Day 98 - The April Boom

So with April underway I've made a decision to only post 1 time each week. This is more of a measure to save my identity than anything else, as with some rare finds, chases, etc at this point, it will be easier to narrow things down. I may post odds and ends during the weeks as well, but will try to keep it to an end of week recap at leas for the time being. I thought about pulling an April Fools joke and announcing I was giving up on my big year just 3 months and 1 day in, but figured that joke might be too obvious--so I held off. And then the week went on... And I didn't see anything new--April Fools!

April started off hot with new arrivals and my list slowly began to creep north again. I wandered off around Narnia this week and found myself surrounded by migrants, summer residents, and a few birds I'd missed in my coming and goings. My first Lesser Master-hustlers of the year were the first new arrivals. Shortly after a small flock of Flocking Reviewers flew past me, starting the waterfall of good birds for the week. Buzzing, Masked, and Pink-billed Zippers. Splendid, Bearded, and Tail-wagging Hobbits. Chattering Inspectors and Patterned Endurants. It was a a snatch and grab start to April. I saw some of my favorites, including several Awkward Sentinels, and a Highway Overseer.

But the usual finds were supplanted by the great finds. No big year can be complete without finding some great birds. You can solely rely on others to find and you to chase, but that isn't enough. When you are out in the field if you find some good birds, you will only help your big year be bigger. The first good bird I found was an Adorned Bootlegger. I had hoped I would find one this year--I didn't on my previous big year so luck was on my side. This was followed up by finding The Pickpocket. It was the first of the year for Narnia, and although they are found annually, some years (like in 2015) they were quite scarce.

The 3rd and final good find to kick off April was a Hall-of-fame Guitarist. This rock and roll legend really doesn't play shows in Narnia at all. Or at least not at the popular venues that draw crowds. I once sat front and center at a Hall-of-fame Guitarist show--I was the only person there in fact and although it didn't play any of it's hit songs that day, the sheer presence of such a magnificent bird left a lasting impression. Today's show was even better. With a small crowd watching, the guitarist perched up and belted out a few notes. The sun shone bright on it's rather modest attire. The guitarist saved the best for last when it took to the air and exited stage left, belting a short tune, with another show in the books.

That was fun. As the week continued, my first That-or-this Birds of the year showed up, followed by a Typical Hood, and a handful of other new arrivals. Before I knew it the first week had squeezed out 28 new year birds. It was a good week in Narnia. The Hall-of-fame Guitarist definitely made the week. It is one of the top 5 birds of the year so far. The crawl to 300 is seriously underway. I suspect the next 12 species will probably come a little more slowly--and may take a couple weeks to build up. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if April continues to be amazing--it's already leaps and bounds better than the past 60 days.

New birds this week: 28
Year List: 188

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