Today I woke up and took the Lab for a walk- nothing too unusual about that. But, I had 27 species ID’ed before 8:30am, and that made me think about the upcoming week. Work is getting busy; board meeting; landscaping projects at home; and this is my birthday week. So, I know that I will probably be having some sort of “get together” next weekend.
And the migration is really on right now.
Since I will not (likely) be able to make a day long road trip next weekend, I decided that today, I should try to bird my age- that is, I should aim for finding the number of species that matches the age that I am about to turn. So. Sixty-one species was suddenly the goal, but I was nearly halfway there. The Lab seemed willing and my family was supportive. So, off we went.
By the end of the day, we had logged 8.2 miles over the course of 5 birding walks. I recorded 17,160 steps, had about 1,200 feet of cumulative elevation gain, and made positive ID’s on 64 species. One, a Red-naped Sapsucker, was a sound only ID, but the drumming of a Red-naped is very distinctive and I recorded it and Merlin confirmed the ID. I declined to accept one sound ID- a Hermit Thrush. Merlin Bird ID heard it and indicated that the bird was there, but I did not hear it no matter how hard I tried.
Still- 64 in one day, without my usual “Big Day” companion stands as a personal record. Every year from here on out will be a little harder if I make birding my age an annual event. I suspect I should.
Those marked with an asterisk are new for the year.
Two of the birds need a bit of discussion. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet was in full mating plumage and his crown was vibrant ruby-red and he had it in full dispaly as he flitted about- making it impossible for me to get a picture. I have never before seen the ruby crown on one these amazing little birds. I don’t think I will ever forget how that blaze of red pulled my eye in. I was thankful to see it.
The Curlew flew over me as I was travelling along a very lightly travelled frontage road that parallels the interstate. I checked the mirrors and saw it was safe to stop. I jumped out of the car and tracked the Curlew with my binoculars. He soared over the interstate and dropped into a field. He joined three Ravens in picking at the ground for tidbits. I spent the next 35 minutes jocking to find a location that would afford me with a location from which I could get some images. I ended up getting on the Interstate, pulling off to the side, and walking to the fence to try to get a good shot. I didn’t get a good picture, but I did get on that was “proof” enough for me to feel confident posting the sighting to eBird.
The Labrador was totally unimpressed with how hard I worked to get apoor quality image. But he enjoyed the rest of the outing.
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Stellar’s Jay
- Pileated Woodpecker
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Cinnamon Teal
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Wilson’s Snipe*
- Bufflehead
- Gadwall
- Eared Grebe
- Canada Goose
- American Wigeon
- Green-winged Teal
- Common Merganser
- Red-necked Grebe*
- Rock Pigeon
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- American Coot
- Sandhill Crane
- Ring-billed Gull
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Downey Woodpecker
- Magpie
- Tree Swallow
- Black Capped Chickadee
- Ruby Crowned Kinglet
- European Starling
- American Robin
- House Sparrow
- American Goldfinch
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Lincoln’s Sparrow*
- Western Meadowlark
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Common Grackle*
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Long-billed Curlew*
- Northern Harrier
- Snow Goose
- Mallard
- Wood Duck
- Northern Flicker
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Common Raven
- American Crow
- House Finch
- Common Loon
- American White Pelican
- Common Goldeneye
- Northern Shoveler
- Turkey Vulture
- Bald Eagle
- Killdeer
- American Kestrel
- Lesser Scaup
- Hooded Merganser
- Song Sparrow
- Vesper Sparrow*
- Mourning Dove
- Mountain Chickadee
- Marsh Wren
- California Gull
- Osprey
- Red-naped Sapsucker (sound ID only)
Nature, every day. 
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