Day 182 - June in the Books

That was fast. 

I felt like May moved along at a nice pace, and it was a long month. I was birding so much, and seeing so many new birds that it seemed to last forever. June--not so much. I birded plenty this month, but as the temperatures rose and summer kicked off, the # of species took a sharp decline. Where I added 85 year birds in May, I only added 6 in June--YIKES! I mentioned previously that this was expected. I had hoped to add 10 species on the month so I came up a few short. That would have left only a very short list of possibilities in July. June didn't bring any mega rarities. Some uncommon birds, and one that is occasionally detected here in Narnia. During my previous big year I added 3 rare birds in June--something that would have helped my year nicely in 2016.

How's this for juxtaposition: In my last big year I had by July 1st seen 25 species that I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS YEAR.

25.  Think about that.

Now, in 2016, as of July 1st, I have seen 25 species that I HAD NOT SEEN by July 1st during that year.

25.  EXACTLY.

That's crazy to think about. The parallels between my last big year, and this one are amazing. I can't share too much because I don't want to give anything away at this point. There have been several birds that I saw on the exact same dates, in the exact same places--some not all that common--just luck. The number of rarities seems pretty close from each year as well. This big year thing is a something else.

Now that 25 number is interesting... In 2016 so far, I have seen 10 birds that I DID NOT SEE in my last big year. So 15 that I have seen I picked up in the final 6 months. An here is that crazy juxtaposition again--while I know anything can happen, there were 10 birds of those 25 I saw in my previous big year by July 1st, that I DON'T THINK I WILL SEE in 2016.

A dead wash. No advantage. What a strange thought.

My plan was that by now I should be far ahead of my previous pace, with an outlandish number of rarities exceeding my previous attempt. But its been less than stellar in terms of others finding great birds this year. There have been a few, but things are lacking.

Now, although technically we have hit the 1/2 way mark in terms of months, its still a few days till the true 1/2 way mark in terms of days. I'm at the literal turning point for the year. The downhill swing; the drive home; the last lap... Whatever you want to call it. I mentioned this last month, but I've crunched the numbers and I know likely where I'll end up come December 31st, and its going to be close. My thoughts wander to what unexpected rarities will pop up this fall during migration that will help buoy my list. At the same time, what expected things might I miss? There is certainly room for things to go very well--and conversely I might end up just short.

Looking forward to the coming 31 days there are exactly 9 birds on my get list for the month. That's the 9 most expected and regularly occurring birds. The remaining breeders. The first fall migrants possibly. And a couple residents that just keep evading my gaze. It's a short list, and will be some work. If I get all 9, I will be in a really good place come August. BUT, what I am really hoping for is some amazing mid-summer rarities. Narnia is no stranger to mid-summer megas. Late July has a rich history of them showing up here and there could be some "year changers". There are also still 3 species I've basically written off. I don't know if I'll get a chance to try for them again, and even if I do finding 2 of the 3 would make for big finds. If for some reason I can manage to get away for a day, I still might try for all 3.

In my world that means that in an ideal world I could end up at 319 by the end of July, or even pass the 320 mark given the right circumstances. If you've followed along with the poll you can pretty much knock the 300-325 pool out of contention since I should be in the 325 range at some point in August at this rate.

June is over. July is here. I put some 2,000 miles on pavement during the month, and traveled an additional 28 miles on foot. I spent just over 100 hours (4 entire days) looking for birds, and as you know added just 6 species to my year list. July might top those numbers--perhaps with less miles driven and more on foot though. July will be very similar to June though--over in a hurry. After that I hope August and September take their time, although I imagine they'll feel fast too.  I guess I'll relish the rest of the summer, and just keep birding like I have the past 6 months. It's been a blast.

New birds today: 0
Year List: 307

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post

Day 180 - Tick Tock Goes the Clock

Tick tock. Tick Tock. Tick tock. The clock approached noon on my secret big year. Every second, minute, hour, and day that passes, the pressure is on to fill in the missing pieces of the big year puzzle. My leg is shaking as I type this, in the back of my mind I'm constantly thinking about this damn year and how it is going. I'm happy with my progress and the year I have had will be great, even if it ends up falling short of a new record. So much focus on that record. At the end of the day it's just a number, but the whole point of this is to top it. And as the clock tick tocks, the finish line gets closer, and I feel the pressure. Tick tock. Tick Tock.

After the small success in the middle of last week, I still had holes that needed immediate attention. I took the weekend to work on pinning down a few. I had a list of just 7 possible species. 7. Think about that. 6 months ago I had a list of 400 some odd birds to choose from. As the year winds on that has narrowed. And every trip I take has an ever shrinking list of targets. Now, saying I had 7 targets is a stretch. Realistically, I had 3 birds to get. The other 4 were long shots They are rare at best, and accidental in some cases--perhaps under reported or detected? Still, this meant I had 3 birds I had to get.

The first bird I set out to find was a species of Cloak. In Narnia this cloak has been known to occur for some time. The extent of it being either a vagrant/accidental or a regular but restricted breeder remains unclear. Some recent evidence seems to point to the latter making it one of a handful of very difficult to get breeders. Narnia has a short list of suspected breeders with limited range. In recent years the number of reports has increased, and there seems to be one area where the bird has been seen repeatedly. However there have been no reports in 2016. I set off for a walk along the area the birds were known to occur, but despite several hours of searching I failed to turn up the cloak, or very many other birds for that matter. The cloak was not one of the 3 expected, so it wasn't a huge miss. Had I found one, it would have been a huge addition...

A few hours later near where I looked for the cloak I was walking and listening for a couple of birds that were starting to get active. A little help from some playback and in less than 15 minutes I had both. Two out of the three birds I needed were added. A Secretive Cougher and a Rookie Thinker were both odds and ends I should have seen by now. I resorted to using playback as a last resort, not knowing when I'd be in there habitat again, or if this would be my last shot at either. Neither are all that rare, but they tend to go undetected by most birders due to their secretive nature.

As the day came to an end it was time to look for one of several owls that are still missing from my year list. I've seen/heard all the common and expected, but have 2 species that are much more uncommon, limited in range, and needed for my year. It was so quiet when I stepped out of my car to start playing for the target this night. I played the tape and another species responded. I tried again a couple times an nothing. I moved on to another spot and ran through the same process. Again, another species called out from the woods, but not my target. It was late, and I had potentially waited to long to start trying. I should have started earlier. Although this species is not typically expected on a big year, I had planned on it for mine, so was quite disappointed.

The next morning I was out in search of anything new. My plan for the day was to bird my way to a nearby gorge where I could check for the last somewhat expected target. I had little hope for anything new where I started my day. It was late in the breeding season, migration is long over, and I'd already gotten every single species I could from the area in previous visits. So it was a complete surprise when a Benefiting Sentinel popped into view--this was my later in the day target bird. Surprise! Holy crap, I had my 3rd main target of the trip. This was good news. I actually worried that this may just go down as a miss this year--I knew there were a few around, but I thought I might be spending the better part of 2 days looking for one. What luck!

I made the decision to wrap up my birding for the day and head home. I had been on so many of these little outings this year, I felt it was worth calling it a weekend. I potentially could have tried again for 2-3 species that might be around. I'll never know if I would have got them, because I pulled the plug and opted to get out of the field and relax. So not a big year mentality, but some days you just have to hang up the binoculars and focus on the other important things in life. If it comes down to December 31, and I am 2-3 birds shy of a new record, I can point to this weekend as a reason why. Or any number of other outings I suppose.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. The clock doesn't stop. At least for today though, I am happy with my 6 new year birds in the past 10 days. Perhaps I'll kick my feet up, enjoy a cold beer, and clear my mind of all this secret insanity...

New birds this post: 3
Year List: 307

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post

Day 174 - Cair Paravel

“This is the land of Narnia,' said the Faun, 'where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel..."


Tis' the true start of the great summer in Narnia, spring migration long behind us, and fall migration just ahead.  The longest day of the year came and went, leaving less and less light every day from here on out.  In just a matter of days the year will be 1/2 over.  I far passed the 1/2 way mark on number of birds months ago.  Now is the time where I wait for the great southbound migration to pick things back up.  As I gaze upon Narnia from the castle Cair Paravel today, I am reminded of how lucky I am  to live where I do.  There is simply no state like Narnia, and I marvel at what it has to offer, despite its flaws.

Today marked the first day with a new year bird in more than 3 weeks--what a long wait.  Thankfully it wasn't just 1 year bird either.  I put together a string of much needed specialty birds to cap off the majority of the holes in my breeding and resident species needs. Let me regale you with todays story...

The journey to the castle takes a bit of a trek, winding across the land.  By mid morning I was standing on an escarpment basking in the warm suns glow as I marveled over the marvelous sight beholden to me.  Narnia.  The birding most of the morning was the usual suspects.  I finally managed to take a few pictures of birds I needed for my year list.  I finally ended the drought when an Explorer's Reservist took a perch high on a tree.  This had become somewhat of a year nemesis--how had it taken almost 6 whole months to see this rather common flier?  A strange thing to miss this bird at every turn till now--but it was finally a tick mark, ending 3 weeks of silence on the new bird front.

The castle was strange this morning though.  Many of the expected finds were hard to come by, and several birds I had hoped to add were no where to be found.  The day was highlighted when an Irruptive Elitist made itself known.  I had gotten to the point where I expected this high society type to stay out of the public eye in 2016.  A good get and a bit of de ja vu to an earlier visit to Cair Paravel.

As the day continued it looked less and less like this would be my only visit to the castle in 2016--I would have to come back.  I managed to eek out a 3rd year bird when a Pine Riveter popped into view briefly.  It was gone in a flash and only see for a few seconds a little later.  Curious creatures these birds be...

After a long day I look back and see the long road ahead.  Its all like a memory of a place I've been before.  So many similarities to the past.  The parallels between my previous big year and 2016 line up in so many ways.  Yet the subtle difference in this year being a secret changes things dramatically. I've been here before, but it all feels so different.

My week isn't yet over though--and hopefully I can keep things moving and fill in a couple more holes before June is a memory; part of the past as well.

New birds today: 3
Year List: 304

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post

Day 171 - The June Drought

Where has the month gone?

The past 2 weeks have flown by and Narnia has been rather quiet.  Usually the 1st half of June has a small handful of rarities reported.  I thought for sure I would be out on 1 or 2 chases as the month progressed, but as of today I have not added a new year bird in June.  The 20 day drought of new birds isn't a total surprise--and it might continue for a couple more days!  The lack of any rarities certainly is a blow to growing my year list, but rarities can never be expected so it is what it is.  I have been getting out trying to track down a few of the remaining local species I don't have for the year.  My time in the field divided by the number of species I am looking for seems like I am putting an awful lot of effort in for a few birds at this point.

The drought will eventually end, and my guess is that it will end this week.  I have some birding planned to pick up a small portion of the resident breeders I haven't picked up.  6 possible year birds in one day.  My trek will take me deep into Narnia, where I will visit Cair Paravel for the first time this year.  If you are familiar with the lore of Narnia you'll know that Cair Paravel is the fictional castle where the Kings and Queens of Narnia rule. It is the location of the four thrones of High King Peter the Magnificent, High Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant.  I'll let you interpret what this means for my state, but it is significant.

Cair Paravel is one of Narnia's most notable areas.  It is as important to my story as it is to the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Anyone who does a big year in Narnia has to visit this bastion of royalty.  The royalty is not that of people, but of scenery.  There aren't a huge number of species that I will add to my list solely from this region--since I haven't visited yet this year that should be apparent.  But for a select list of species there are no better place to look than in the nook and crannies of this "castle".

My busy week will conclude with a visit to an area I've already been a handful of times in 2016.  I have some clean up work to do--and my fingers crossed for some great finds.  The next 10 days will have some serious impact on where my big year goes from here.  I might add as many as a 13 new birds in that span--but I should add no less than 8 regardless of how lucky I am.  I would love to get into the 310's before June is over, leaving just  a couple birds to find in July.

The drought is on and whilst the lake is almost dry, this summer solstice storm, should rain some new birds and provide enough to keep me filled through the summer heat.  At least I hope so...

New birds this post: 0
Year List: 301

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post

Day 158 - Strange Things

Quick, get the paddles, we need to resuscitate! With May out of the way, so are most of the new birds I will see in 2016, and it can be days without a tick. Looking at the eBird Top 100 you start to see lists stagnating. Once the major push of migrants is over new birds are generally far and few between for at least a couple weeks. I look at the others I assume are doing big years with intrigue--what will they see next? What have they seen that I haven't? What have I seen that they haven't? It's a game and keeping watch produces some interesting results.

For one individual I noticed a new addition and immediately thought, "how the hell did they barely see one of those?". Which led to, "what else haven't they seen that's common yet???". On another I saw they had successfully chased down a rarity--this led to me chasing the same rarity that I wasn't even aware was still around. So thank you kind eBirder. When I notice someone hasn't added a new bird in 3,4, or 5 days its a good sign for me in that they've likely emptied the tap for right now. I know there are a handful of things I've gotten that could've waited--but I also know I have a handful of really awesome birds that at least some of the others don't have.

While I look at the competition it will be telling in the next 2 months to see where their lists go. It may become apparent that some are just doing there usual birding and had a big 1st half of the year. But their actions will speak largely to their strategy which in turn will tell me a lot about what I need to do.

Yesterday I had a strange thought while driving. How will others react when they find out I was doing a big year? How will the birders that were doing big years react specifically? What if someone sets a new record and is elated with the joy that they've had a great year--but in the end I happen to have a few more birds than them?

It's a strange thing.

At the end of the day its just birding and birds--it doesn't matter at all. But I have to put myself in their shoes. How would I feel in reverse.

Such a strange thing.

Of course I can always hope that I have a record setting big year, and the others fall short of the current record. This makes things easier. And of course there is always the possibility that no one is really doing a big year and I am thinking about scenarios that won't exist.

What a strange thing.

These hypotheticals really don't matter right now. The year is far from over, and in the end I could very well be the one who falls short--either of the current record, or someone else and their new record. It's hard not to focus on the end goal and constantly be thinking about everything that's going to have to fall in to place for it to happen. There are so many unknowns (rare birds) that need to happen at the right time and place for this thing to work itself out. The only thing for certain is it has been one hell of a fun time birding in 2016. With June now disappearing one day at a time my focus is sticking to the strategy and getting the birds I absolutely have to before the summer is over.

New birds today: 0
Year List: 301

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post

Day 154 - May in the Books... What. A. Month.

What a month. There is no way to really put this May into perspective other than to say, "wow". I had high expectations for May back when I was planning this year out--I knew it would be the month that gave me the greatest number of birds in a month--and the second most year birds in a month. Both of those things happened. I ended up seeing 85 new year birds during May. A major haul of year birds, second only to January.

By the end of the month I spent just over 181 hours birding, and traveled almost 59 miles by foot.  I guessed I would top 150 hours and 60 miles on foot at the end of April--so pretty close on both. 181 hours may not seem like all that many but that's essentially 7 and 1/2 days.  That's over a week straight.  Or if we average it out thats almost 6 hours every day in May.  It paid off though.  I will not have another month like May for the rest of the year.

I don't even want to say how many miles I traveled in car, so I won't--it wasn't green by any means. May set the tone for the coming 7 months. Things slow dramatically now. The tail end of spring migration will trail off here in the next couple weeks--then a short summer ensues before the fall migrants start to return. I have a very short list of breeding birds to pick up in the next 61 days. I suspect I will have the majority tucked away before June is over, leaving just 1 breeder to track down in July.  Truthfully the list of breeding possibilities is limited to about 18 species that I don't have yet. Looking through my list there are essentially 25 possible birds with the first southbound migrants before August.  That is slim pickings.

I have goals for every month the remainder of the year--I need X amount of birds by July 1, and X by August 1 and so on and so forth. Hitting the number of new years birds I need, combined with a yearly total at the end of each month has me on a path to put within 10 birds of the current Narnia Big Year record--and that's 10 birds less or more depending on how well things pan out. Yes, crunching the numbers there is the definite possibility I will come up short--HOWEVER--I don't take into account the big rarities that will inevitably show up.  I've combed over my list and know that X number of year birds are almost guaranteed, and X number are likely.  That leaves me in the +/- 10 gap.  Factor in the rarities I don't count on and there is a chance I might reach  new record.

June and July will be spent mostly conserving my time, money, and mileage with hopes that come fall I will be able to use the same formula I've used this spring to chase and add birds to my year list.  I'll definitely work on those 18 birds, but I'm already dreaming about the southbound migration just around the corner.

For now I'll relish in the fact that May was spectacular... What. A. Month...
New birds today: 0
Year List: 301

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post

Day 153 - 300th Species, Part Deux

Sorry to leave you hanging on 300 in my last post.  I felt it was a good way to build up to a rather benign #300.  I have to keep those of you still hanging on hooked right?

Where I left off I was taking a mid-day stroll near what has become one of my daily stops during migration when I looked up above the trees and saw a pair of Usual Gloom-Specters circling.  I just smiled.  It was ironically 1 of the 3 I figured on seeing in the evening if I stuck around.  Instead here it was mid-day and the bird came to me.  #300...

I looked around and I was all by myself.  Birds were singing in the trees above me, a light breeze cooled the warm air and I had a peaceful sensation envelop me.  For a couple minutes I just stood there admiring everything about this scene.  It was so simple.  In the complication that has become a angels web of keeping stories straight and making sure I keep my secret, a moment of sheer simplicity brought me so much joy.  You would have thought I had found a first state record by the grin I had as I kept walking, enjoying the moment.

There was no pressure for May anymore.  I had hit a good number and could get back to my strategy game.  Chase when you need.  Get the species when they are expected.  And of course spend some time hoping you find something rare.

As the afternoon wore on I did a little eBirding.  The weekend misses had nagged me.  Especially Bird B (if you recall form Billabong...).  So I now had a night free, I could basically go birding where I wanted to see whatever I wanted.  And truthfully I wanted Bird B.  But I didn't want the drive that came with it.  So I did some searching and remembered a location closer to home I had all but forgotten about.  It was a shorter drive that would take less time to get too and to make things better there were a handful of recent reports.  It was settled, I was headed to River Shribble and the Northern Marsh.

As with any drive this year I was nervous the entire way.  I would have about 70 minutes of light once I got to the Northern Marsh, but the bird should be easy to find right?  It seemed to take forever to get there, when I pulled onto the main road through the marsh.  I drove scanning and listening for anything.  The birdlife was incredible.  It had been years since I had been here and where Billabong was a sad sight, this was magnificent.  As the first 40 minutes passed I was beginning to get worried.  I had covered the route through the marsh twice and had still not spotted my target.  Was this how tonight was going to go?

I sat watching a canal thinking about how I would write this post.  A wasted drive.  A missed target. Why was I doing this big year? Was this a mistake?  Then the familiar call of the Striped Cloak and a quick scan with my binoculars had 2 sitting just 150' from my car.  All the anxiety and questions floated out of my head.  Success.

I spent a while just watching the cloaks as they did their thing.  An elegant bird that is oft under appreciated for its simple ways. If the scene from earlier in the day was perfect simplicity--tonight was sheer beauty.  Again, I found myself alone, this time tucked away in a corner of Narnia where birders or anyone else seldom goes.  I watched as the sun dropped below the horizon and the chorus of frogs and birds filled the air.  For all the secrets I have to keep this year, these moments are the hardest not to share.  The world seems so endlessly perfect in a place like this.  But it's a facade.

While I relish in finding the birds and having the moments, I want to share it with others.  I still have 7 more months of experience like this to gloss over. I will share plenty of moments with others in that time--but the way its perceived for me and them will be different.  The secret big year goes on...

New birds today: 2
Year List: 301

FOLLOW ALONG:

Next Post

Previous Post