Where last week filled my list with the expected--this week filled it with the much needed and truly unexpected. Over the weekend I had opted not to chase a bird that was only 15 minutes from me at one point. I don't quite know what went through my head at the time, but it was passing on a slam dunk. The following day I looked for it to no avail. What a mistake--or so I thought. I decided to take one more shot at it, and see if by some miracle it had been hidden away when I looked--and luck must have been on my side. I pulled up to the marsh where the Trivial Lounger had been and spotted it flying immediately. I was just plain lucky...
It was a huge find in that if I missed it, there were no second chances later in the year. This spring migrant rarely if ever shows its face in Narnia during the fall. I decided to press my luck for the day and headed to the hills to visit some feeders I check periodically throughout the year. I first stopped to check a thicket for a species that should be arriving any day, and was glad to hear my first Capped Thicketbird of the year.
Moving along, the feeders were loaded with seed and birds. In a matter of 30 minutes I added a Sparkling Hobbit and a Great Vigilante from the nearby woods. Although I categorize both these species as birds I would see in 2016, or "expected", they are at the bottom of the expected list and should've required a little more work. Some days you get lucky though and the birds come to you with ease.
The next day, I set out for more migrants in a lowland area. I was in need of something out of the ordinary, and set out to find something. It's funny how that works as after a short hike I turned up a not-so-shocking Shocking Bird. This was not on my previous big year list, so a huge plus, and in general a "shocking" find. I tallied another year birds with the first Summer Skulker of the season, followed up by a singing Purchased Migrant. I put the migrant on my list with some hesitation. The find was an audible, and I narrowed it pretty quickly. After listening to a recording I made I stuck with my guns as there is nothing that sounds quite like it.
Continuing my week and streak of days with new year birds I was excited to pick up my first Black-and-white Overseer of the season mid week. The endless stream of migrants did slow a bit, but an overnight storm on Wednesday turned up a lot of birds the following day. I added my Summer Orchid for the year and saved myself a trip later in the summer to a remote location in Narnia to see one. I may still have to go, as I wan unable to get any pictures.
I have always been big on taking photos to help have some amount of culpability and credibility, but it's impossible to capture something 100% of the time. Given my secret big year this is problematic, since in many cases I only get one shot at a bird to make sure I'm not being too obvious. And often I am trying to enjoy the moment and unable to get a shot of before the chance has passed. It's a constant struggle to weigh the needs of getting a good look and being satisfied for the count versus trying to make sure I document the year.
Some days I win the battle and get great looks and photos. Other days I enjoy a nice look, but that's it. I pick my battles accordingly and know that some birds just aren't going to make it on film...
New birds today: 9
Year List: 285
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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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Strategy...
Today was strategically a slow day. Since I started off the year with a nice haul, I opted to take it easy, and not worry about chasing down rarities on day 2. It was a good call. At least 3 rarities reported yesterday were no-shows today. There are still numerous year birds present in my area and around the state that I could have sought out, but they will all come in due time. The list of must get winter birds is small and will be methodically narrowed down as the next 50 some odd days continue. I plan on starting to narrow these down once the week starts and I can make short 1 bird excursions as needed. Mainly I'll be keeping an eye on the rarities--and in some cases a saved chase is worth it.
This post isn't to say I missed out today. I managed to nail down 3 new year birds with out really trying. The first was the diminutive Undersized Jackbird. It's small but the name doesn't do this bird justice. For what it lacks in size it more than makes up in character, call, and actions.
The second find was while driving when a Medium Vigilante passed over the car. I wasn't sure if I would see the Medium or Smallish Vigilante first this year but a quick look over the field marks and the Medium it was! The third and final new bird of the day was a Dull Dancer hanging out on the edge of a local watering hole. It was expected, so it wasn't a surprise; I just took advantage of merely being in the area. But there's a catch, I'm not counting the dancer on my year list for now... maybe later if I have one where I can't question its provenance...
So yes, an undersized, a medium, and a dull bird made up the new year birds on day 2. Any new birds are exciting, because at some point in the year new birds will go from constant stream, to trickling creek, and finally a dry river bed with a spot of water here and there.
New birds today: 2
Year List: 47
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