2018
was once again filled with lots of exciting birding, featuring stops in 17
states and 2 provinces over the year. My
longest birding trip was a 11-day trek through Newfoundland, punctuated by
finding quite a number of rarities. Yes my
focus in total ticks has evolved to include a lot more birding in Canada. Back in the states, I continued to make
progress toward reaching my “Reportable Plus 15” goal throughout the Lower 48, facilitated
by a number of short trips to focus on individual state lists. And speaking of rarities, I continued to
chase after new birds for my New England lists, which are nearly all rarities
these days. That includes 2 days in
August which were my best ever 2 consecutive days of birding. On all my trips I received tremendous help
from local birders. Many thanks to all
who gave me great advice!
First
the year by the numbers -
Total
Ticks
With 143 ticks in Canada and another 69 ticks in the
US in 2018, that increased my total ticks to 14,712. I’m well on my way to my goal of 15,000 with
a manageable 288 to go. As of January 1st
my list continues to be the highest reported on the ABA website – a lead of more
than 1,100.
ABA
Area Totals
State and Province Birding
Totals
(see my statebird and province maps below with totals
for each state and province) -
- ABA reportable in 46 states plus DC
(no additional states in 2018)
- “Reportable Plus 15” in 42 states plus
DC (adding NV, WY, and VA in 2018)
- 212 new state birds and province
birds. New ticks in 17 states and 2
provinces.
- 17 new statebirds in New England – 2,072
total ticks now in New England
- Total Ticks – now at 14,712, with 13,222
of those in the U.S.
Now
on to some of the key highlights of 2018 -
Newfoundland
Total Ticks Trip – June/July
This was the third year in a row where my big “Total
Ticks Trip” was to Canada, making an 11-day trip through Newfoundland in June
and July – my first ever trip to that province.
As I was putting my plans together to visit
this beautiful province, I made two key observations that were somewhat
surprising -
- Many of the birds that are regular here in New
England don't typically make it as far north as Newfoundland. And
even birds I think of as northern species like Bay-breasted and
Blackburnian Warblers are rare in Newfoundland. But many of these “southern”
species will overshoot their regular ranges and are rarities to hope for
in Newfoundland - especially in spring and early summer.
- There are few species in general in the area. While
a "Big Day", or even just a full day of birding in New England,
will often far exceed 100 species, breaking 100 in Newfoundland in a day
is quite unlikely.
After several months of preparations, I
planned an 8-day itinerary covering a large portion of Newfoundland (but not
Labrador). And despite all this birding,
I expected perhaps just 96 species, though of course I hoped to run into several
rarities. A silver lining to encountering
lower number of species was that it would be relatively easy to keep accurate
totals of the exact numbers of each species I saw and heard at each location –
all to be entered into eBird.
But wait a second – I planned an 8-day trip
but ended up with 11 days in Newfoundland.
The difference was an aborted planned side trip to the French islands of
St. Pierre et Miguelon. The plan was to
take a ferry to the islands from Newfoundland, giving me 2 days on St. Pierre, plus
a short side trip to the island of Langlade.
But there is precious little information about birding in the French
territory, few eBird posts (none just prior to my trip), and I was unable to
connect with any birders there even to just suggest the best locations to bird
while on the island. So my hope was that
I might get 50 species there by just wandering around St. Pierre on my own
looking for nice habitat. Not exactly
the best situation. As a result, I wasn’t
too disappointed when my ferry to St. Pierre ended up being canceled. Though on the negative side it meant passing
up on what was likely my only ever opportunity to get any “ticks” in this tiny
ABA jurisdiction. On the positive side, it
also meant a couple extra days in Newfoundland.
My initial itinerary included –
- Multiple stops throughout
the Avalon Peninsula which is the easternmost
portion of the province and the best part of Newfoundland for seabirds.
- Several days in the southwestern corner of Newfoundland which is the key area for most
of the southern species which barely get as far north as Newfoundland as
breeders. Not to mention the best
area for hope for those southern rarities.
- Gros Morne National Park with excellent boreal habitat.
And then with
additional time with the cancellation of the St. Pierre leg of my trip, I added
stops in and around the Terra Nova National Park for additional time in boreal
habitat, the seabird nesting colony at Cape St. Mary’s, and additional stops on
the Avalon Peninsula.
Before getting
to the results of the trip, I want to thank local birders Alvan Buckley and
Jared Clarke who provided a lot of general advice, as well as tips to bird a
number of my key sites. Many thanks
Alvan and Jared!
My results were
absolutely spectacular, literally from my first day to the last few minutes of
my time in Newfoundland. For instance boreal
species were key targets, and I was successful with Red Crossbills, Pine
Grosbeaks, Boreal Chickadees, Canada Jays, Spruce Grouse, and Olive-sided
Flycatchers. Though I never found a
Black-backed Woodpecker or White-winged Crossbill.
Another key highlight
was the amazing seabird nesting colony at Cape St. Mary’s with large numbers of
Gannets, Kittiwakes, Thick-billed and Common Murres, and Razorbills. This spot was not on my original itinerary
since it is a bit far to get to, and each species would be feasible elsewhere,
but with my extra time resulting from the canceled St. Pierre trip, I was able
to spend much of an afternoon there. I’m
sure glad I decided to make a stop here.
Here are some of the many photos I took of the nesting colony.
Elsewhere I also
made stops at nesting colonies of Fulmar and Atlantic Puffins to round out the
list of nesting pelagic species.
Then there were
the rare but regular species in the southwest part of the province. I was able to catch up with all my targets there,
like Great Blue Heron, Veery, Least Flycatcher, Willet, and Blackburnian
Warbler. And I can’t forget seeing
multiple Black-headed Gulls at Stephenville Crossing which is likely the only known
place in North America where they breed.
Even rarer were
a number of unexpected but staked-out rarities including – Northern Parula,
Eastern Kingbird, Coot, Pied-billed Grebe, Sora, Great Cormorant, Killdeer, and
Tufted Duck. Though several of these
hadn’t been reported for a week or two.
I guess there hadn’t been too many birders around since they were found earlier
in the spring.
Here are
pictures of the Kingbird, Great Cormorant, and Killdeer, the last one by
holding my phone up to my binoculars.
And finally there
was an amazing total of rarities I found on my own –
- Seabirds – Cory’s Shearwater
(though locals wanted me to call it a “Shearwater, sp.”), King Eider, and
a Sandwich Tern
- Marshbirds – Virginia Rail and Bobolinks
(surprisingly in a cattail marsh instead of a field)
- Landbirds – Black-throated Blue
Warbler (2 singing males), another Parula, and a Black-billed Cuckoo
Here are some very
distant photos of the Sandwich Tern taken in a driving rain storm.
And I’d be
remiss if I didn’t include some scenery shots from this beautiful
province. Like these pictures from Gros
Morne NP.
And one from atop
the Starlite Trail in the Codroy Valley in the southwestern corner of the
province. This is the spot in the
province for Least Flycatcher and Veery, both of which I found there. This is taken from the “Veery overlook” -
that's my car in the parking lot far below.
And one of my
favorite sightings was my first ever iceberg, visible (but just barely) on the
horizon in this picture taken from the northern Newfoundland coast at Anchor
Brook.
Then there are
weather-related pictures – first one from the south coast in the fog when visibility
was just a few feet. That day I had
hoped to do some seawatches – needless to say, the fog changed my plans that
day.
And one day
when it snowed quite heavily, requiring plowing of the roads in late June!
The Trip by the Numbers
- 141 total species in Newfoundland,
including finding a bunch of rarities, plus multiple stakeouts. To
think I only expected about 96 species.
- Found 95 of the 96 species that I
thought were “likely” – amazing!
- 19 warbler species, with the most common
being 58 Yellows, 56 Black-and-whites, 44 Northern Waterthrushes, 40
Magnolias, and 40 Black-throated Greens.
- 96 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers –
likely more than I’ve ever seen in all my 51 years of birding combined!
- 0 species on St. Pierre as that part
of my trip was canceled
- 7 new Canada species – total now at
376
- 4 days with precipitation – often heavy
rain, strong winds, very dense fog, and even one day when it snowed
heavily. Often requiring me to change
my itinerary to do landbirding when it wasn’t raining (or at least not
raining very hard), and birding from the car (often as seawatches) when
the conditions were the worst.
- 61.2 miles and 144,600 steps walked
(assuming you believe my Fitbit)
- 4,000 kilometers driven (2,500
miles) – at least my rental car was a hybrid getting 5.7 L/100 km (or 41.5
mpg if I did the math right)
Smaller
Statebirding Trips
In addition to my big total ticks trip I added birds
in 11 states outside of New England and one province, most with short additions
to work trips across the country. That
included adding 3 new states to my “Reportable Plus 15” list, while on other
trips I was just trying to fill in gaps in my statelists, frequently using
eBird Needs Alerts as an invaluable tool.
Highlights included –
19 NV Statebirds, Plus 1 in AZ, and
a Lifer in CA, February – A rare alignment of
work trips in southern CA on consecutive weeks provided me an opportunity for a
free birding weekend in the “area”. I use
“area” in quotes since I spent most of the weekend birding in the greater Las
Vegas area to fill gaps in my NV statelist.
Though my first stop was in San Diego to successfully tick off Nazca
Booby as a lifebird, finding 2 of the long-staying birds in San Diego Bay. What was most gratifying was finding the
first bird at a distance of 1.25 miles in the pre-dawn light.
In NV, I planned a detailed itinerary chasing 24
possible targets, expecting to add perhaps 10 or 11 new birds to my statelist. Prior to the trip I was 8 over the old ABA
threshold, so I hoped this trip would safely get me to Reportable Plus 15. I ended up with an amazing 19 new birds for
my list, and 142 species on the trip. And
quite a number were rarities with 11 of the eBird NV “Rarity” sightings at the
time being my birds.
One of the highlights was seeing three rarities all
sitting within a few feet of each other on a jetty in Lake Mead – I found a first-year
Thayer’s (Iceland) Gull, and re-found a long-staying Neotropic Cormorant and an adult
Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Here are a few photos some of my other new NV
statebirds -
 |
| Eurasian Wigeon in flock of Americans |
 |
| Ferruginous Hawk |
 |
| Curve-billed Thrasher in the distance |
And for good measure, I was able to add these Surf
Scoters above the Davis Dam on Lake Mead just barely in AZ waters.
My NV statelist now stands at 269 which is obviously
way above the old ABA reportable threshold of 242. So no need to come back to bird in NV, that
is unless I’m searching for a Himalayan Snowcock…
Two Lifebirds and Three Other
Statebirds in South Florida, April. It’s been quite a number of years since the
ABA added Gray-headed Swamphen and Egyptian Goose to the ABA list. And although I had seen both species in south
FL about 10 years ago, that was before they were deemed to be countable by the
ABA with viable populations, so I had never added them to my list. Needless to say when a vacation to visit FL
relatives came up in April, I added a couple extra days in the southeast
portion of the state to try for these two lifebird targets. It turned out that both were relatively easy. For the Swamphen I chose Green Cay Wetlands
and Nature Center southwest of West Palm Beach as my best option. I ended up with 5 Swamphens there, and although they were
outnumbered by 30 Common and 3 Purple Gallinules, they really stood out. Here’s a photo of a most cooperative bird.
As
for Egyptian Goose, research on eBird suggested there was a pair in most every
park or golf course in the area that included a freshwater pond. But most locations had just a few sightings,
and never more than a couple birds. The key
exception was Snook Island Natural Area and the adjacent golf course where
there were several eBird reports including a family group with multiple
goslings, so this seemed to be my best opportunity. It took a little while, but I eventually
found these 2 Egyptian Geese preening right in front of me.
At other stops on the trip I added Yellow-headed
Blackbird, Nelson’s Sparrow, and found a rare Cerulean Warbler as additions to
my FL statelist, which now stands at 319.
Six
Statebirds in Colorado and Two in Wyoming to Reach “Reportable Plus 15”, July. A summer family vacation to the greater Denver
area provided me a nice opportunity to fill some gaps in my CO statelist. I came up with a realistic list of 7 possible
targets, and interestingly all were birds primarily from the east, most barely
reaching CO. I was lucky enough to find
6 of these targets, including a stakeout but difficult-to-locate Common
Gallinule. I got this distant phonescoped
shot barely showing the orangey red bill and a bit of its dark body as it was
tucked into the reeds. You can probably
see why it was so tough to locate this rarity.
Interestingly,
the day I saw this bird was the last day it was reported. I ended the trip with a CO statelist of 280.
In
WY I was 2 species shy of Reportable Plus 15, so I was happy to come up with 3
possible targets in the southeastern part of the state just across the line
from CO. Luckily I added exactly 2 birds
– Dickcissel and Lesser Goldfinch – making WY my 43rd state reaching Reportable
Plus 15.
Six Statebird Additions in Texas, Multiple
Short Trips – Work took me to Houston most
every month of the year, providing multiple opportunities for short side-trips
to try to add a target or two nearby. I
was able to squeeze in stops to add 6 new birds to my statelist, bringing my TX
list to 445.
- Glaucous Gull, Gannet, and Yellow Rail on Galveston Island in March
- Blue Bunting (lifebird) and Allen’s Hummingbird in the Lower Rio
Grande Valley in February. The
Bunting was perhaps my greatest nemesis bird anywhere in the US, after 4 unsuccessful
searches for this species, going back to literally my first trip to the
Valley in 1985 (33 years ago – yikes!)
- Ferruginous Hawk at the Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR in February
- Plus a non-countable Red-vented Bulbul in Houston in September
Best Ever 2 Days of Birding, August – An amazing number of extreme rarities
were found across New England in mid August.
Despite a large carbon footprint, I found all four first state records (2
in NH, 1 in ME, and 1 in RI) over a 2-day period. And for good measure, I was able to get a
boat out to Great Gull Island, NY in Long Island Sound to finally see the
Bridled Tern as a lifebird, after 2 unsuccessful boat trips to look for this
bird in CT waters in 2017. A few details
on these “Best Ever 2 Days of Birding” -
Day 1 -
- Great Black Hawk, Biddeford
ME. 2nd ABA record, 1st record for New England,1st record for ME
- Neotropic Cormorant, Gorham,
NH. 1st record for New
England, 1st record for NH
- Wood Stork, Rochester, NH. 1st accepted record for NH
Day 2 -
- Little Egret, Westerly,
RI. 1st record for RI
- Bridled Tern (life bird), Great
Gull Island, NY.
Here are photos of the Hawk, Cormorant,
Stork, and Tern. Unfortunately the Egret wasn't as cooperative.
New
England Birding
Even though I reached my goal of 2,000 total ticks in
New England 3 years ago, I continue to spend a lot of time chasing after
rarities in the 6 New England states. In
2018 I was successful in seeing 16 new birds, including the Great Black Hawk in
Biddeford, ME as a lifebird. I also
added Common Shelduck to my NH and life lists, seen in NH in 2017 and accepted
by the NH Rare Bird Committee in 2018.
Key highlights in addition to those during my “Best Ever
2 Days of Birding” (summarized above) were –
- Blue Grosbeak found on my own in Brattleboro, VT – only the 8th state
record
- Roseate Spoonbill at Milford Point, CT – first state record (I didn’t
chase after this same individual in Maine when it was a 5-hour drive
northeast of me)
- Evening Grosbeak in Exeter, RI – a bit of a milestone as the 250th
species I’ve seen in each of the 6 New England states
That’s 2 years in a row when I saw just 16 new species
in New England. This continues my downward
trend starting in 2017 - from 1999 to 2016 I averaged 31 new ticks per
year. I guess I’m a victim of my own
success.
2019
and Beyond
I’m continuing to work on my 2 big goals – 15,000
Total Ticks, and Reportable Plus 15 throughout the Lower 48 states. Reaching the latter goal would include being
reportable in my last 2 remaining Lower 48 states (MT and OR). Here’s a possible path to reach all these
goals-
- Lower 48 Reportable Plus 15 - I
only have 6 states left in the Lower 48 where I haven’t reached Reportable
Plus 15. Reaching that goal in each
of those states would add 109 ticks (I only need an average of 18 birds
per state).
- Hawaii – now that Hawaii is part of
the ABA, even a short tourist-related trip could add 33 ticks to increase
my state total to 40.
- New England – I think I can
realistically get at least 12 new ticks per year.
- Canada – with a bit of work I could
get to 125 each in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
If I could reach all these milestones, likely over the
next 3 or 4 years, that would give me 340 new ticks, or 15,052 total ticks. Not to mention I’ll undoubtedly add a few
additional ticks here and there. All in
all quite feasible with a little travel.
That would require only about 4 or 5 trips to reach most
all of these goals –
- Eastern OR and southern ID,
- Western MT and the panhandle of ID,
- Canadian prairies of Saskatchewan
and Manitoba along with North Dakota (or is that 2 trips?)
- Hawaii – even with just a bit of
birding during a trip focused on tourism.
And
for 2019? As of now I have no specific plans
for trips in the new year. Having
recently become unemployed (or is it retired?), I no longer have business trips
around which to plan statebirding adventures.
But if this truly is retirement, that gives me more time to chase
rarities, whether locally or in some distant state or province. And maybe retiring to a different part of the
country could be in the cards – perhaps to the mountains of western NC or maybe
CO. I would dearly miss my New England
friends, not to mention New England birding.
But I would look forward to having an opportunity to beef up my statelists
in another part of the country. And then
there’s my interest in starting my own bird guiding company which I’ve contemplated
for years.
Lots
of options. An exciting time ahead…
