointbirds.bsky.social Tip this May: Blackburnian, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided and Northern Yellow #birdringing

Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens)

Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)

Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Cedar Waxwing at @longpointbirds.bsky.social in mid-May. The waxy tips on their secondaries contain astaxanthin, a red carotenoid pigment commonly found in crustaceans. 🇨🇦🌎🧪 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Vireos at @longpointbirds.bsky.social this spring: Blue-headed, Red-eyed, Eastern Warbling and Philadelphia #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Globally, Yellow-billed Cuckoos outnumber Black-billed elevenfold. Yet in Canada, there are 14 times as many breeding Black-billed Cuckoos as Yellow-billed! 📸 One of each at Long Point’s Tip in mid-May. 🇨🇦🌎🧪🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Eastern Kingbird ringed at Long Point’s Tip in mid-May. The shape of the outer primary differs between sexes, with males (pictured) having a sharper tip. The concealed crown patch can also be difficult to see in the field. 🪶🧪🌎

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

A single Bobolink was ringed on Long Point this spring: this female at the Tip on 17 May. Its annual migration between breeding in North America and wintering in South America is ~10,000 km each way! 🪶🧪🌎

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

The White-eyed Vireo is a rarity on Long Point; one was ringed at the Tip this spring, on 26 May. #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Wood Thrush at the Tip of Long Point in mid-May. Its scientific name, Hylocichla mustelina, roughly translates to “weasel-like forest thrush”. 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Rose-breasted Grosbeak ~ 2CY male ~ Long Point, Ontario ~ 17 May 2026 ~ #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

The Worm-eating Warbler is a vagrant to Canada, so this one at Long Point’s Tip on 20 May represented a notable record! #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Yellow-breasted Chat at Long Point’s Tip on 19 May. A taxonomic mystery for centuries, it is now recognised as the sole member of the family Icteriidae. 🇨🇦🌎🧪 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

This Solitary Sandpiper found its way into a mist net during our migration monitoring operations at Long Point’s Tip on 20 May. Unusually for waders, they nest in trees, reusing old nests of songbirds. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Prothonotary Warbler at Long Point’s Tip on 18 May. This adult (3CY+) male was a standout highlight of the spring. Southern Ontario represents the northern edge of their breeding range, with a Canadian population of just ~30 individuals! 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

60 Magnolia Warblers were fitted with Motus tags (small radio transmitters) at Long Point’s Tip this spring as part of research seeking to improve our understanding of their migration ecology. @birdscanada.bsky.social 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

A highlight of this spring at Long Point’s Tip was finding this Yellow-throated Warbler during census on 28 May. It soon found its way into a mist net and was ringed, aged and sexed as a second-year male. A vagrant to Canada, it was the 8th Tip record. #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Circumnavigation of Long Point on Wednesday took us to our two remote Purple Martin colonies, where we collected cloacal swab samples for research on antibiotic resistance genes and ringed 128 chicks. ⛵️🧪🌎 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We ringed a brood of Osprey in Port Rowan yesterday as part of collaborative research into how contaminants affect their reproductive ecology. It was a great opportunity to engage the local community, with >50 people coming to watch! @birdscanada.bsky.social 🌎🧪 #birdbanding

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

We checked on our Purple Martin nests at @longpointbirds.bsky.social yesterday to support research on how antibiotic resistance genes vary between adults and nestlings. 🇨🇦🌎🧪 #birdbanding

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Eastern Whip-poor-will captured for tag retrieval this week as part of @birdscanada.bsky.social research on breeding ecology and habitat utilisation. Great to see these cryptic creatures of the night up close! 🇨🇦🌎🧪 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

It’s Tree Swallow chick time! 342 nestlings ringed between our two long-term study sites in Port Rowan over the past week. @longpointbirds.bsky.social 🇨🇦🌎🧪 #birdbanding

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

The first Scarlet Tanagers of the spring were ringed at the Tip this morning! 🇨🇦🪶 @longpointbirds.bsky.social

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Eastern Bluebird and Great Crested Flycatcher at the Tip this week. Both are uncommon captures in our mist nets. @longpointbirds.bsky.social #birdringing

Eastern Bluebird. Long Point (Tip). 11 May 2026.

Great Crested Flycatcher. Long Point (Tip). 12 May 2026.

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

A varied and full day, as always, at @longpointbirds.bsky.social! A new eBird record count of Red-throated Divers for Norfolk County (ebird.org/checklist/S3...) and 40 km travelled for the Ontario Shorebird Survey, with two trailer loads of debris removed from the beach. 🇨🇦🌎🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Tree Swallow nest monitoring is underway at Long Point for the summer as part of a long-term research project that has been running here since 1969. They’ll be on eggs any day now! 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎 @longpointbirds.bsky.social

Tree Swallow at the Tip (Long Point) on 28 April

Tree Swallow at Old Cut (Long Point) on 06 April

Tree Swallow at Breakwater (Long Point) on 10 April

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Black-and-white Warbler at the @longpointbirds.bsky.social Tip on Tuesday: the first of the year to be ringed here 🇨🇦 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Baltimore Orioles have been arriving in force at Long Point’s Tip over the last couple of weeks! 🇨🇦 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Piping Plover at the Tip on Monday! A major rarity at Long Point, but they breed on the Pennsylvanian shore of Lake Erie, 42 km south of here. This one was ringed there as a hatchling last year! @longpointbirds.bsky.social #CanadianBirding

Piping Plover (front) and Semipalmated Plover (rear)

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

An arrival of Eastern White-crowned Sparrows at Long Point’s Tip this morning saw 15 ringed. One of the absolute best birds! #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Red-headed Woodpecker at the @longpointbirds.bsky.social Tip research station this morning. Some of the finest secondaries out there! 🇨🇦 #birdringing

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

A spectacular passage of Long-tailed Ducks at @longpointbirds.bsky.social this morning set a new eBird record count for Norfolk County, with thousands streaming past in lashing rain. ebird.org/checklist/S3... #CanadianBirding

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Yesterday morning saw 142 birds ringed at the Tip before boating to the mainland for supplies. These included two rarities: Grasshopper Sparrow and Yellow Palm Warbler! @longpointbirds.bsky.social 🇨🇦🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Migration monitoring is underway for the spring season at the @longpointbirds.bsky.social Tip research station! The first morning of trapping saw 166 individuals ringed today, including two Northern Mockingbirds. 🇨🇦 #birdbanding

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Five days at @longpointbirds.bsky.social Breakwater this week. Highlights included Ruffed Grouse and Golden Eagle (each with three previous eBird records for the site), plus a gobble of Wild Turkeys and some Brown Thrashers. ebird.org/tripreport/4... #CanadianBirding

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Good morning, Breakwater! We’re setting up our remote research station for the spring season in a -5°C blizzard. Golden Eagle was today’s census highlight. @longpointbirds.bsky.social

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Week one in my new role as Field Operations Coordinator at @longpointbirds.bsky.social. Migration monitoring is in full swing at Old Cut, with a few hundred kinglets and creepers ringed! Here’s a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 🇨🇦🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Wow! Up close with a drake Ring-necked Duck today in Norfolk, Ontario! #birdringing @emmabuck.bsky.social

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

An arrival of Golden-crowned Kinglets at Long Point’s Old Cut today! 🇨🇦🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Red-winged Blackbird at Long Point Causeway yesterday. Always full of character! 🇨🇦🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Over 500 Sandhill Cranes have been utilising the marshes beside Long Point Causeway in recent days 🇨🇦🪶

Sandhill Crane. Long Point Causeway, Norfolk, Ontario. 27 March 2026.

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Brown Pelican plunge-diving (and dispersing a shoal of fish!) along Cozumel’s waterfront in January 🇲🇽🪶

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

In addition to several endemic bird species, Cozumel is home to a handful of regionally endemic subspecies. Pictured from January are Bananaquit, Western Spindalis, Rufous-browed Peppershrike and Mangrove Warbler. 🇲🇽🪶

Western Spindalis (Spindalis zena benedicti)

Rufous-browed Peppershrike (Cyclarhis gujanensis insularis)

Mangrove Warbler (Setophaga petechia rufivertex)

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Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Cozumel’s wastewater treatment plant offered great views of Ruddy Crake, Black-necked Stilt and Northern Jacana (check out those carpal spurs in the last pic!) in early January 🇲🇽🪶

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