Jut getting word that an ABA Code 4 Eurasian Dotterel was discovered this afternoon near Oliphant, Bruce County, Ontario, by Michael Butler. The bird was associating with a flock of shorebirds of Lake Huron. This is a first provincial record for Ontario and a first record for this species in the eastern half of the ABA.
Photo by Mike Butler, more photos available on his blog, North Shore Nature
The bird was seen at the T-intersection of Spry Lake Road and Shoreline Road in Oliphant, which is about 15 km west of Wiarton. Oliphant is about 3 hours northeast of Toronto and just over 4 hours from Detroit.
Eurasian Dotterel is a very rare visitor to western Alaska and has occurred a handful of times in California, four times in Washington (1934, 1979, 1999, 2007) and once in British Columbia (1998). All save the first Washington bird were 1st years, as is this one.
As mentioned above, this is not only a first for Ontario, but a first for the east as well. With only 3 previous records for Iceland and 1 from Bermuda, this is an exceptional one indeed.