Part 1 of 3: Newfoundland in winter? Sparky are you crazy? Crazy like a fox! This easternmost land in North America is a birding Mecca in winter. Many European species can be found here, and often not just single individuals, but sometimes many.

I hire local “Super Guide” Jared Clarke of Bird the Rock (birdtherock.com) to help me out on my first two days…and we have a whale of a time (actually that story will be in Part 2). Jared helps get me on multiple ABA Lifers including Purple Sandpiper, Black Guillemot, Great Cormorant, Pink-footed Goose (at a University campus pond!), Eurasian Green-winged Teal and more.

We go to Cape Spear (first spot the sun touches each morning in North America) and find a flock of over 200(!) Purple Sandpipers, plus learn a bit about its WWII history.