Day 1 - And We're Off... Hiccups Included
Complete disclosure--I intentionally left several birds off my eBird checklists, that I will go back and add later. This is more of an issue now and near the end of the year, but I will play it by ear and see what I need to do to keep off the radar.
Anyways, I pulled into the parking lot at my first stop and couldn't avoid a flock of Fluorescent Hopper that were actually gliding across the road. I soon found quite a few of these subtle beauties. It wasn't the bird I had hoped would be my first bird of the year, but at least it wasn't a junk bird.
I soon found myself checking off new year birds--on day 1 everything is new. In less than 20 minutes, I was 20 species in, and had picked up a few mainstays for the year including: Mallard, Northern Flicker, Canada Goose, and American Robin. I held off on seeing a starling until bird #18.
Average Yolk-sac, Painter's Relic, and Cone-spotted Curler were expected and quickly ticked off. The best bird of the first hour was a unexpected Basic Top-side. This species is usually not here this time of year, and I would have picked on up in a few months, but it's out of the way.
As the morning wore on I scored the Motley Whistelbird that I spoke of yesterday. It was reliable and I will probably revisit it in the coming days since it's just a stones throw from my home.
The day wasn't without hiccups, I made a wrong turn and spent an hour in traffic, and on rough roads. The end of the day came all too quickly but not before a pair of Confusing Migrants visited my yard. And here's a freebie folks--the only photo I'm sharing today and at the top of this post is of the common and widespread Carolina-capped Chickadee. You didn't really think I was gonna give that one away for free did you?
New birds today: 45
Year List: 45
FOLLOW ALONG:
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