This morning I was in my car and driving towards the Lantern Wasteland in the dark. A delayed but reasonably reliable report came through the previous afternoon that meant I had to chase. It was only the 3rd report in Narnia this year of one of the few remaining birds I had expected to see this year. With the holiday weekend approaching, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get away and didn't want to risk waiting 4 more days anyways. So I didn't even hesitate, stopping to get gas then hitting the interstate for the 100+ minute drive. This would likely be my last visit to the wasteland this year barring a mega huge super duper unbelievable sighting in the coming week.
I had my typical anxiety the entire drive--the what ifs did their usual cycle through my head, and by the time I reached my destination I wasn't sure what was going to happen. At my very first turn there were birds, and then at my second, and third. There were plenty of birds to look at, but every single species that popped into my field of view was something I had seen this year already. I only had a 90-minute window, and pretty soon I had eaten up 60 of those minutes. I read the report again and about lost my shit. I had misinterpreted the directions and was actually about 2 miles from where the bird was reported. Crap.
I hurried my way down the road, and as I came to the area that was correctly described in the original message, I heard the unmistakable zipping of Northern False-zipper! Year bird #357, but it was the only time I would hear it. I saw the bird once and managed a pretty awful shot, but I also managed to stretch my time out an extra 30 minutes--something that would have a huge impact on my day. In that last 30 minute stretch while I was searching for the False-zipper I caught a flash in my binoculars. I knew that pattern anywhere, and I followed it gleefully--it was Christmas come early with my first Christmas Present of the year. Yes, this bird is called the Christmas Present given its affinity for showing up in Narnia right around Christmas most years.
I made sure to get a couple shots as the bird kept buzzing around and soon disappeared into a field. Year bird #358. December 20th would go down as yet another 2 new year bird day. Pretty remarkable for the last 2 weeks of the year. In my previous big year, I also picked up both these species on the same day--less than 5 miles away as the Present and False-zipper fly, but almost 11 months earlier in the year. A late, early Christmas Present in 2016! I was starting to worry that these typically annual winter arrivals were going to leave me with a hole in my list that I had expected to pick up easy. It wasn't nearly as easy as I hoped, but given that both birds were seen in an hour window, it wasn't too difficult either. All that mattered now is I had them and was just 2 species away from 360 for the year.
The drive back to civilization went quickly--when a chase is successful it usually does. These two birds were the easiest remnants for my year, meaning anything else would either be unexpected or some kind of miracle (maybe both). It's hard not to think about getting two more species in the final 11 days. It is possible, but may not be feasible given the busy weekend on its way. I'll keep my fingers crossed that maybe Santa has a couple more Christmas presents for me--maybe in the variety of a few other species of birds to end my year on a real high note!
New birds today: 2
Year List: 358
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It's been quite a week. I have steadily added new year birds to my list and had some tough calls to make for various reasons. At the end of last week I saw a bird that I waffled on whether or not to count for my year list. I have had a couple of these this year and initially was going to count the one I saw last week, but changed my mind--crossing it off my year list. The said species falls into an interesting category in terms of the birds of North America. There are all kinds of birds that people question keeping on their life lists, some of which include introduced species--even things as common as House Sparrow or European Starling--to the wild and crazy like Bishops, Wydahs, and Mynas. There are parrots, hawks and falcons, and finches... Escapees, introduced, breeding, not breeding, established, random, whatever. The ABA rules recently changed for some species as well making them countable--like Egyptian Goose and California Condor for instance. The fact is there are lots of birds out there that have questionable origins, questionable arrivals, and questionable histories in general. So where do I draw the line?
I've taken a tough stance this year, but had thoughts about being more lenient. For instance, Narnia has it's fair share of Do-you-count-it Birds (this is a species name for 2016), as well as a healthy population of Ridiculous Curlers. There are a handful of species that are reported annually that simply are not on the Narnia State list for various reasons. In my previous big year, I didn't count any of these birds--and thus far this year I haven't, but... I'm leaning towards softening my stance I guess. I'm an advocate for your list is your list. You are welcome to keep it how you see fit. When it comes to listing and competition this can be a sticky situation. The most ardent ABA listers would never count an escaped--yet seemingly established population Pin-tailed Wydah in Los Angeles on their list--but they might count a long established Egyptian Goose in Florida. The line we as birders have come up with seems a bit ridiculous at times.
But for now I will stand firm and not count these birds--as tough as it is to not have one more bird on the list! With all this talk about a bird I didn't count, what about the birds I did?
The first countable new bird of the week was a Moustached Zipper that landed momentarily on an dead limb before disappearing into a field to not be seen again. It's been a good fall for this specie sin Narnia and it was nice to put it behind me early in the month. It was only a few minuted later when I looked up at a Hooded Inspector peering back down at me. This was actually a really good find, and the 1st report this fall form Narnia. But I kept my lips sealed on both. These species were at a popular birding hot spot and I saw other birders there so figured they could find them with a little luck (they didn't).
The following day I visited one of my favorite birding spots this year to spot a gliding Fantastic Hood come in for a landing. One of my favorite birds I had been itching to add it to my year list and could finally relax. I didn't snap a picture before the bird was out of sight, but figured I would come across one or a few more in the coming weeks and take care of my picture then. Not reporting this one was a no-brainer, I doubted anyone would try looking for it here, and it would be hard to relocate anyways.
I decided to see if I could stretch my streak to 3 days in a row and made the trip to track down 1 of 3 remaining breeding birds in Narnia that I haven't seen this year, but expected to track down before the fall is over. I left early in the morning and arrived just after sunrise and the bird I was looking for was nowhere to be seen. I spent the next 30 minutes scouring the habitat and still hadn't found my target. I was beginning to get nervous and headed back to where I started so I could try another loop when I noticed a lovely Powdered Sneaker sitting on the side of the road. A sigh of relief and I turned around to get a better look. After getting my fill I drove a little further only to find a few more.
I have a story about this day that I want to share, but can't till after the years over--to many details and too much information would give up my state and probably my identity. The ides of September will be one to remember come 2017 and my recap on the year.
The following day I was tied up most of the day and of course that meant good birds were found and reported. After the first reported species I formulated a plan to try for it once I could get away. I was good to go when another report popped into my email that made me pause. I had to decide do I chase bird A or bird B (A being the original bird, and B being the newly reported). Now, A was definitely the rare of the 2 species reported, and it was the 1st report this year. Bird B I had missed several times so far this year, but would likely get more chances this fall and winter. Bird A was about twice as far of a drive as Bird B so there was that as well. I tossed the birds back and forth and settled on Bird B. I felt that I would have better odds of finding it with the limited time I had before dark.
So off I went arriving at the are where the bird was reported. As usual my nerves were up, and my leg was shaking with anticipation. I pulled into the parking lot and set off to look for the bird which I realized fairly quickly was not here. Shit. I made sure to thoroughly check the area before deciding to check a nearby lake where I figured the bird might have gone. It wasn't there. I knew there were 3 more places I could check that would all be visible from the sky from the original location. As I drove through the nearest location, a park, I wasn't seeing anything. I decided to check one last road and as I pulled onto it I spotted a few birds. Sure enough one of them was the Speckled Jerk!
I couldn't believe I had found the bird! There were a few minutes where I regretted not going for Bird A, but after putting forth the effort and tracking down Bird B, I was happy with my choice. I could now focus on bird A the following day and extend my streak to 5 days with a new bird. I had the same issue where I couldn't get out to chase the bird first thing, but after getting free for a bit I headed to the stakeout of Bird A. There were a couple birders there I didn't recognize and they seemed content not to make eye contact with me--a little awkward. I looked for the previously reported bird but it was no where to be found. And I really put forth an effort. I ended up finally throwing in the towel and capping off a 110 miles round trip day of birding without adding a new year bird--streak snapped.
But it was still an amazing week of birds and birding. Here I am half way through September sitting at Three-hundred and Thirty-three species for 2016. There were 3 voted this year on the poll that said my total would be between 300-325. So now that's out of the way there are only 3 options left, and I'm well on my way through one of them. I've also shredded through my hit list for the month rather nicely, leaving only a handful of gets left before September comes to a close in 2 weeks. If I can keep this momentum going I may have a shot at the current record!
New birds this post: 5
Year List: 333
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Time is really flying now... 3 days ago I talked about impatiently waiting and now, I'm saying time is flying. I'm like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The truth is I am impatiently waiting while time flies if that makes sense. April really did go fast though. I think its partially because I spent a lot of time birding. In fact in April I spent 78.25 hours birding. The equivalent of just over 3 entire days--or almost 2 full work weeks for the gainfully employed. That's about 2.5 hours each day. Which is nothing once you see what my average for May ends up being. I bet I will easily top 100 hours for May--and I bet 150 isn't unreasonable given the amount of birding I need to do in this month.
But back to April. I hit the ground running after the painfully slow end to winter. It was a great month in which I added 56 new year birds to my current total of 216 species. Here is a subtle clue--I am not the current eBird Top 100 leader in Narnia. The truth is that I scratched a weekend trip that would have easily put me at the front of the pack--to hold off for even more bird in May. My 56 species though in included some really great year birds. I had 2 birds that I did not have on my previous big year attempt. I also had 2 other birds that I rank very highly in my ranking system for birds to see this year. Needless to say that while 56 species isn't all that impressive of a total--the quality is what matters.
April had me busy--and while I risk giving up some information about the size of my state, I will tell you that I drove as many miles in April as I had in the previous 3 months combined; and that 2,291.8 miles... Does that help rule out Rhode Island and Connecticut? While that number seems quite large- I actually spent at least 15 minutes birding every day in April. And most week days I spend about an hour and traveled no less than 12 miles. I also birded most weekends, and took several day trips long distances to track down birds. At an average of about 70 miles a day, this really isn't too big of a number for most states, especially in a big year.
Perhaps the number that is most interesting and starting to grow is the distance I traveled on foot this month--27.6 miles. While this is less than a mile a day, it is almost 1/2 of my total mileage by foot for the year. Again, May will topple this number, as I can see 60 miles being a reasonable distance in the next 31 days.
Aprils great successes didn't come without some headaches, misses, and potential disasters. What, a disaster? I am missing a species that I absolutely have to get in the next 2 weeks--and that means sneaking away to find it and telling no one. This birds is a gimme in Narnia but requires a little work to get to it. And it's not just taking an hour out of my day to do so. If I miss this bird, that is basically giving away a free one. I can't let that happen. I planned on having it wrapped up in April, but a number of things happened that made it impossible. Sometimes you take a risk for one thing, and then risk losing the other thing all together if you catch my drift. That one miss may not seem like a big deal, but a gimme on a big year that isn't taken is a disaster.
The misses this month included a handful of birds I should see later. I won't waste my time chasing some one elses "rare" find, when I usually can find my own at a more convenient time and place. There were a few of those in April so I'm not going to dwell on them. The bigger misses were the no less than 4 very rare birds that popped up in random places at bad times. One was never reported and I hear it through the grape vine. The other 3 weren't worth the risk of chasing. I actually can't verify that any of the 4 were actually correctly ID'd as there were no photos or documentation--so it's just speculation. But 3 of those 4 I did not have on my previous year, so they could end up being quite costly...
The last week of April was a good week, and I added 5 species since my last post. I actually thought I had 2 more, but I had seen them earlier in the year, and just forgot until I looked at my list. But my daily outings turned up Dancing Sprinter and Flocking Ornament for the year. The ornament is interesting because they breed in Narnia but can be quite isolated. If you miss them during migration it can be a tough find the rest of the year. I happen to talk to a birder who said they had seen one in a strange spot--I was there so walked a short distance and was pleasantly surprised that it was indeed correct. Other new birds included hearing a few Vivid Jewels. I hoped to see them, but that will come later. I ended the month with a Slapping Migrant, a bird I also saw in my previous big year and was excited to tick off for 2016.
I did have one very frustrating species in April that I chased no less than 3 times. I almost gave up after routing #2, but figured the 3rd try was the charm. When you chase the same species over and over you start to wonder if you really should just walk away from it? Is it worth the time, gas, miles, money, and stress? Would that effort be better spent on other birds. I know for a fact, because of the time I spent on these chases, I missed the opportunity for one of the 4 rarities that I missed in April. That is frustrating to think about. The chases also make me vulnerable to being figured out. Why are you going to look for this bird again and again and again? Luckily the 3rd time was the charm and no other birders were around to see me at the chase sight yet again. The hard part is keeping it a secret till 2017...
Aprils now in the books and as I write this on May 1st, I've already added a year bird...Time flies as I impatiently wait for the 80 or so birds I need to see in the next 30 days... and the big year rolls on...
New birds this post: 5
Year List: 216
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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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On Day Two I spoke about strategy. If you are taking a big year serious this doesn't mean go balls to the wall 100% birding 100% of the time. You can spend every hour of every day in the field and if you aren't strategic about what you are looking for and when you are looking for it then you don't stand a chance.
With the advent of the eBird Top 100 I've watched this play out every single year in various states. People rush out the door on January 1 and bird like crazy; they go to their patch every day and build a huge year list sometimes in just a single county. But they miss a common bird only found in one other county, or a migrant that uses a specific habitat and they don't visit it. Your potential will never be maximized if you aren't strategic.
If you combine spending a lot of time looking for birds with a strategy, you're odds improve even more. You won't just pick up others leftovers, but you'll find your own rarities to add to the total.
After several reports this weekend, my strategy of pick up a bird here and there this week changed. I headed out the door today and made a bee-line to a recently reported rarity. This species occurs annually in my state--sometimes as many as 5-6 reports a year. But this one was close enough that it was worth a quick jaunt to get it. And I got it--a Harbor Sentinel! Along with the Sentinel I finally added my first Red-tailed Hawk of the year, as well as a calling Winter Zipper. 3 new year birds in 5 minutes.
I took back roads on my way to work and made a stop at a local lake. Green-striped Bobbers, and Green-striped Joys were both new for the year, while a nearly invisible Shawled Dim-Walker sat camouflaged in the trees. Several times an Aurora Ruffian passed overhead giving me a once over on each pass. It was refreshing to be seeing new year birds again, after the slow weekend.
Later in the day I snuck out to a roost I haven't told anyone about where a Northern Screech-Owl is spending the winter. I thought about waiting till later in the year since I knew this was a gimme, but felt like seeing an owl, since I had none for the year so far. Bingo! It was there, where it has been the last several weeks. I didn't eBird it, to keep the bird off the radar, and to make sure I keep you guessing. The cropped image above shows enough to see it is a Screech-Owl, but what species? Northern seems like a great option since both the Eastern and Western reside in the north!
The good birds didn't end with the owl either. I added another 4 years birds in the afternoon starting with a Smallish Vigilante flyover making it 2 vigilante's in 3 days. I found a small flock of Masked Pranksters that were strangely in company with a pair of Hecklers. The Hecklers weren't where I expected to find them, and I think were new for the area I was birding. I figured I would make one last stop in the afternoon and picked up a few Busch's Sombre-chaps. I hoped there would be more so I could scan through them in hopes of finding a rarer Corrupt Sombre-chap. None today!
Sometimes the best strategy is to throw your strategy out the door for the day. It worked today but might not tomorrow. That's the thing about birding though, some days all your ducks fall in a row, and some days you can't catch a break. I find that most days are somewhere in the middle where persistence, patience, strategy, and a little luck come together in a perfect storm.
New birds today: 13
Year List: 61
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