#2023 Big Year in Review

   Happy New Year!!! 2024, can you believe it? Wow has the time gone by fast.  This post is a recap of the year that was #BigYear2023🐦🐦, all the fun stuff, places visited, good times and future plans. Below are some of the highlights.

    

Happy 2024 Birding!!

• 0 lifers--Wow!! Second time in a row, no life birds. SMH. My lowest year for life birds since starting this thing; 2023--0, 2022--0, 2021--3, 2020--5, 2019--10, 2018--7, 2017--18, 2016--12, 2015--13 new and in 2014 I had 29 lifers. I traveled to Washington, California, and Nevada  this year for vacation and work trips. On Thursdays and Sundays I birded around Ohio, but no new lifers!! I am still thankful of the trips taken, birds seen, and friends I've been with making memories and good blog posts! Thank you all and GOD Bless. That puts me STILL at #629 Life Birds.                                                                                                                    

My ABA Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 1 California Quail 

California Quail #600 in 2017

Since I did not get a life bird this year, nor really do a birding only trip, I was limited to BOY.  I went to Seattle in May to see friends again, and while birding at Redman Beach SP, I heard the saw this California Quail!!!  I new state bird for me in WA. I also heard this bird in CA when I was there for work training, it was calling in the vineyards. So with that and the fact it was my 600th bird  back in 2017, I choose it for Bird of the Year!! 

• My Ohio Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 1 Pacific Loon 

State Lifer, Pacific Loon

So, it is New Years Day, 2023!!! The year just started on a Sunday. I check FB Ohio rare bird alert, and Boom, Pacific Loon at Hoover Reservoir in Franklin county, just 8 miles from my house!  I drive over around 3pm on a mild day, at Walnut St. ramp. Several birders are there, and 2 Common Loons with this Pacific Loon. This was a state of Ohio life bird for new and FOY for shore!!

• 4 states visited--Ohio (+153 foys)   Washington (+ 19 birds)                                         California (+10 birds)   Nevada (+34 birds)

• 216 total species--Wow, I got 10 more species then 2022, and that's because Nevada with 34 birds was huge!! And we missed the mountain birds!!  No Texas trip, 2 birdish state trips, and 48 hour work weeks/ 210 hours per month. I did keep track of my "Ohio only" birds this year and got 153!     This puts me at a 315.5 species per year average over 11 years.                        

• STATS  In 2013--338; 2014--359; 2015--322; 2016--360; 2017--377; 2018--353; 2019--321; 2020--340; 2021--279; 2022-206; 2023--216

Spotted Towhee, WA

Band-tailed Pigeons, WA

Red-headed Woodpecker, OH

Blue-Winged Warbler, OH 

Olympic Mountain Range

Below is a list of some of the new first of year birds(FOYs) I saw in Ohio, during the last 45 days of birding in 2023.

#143 Dunlin            at wetlands, Nov 2nd off work!!
#144 Green-winged Teal                                            

#145 Glossy Ibis    at Battelle wetlands, Nov 2nd
#146 Sharp-shinned Hawk  freeway flyover
#147 Red-Throated Loo  off South Hoover, Thanksgiving Day bird streak alive!
#148 Ruddy Duck   off Hoover, winter duck missed early
#149 Red-Breasted Merganser  off Hoover Resi north, dec 7th
#150 Northern Harrier   off Harrier trail, looking for shrike
#151 Northern Shrike  12/31/23 off Harrier trail, burnt area. Franklin cty lifer!
#152 Northern Pintail  group flying off Harrier trail, back pond
#153 Hermit Thrush    fly by on Hawthorn trail, Battelle

**heard only 2023**
 Ringed Neck Pheasant, Sora rail, White-Eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Sedge Wren, Veery, Blackburnian, Prothonotory, and Hooded Warblers, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Scarlet Tanager, Henslow Sparrow, 

Rarities seen in 2023- Code 3 or higher birds this year
          

            None
             

• Misses--a lot of them, especially Ohio species. I  birded OHIO on my days off. I really like my May trip to Clear Creek for warblers.  But since I started working overtime every week, birding for causal fun was just not in the plans for 2023. Lets see how 2024 goes!! 

Summer Tanager, OH

Northern Shrike, OH

• 2024 trips--So far planned trips, but likely to change. 

            1.  Lower Rio Grand Valley, Texas in March.  We are spreading the ashes of my aunt Kathy Miller and Red & Louise Gambill.  Sun, birds and friends, hopefully a lifer shows up?
           

            2. Ohio--Biggest week in American Birding- we will try a Sunday or Thursday to go up to Magee and Howard Marsh, missed it in 2023.
         
           3. Chase a rarity. Can this be the year of a Code 4 or 5 chase?? 

           4. Pacific NW in May 2024?? Need Hammonds Flycatcher & MacGillverys warbler still, going back a week later then 2023

           5.  Bird in England or Italy??? If I am lucky, and still employed at MAG, maybe I can do brand training for Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lotus, Maserati or Lamborghini and get to travel. Then on my off day or extended time, I can bird some local parks??

            

Thank you to all my friends, family and birders for supporting me these last 11 years. What a ride. Could not of predicted it myself where I would be in the end of2023.  So here is to the future and more time to get back to Retracing the Steps with the Gambill Birding Dynasty.

Cheers

Brad

#2022 Big Year in Review

  Happy New Year!!! 2023, can you believe it? Wow has the time gone by fast.  This post is a recap of the year that was #BigYear2022🐦🐦, all the fun stuff, places visited, good times and future plans. Below are some of the highlights.

Teal Trail, Battelle Darby, Jan 22' dusk

• 0 lifers--Wow!! First time in a long time, no life birds. SMH. My lowest year for life birds since starting this thing;  2021--3, 2020--5, 2019--10, 2018--7, 2017--18, 2016--12, 2015--13 new and in 2014 I had 29 lifers. I only traveled to Florida this year for vacation, and birded around Ohio, but no new lifers!! I am still thankful of the trips taken, birds seen, and friends I've been with making memories and good blog posts! Thank you all and GOD Bless.                                      That puts me at #629 Life Birds.                                                                                                                    

My ABA Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 2 Mangrove Cuckoo 

stock photo, id only

During my week vacation to Marco Island, Florida in May, I got go out birding two mornings at local eBird hot spots. Up off Shell Rd, is Briggs boardwalk. It is an old easy walking loop. I stopped by chance and it was quite. 30 yards in, this cuckoo flew past me and landed in a tree. I could tell by the distinctive long tail feathers as it flew. Very elusive. No pictures, I came back two days later, and got several heard only noises of the bird but no luck with another sighting. I have only seen the Mangrove once and it was as a life bird with Red & Louise, in June 1990.  

• My Ohio Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 1 Scissor-tail Flycatcher 

Wow, what another crazy Ohio life list bird!!!  Every year something else, more then once pops up in Ohio.  This time, it is the Scissor-tail Fly. And a male at that! Late in October, alert went out that in Licking county is a male STFX. Sure enough, it stayed for the weekend, and myself and JK drove over to see it, Weird, we parked in a field lot, and scoped the bird miles away on the power lines. This is the best photo I got maxxed Zoom.  Still, this bird is common in south during migration in Florida and Texas

• 3 states visited--Ohio(+178 foys) Florida (+ 27 birds) Georgia (+1 Brown headed Nuthatch)

• 206 total species--Wow, the least amount of species I have seen in a year. No Texas trip, no other state trips, and 48 hour work weeks/ 210 hours per month. No vacations, really hampered my birding in 2022.  I did keep track of my "Ohio only" birds this year and got 178!                      This puts me at a 325.5 species per year average over 10 years.                        

• STATS  In 2013--338; 2014--359; 2015--322; 2016--360; 2017--377; 2018--353; 2019--321; 2020--340; 2021--279; 2022-206

Burrowing owls, Marco Island

5 species, name them??

Fox Sparrow, Sharon Woods

King Rail, Prairie Oaks

Below is a list of some of the new first of year birds(FOYs) I saw in Ohio, during the last 45 days of birding in 2022.

#168 Wilson's Snipe
#169 Blue-winged Teal                                            

#170 Swap Sparrow
#171 Lincoln Sparrow
#172 White-rumped sandpiper
#173 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher--Ohio lifer    Licking county October 23rd, male
#174 America Pipit
#175 Long-billed Dowitcher     Thanksgiving day at Hoover
#176 Horned Grebe                    Thanksgiving day at Alum Creek
#177 Sharp-shinned Hawk
#178 Merlin                                Westerville Spring St roost Dec 18th

**heard only 2022**
 Ringed Neck Pheasant, Sora rail, Hooded Warbler

Rarities seen in 2022--only saw one Code 3 or higher birds this year
          

            None
             

• Misses--a lot of them, especially Ohio species. I  birded OHIO strong in January, getting 90 species in the first month!! But since I started working overtime every week, birding for causal fun was just not in the plans for 2022.  

Little Blue juvi, Hilliard

Orange-crowned Warbler, Oh

• 2023 trips--So far no planned trips, but likely to change. 

          
           1. Ohio--Biggest week in American Birding--open fully for business, we will try a Sunday or Thursday to go up to Magee and Howard Marsh
         
           2. Chase a rarity. Can this be the year of a Code 4 or 5 chase?? 

           3. Pacific NW in Spring 2023?? Need Hammonds Flycatcher and MacGillverys warbler

            4.  Bird in England or Italy??? If I am lucky, and still employed at MAG, maybe I can do brand training for Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lotus, Maserati or Lamborghini and get to travel. Then on my off day or extended time, I can bird some local parks??

Thank you to all my friends, family and birders for supporting me these last 10 years. What a ride. Could not of predicted it myself where I would be in 2022.  So here is to the future and more time to get back to Retracing the Steps with the Gambill Birding Dynasty.

Cheers

Brad

In Memorandum

Rest In Peace

Kathy Gambill Miller 1/12/2023

#2021 Big Year in Review

 Happy New Year!!! 2022, can you believe it? Wow has the time gone by fast.  This post is a recap of the year that was #BigYear2021🐦🐦, all the fun stuff, places visited, good times and future plans. Below are some of the highlights.

                                                            

Walden pond, Colorado sunset

Coalmont, CO for Sage Grouse dawn

• 3 lifers--Wow!! I my lowest year for life birds since starting this thing;  2020--5,              2019--10, 2018--7, 2017--18, 2016--12, 2015--13 new and in 2014 I had 29 lifers. I traveled to Colorado +2 in April,  and Ohio produced +1 new lifer!! I am still thankful of the trips taken, birds seen, and friends I've been with making memories and good blog posts! Thank you all and God Bless. That puts me at #629 Life Birds.                                                                                                                    

My ABA Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 2 Greater Sage Grouse 

                                                                

Lifer #628

                        

   Back to Colorado!!! The last guy trip there was 2014 and was my first time, thus I got 12 lifers!!  Since we saw the harder to get Gunnison Sage-Grouse, I wanted to go northern Colorado for the Greater.  So with that the main target, I planned a late April weekend flying into Denver, and staying in Walden, CO for the night, 145 miles north.

                                

Moonlight on Walden

Lifer Moose?? Saw two running

• My Ohio Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 2 Smith's Longspur 

                                                                    

Last life bird of 2021 . . #629 

 I only saw 1 life birds in Ohio in 2021. Fresh back from Colorado, that Sunday night in April. Then working that week at 11am, I had a plan.  These Longspurs are now migratory in Ohio in April. Due to all the old corn fields, the birds love to make stops in Madison county, about 45 southwest for me. So I woke up early and follow previous reports to this road, that's between to corn fields, and  sure enough . . Boom Smiths Longspurs. Cant' wait to see them in 2022.  

Some more great Ohio birds I saw.  Code 3 Little Gull at Hoover & , Dickcissel, and a Black-legged Kittiwake at Alum Creek, Sanderlings at Buck Creek Lake. During our North Carolina beach trip, saw/heard, Pine & Prairie Warbler, American Oyster Catcher, Semi Palm Plover, Common Eider duck, Brown headed Nuthatch, Least Terns

 

 

BLKW

Dickcissel near Battelle 

Long eared Owl, Walnut Woods

Black Turn, OBX NC

Bodie Island light house, NC

Shearwater house, 1985 til 2001, South Nags Head

• 3 states visited--Ohio(+229 foys) Colorado(+ 33 birds), North Carolina (+17 foys)

• 279 total species--Wow, the least amount of species I have seen in a year. No Texas trip, no other state trips, and 50 hour workweeks really hampered my birding in 2021.  I did keep track of my "Ohio only" birds this year and got 229!   This puts me at a 338.7 species per year average over 9 years.  

                                     

• STATS  In 2013--338; 2014--359; 2015--322; 2016--360; 2017--377; 2018--353; 2019--321; 2020--340; 2021--279

            

Long Tailed Duck, male 

Evening Grosebeaks, rare migrants

Below is a list of some of the new first of year birds(FOYs) I saw in Ohio, during the last 45 days of birding in 2021.

#270 Purple Finch                                             

#271 Cattle Egret 
#272 Eurasian Collared Dove--Ohio lifer
#273 Fish Crow--Ohio lifer
#274 Black-legged Kittiwake
#275 Snow Goose
#276 Little Gull
#277 LBBG
#278 Eared Grebe
#279 Allens Hummingbird--Ohio Lifer, second ever Ohio record, in Cinncy, its a far west AZ bird

Allens, banded female

Allens, still there Jan.22'

**heard only 2021**
 Ringed Neck Pheasant, Sora rail, Eastern Screech Owl(2), Hooded Warbler

Rarities seen in 2021--only saw one Code 3 or higher birds this year, only 1
          

             Code 3  Little Gull--Hoover Reservoir, Ohio 
             

• Misses--not many of them, especially Ohio species. I  birded OHIO strong in January, getting 93 species in the first month!! So in 2022, my goal will be to get them early and keep trying. All the rain Ohio gets now. The shorebird habitat was almost non existent in 2021.  Hoover never really drained, Teal Trail never lowered, Pick Ponds was high. It was very bad.  Misses included: 

       Cackling Goose, Least Bittern, White-winged & Black Scoter, King Rail, VA Rail, Red-throated Loon, Black bellied & American Golden & Semi-Palm Plovers, Spotted Sandpiper, Black-billed Cuckoo,  Yellow-bellied & Olive-sided empidx.,  Barn & Northern Sawwhet Owl, Philly Vireo, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Blue-winged, Orange-crowned, Pine, Prairie, Blackpoll. N. Watherthrush, Kentucky, Mourning, UConn, Kirtland & Golden-winged warblers, Black & Foresters Terns, Vespar, Grasshopper, Henslow sparrows, Rusty BB, Pine Sisken, Common Raven.

• 2022 trips--So far no planned trips, but likely to change. 

          
           1. Ohio--Biggest week in American Birding--skipped/closed last 2 years due to COVID, straight line winds in August 2021 tore down a lot of trees, habit has changed.
         
           2. Chase a rarity. Can this be the year of a Code 4 or 5 chase?? Steller Sea Eagle, Northern Lapwing, all LRGV rarities, Bat Falco, Social Flycatcher, Golden-Crown Warbler. 

           3. Pacific NW in Spring 2022?? Arizona later in summer fall??

            4.  Marco Island, Florida May 2022   vacation, but birding, could get new ABAs Tri-colored Munia and Miltred Parakeet introduced now countables. 

#2020 BigYear in Review .1

 Happy New Year!!! 2021, can you believe it? Wow has the time gone by fast.  This post is a recap of the year that was #BigYear2020🐦🐦, all the fun stuff, places visited, good times and future plans. Below are some of the highlights.

some Black Hawk action, lifer for 3 of us

Undisputed Era Birding

• 5 lifers--Wow!! I had the worse year for life birds since starting this thing;  2019--10, 2018--7, 2017--18, 2016--12, 2015--13 new and in 2014 I had 29 lifers. I traveled to California +1 in January,  and Texas LRGV +1 in late February, and Ohio produced +3 new lifers!! I am still thankful of the trips taken, birds seen, and friends I've been with making memories and good blog posts! Thank you all and God Bless. That puts me at #626 Life Birds.                                                                                                                    

My ABA Bird of the Year are . . . .the code 2 Brown Booby 

little Brown Booby

   What a great summer Ohio life bird. Just when I was complaining about only 2 life birds in 2020, and travel restrictions, along comes Brown Booby. It was so fun driving to a new place, seeing a new bird, and all the other birders "they" attract. Crazy times. Then the booby died, eaten by falcon or owl.

• My Ohio Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 1 LeConte's Sparrow 

Wow, what an experience

Ohio was very good to me!!! I saw 3 life birds in Ohio in 2020, more then any other state. It was hard to pick from the other two birds below, but the LeContes was special. He's been on my list for 6 years, and have tried and missed several times on him. Mostly at Wake Robin in Mentor. So this one who lived at Funk Bottoms for almost a month made Ohio bird of year.  See video below. 

Some more great Ohio birds I saw.  Ohio lifer #3 Parasitic Jaeger & first lifer of 2020, a Lewis Woodpecker , the Common Black Hawk, and a Snowy Owl at Alum Creek

 

Parasitic Jaeger, #626

 

Lewis Woodpecker, Orange cty CA

Mr. Snowy, still there 2021

Common Black Hawk

Buff Breasted Sandpiper

• 6 states visited--California(+19 foys), Oregon(+ 2 birds), Washington (+10 foy), Texas(+140 foys), South Carolina(+15),  Ohio(+154 foys)

• 340 total species--Finishing it strong!!  I ticked many Ohio common & new birds this year. This puts me at a 346.2 species per year average over 8 years.  

                                     

• STATS  In 2013--338; 2014--359; 2015--322; 2016--360; 2017--377; 2018--353; 2019--321; 2020--340

Western Sandpipers, Oregon 

Barrows Goldeneye, Seattle

Below is a list of some of the new first of year birds(FOYs) I saw in Ohio, during the last 45 days of birding in 2020.

#327 Brown Creeper
#328 Snow Bunting
#329 Black Chinned Hmbrd
#330 Ross Goose
#331 Evening Grosbeak                                              

#332 Snowy Owl
#333 Eared Grebe
#334 Short Earred Owl
#335 Cackling Goose
#336 Northern Shrike
#337 Golden Eagle
#338 Rough Legged Hawk
#339 Greater White Fronted Goose
#340 Greater Scaup

**heard only 2020**
 Ringed Neck Pheasant, Barred Owl, Upland Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Northern Waterthrush

Rarities seen in 2020--only saw one Code 3 or higher birds this year
          

             Code 3  Alpamado Falcon--LRGV, TX  
             

• Misses--not many of them, especially Ohio species. I  birded OHIO, but missed some easy ones. Getting out every Sunday since May helped me see/hear them, so I'm thankful. So in 2020, my goal will be to get them early and keep trying.  Misses included: 

        Common Goldeneye, Long-tailed duck, White-winged Scoter, King Rail, American Woodcock, Franklins Gull, RTL,  Yellow-bellied & Olive-sided empidx., Baird's sandpiper, White-rumped sp.,  Barn, E. Screech & Long-eared Owls, Cape May, Kirtland & Golden-winged warblers, Yellow Throated Vireo, Broad-winged Hawk, Black Tern, Common Raven.

• 2021 trips--So far many planned trips, but likely to change. 

           1. November early--LRGV birding festival, going to to Texas, sun & birds. Need Tamaulipas Crow, Golden-crowned Warbler, Mountain Plover, rarities
           2. May 1--Colorado, Greater Sage Grouse, all Grouse, all Rosy Finches, Chickens, Mountain Plover
           3. Ohio--Biggest week in American Birding--you know where to find us in May
           4. July--Maine again, Red-billed TropicBird, Razorbill, Dovkie, Roseate Tern, Bicknell Thrush
           5. Chase a rarity. Can this be the year of a Code 4 or 5 chase??

Next up: Let's start off #BigYear2021 with a cold Ohio birding

Cheers 2020!! Bird on

Lucky 777s 🎰 LeContes' Sparrow #626

 

OK, so the scenes been set.  Birding in 2020 was tough. I had only two life birds, from out of state for the year. Then the Booby showed up in Ohio, which was crazy --- then a Parasitic Jaeger at an inland reservoir, so I'm up to +4 life birds now, when what do you know . . . eleven days later during fall sparrow migration . . .

What's that??

Wait for movement . .  shh

White Medium Crown stripe, 

Distinctively orange-buff all over, particularly on the head and upper breast. It has black streaks on the back and wings and a grayish-purple spot on the back of the neck. The belly is white. The bill is gray.

Walks or hops on the ground, often among dense grasses. Does not flush readily, and prefers to escape from disturbances on foot. When they do fly, their flights are short, with quick, weak wingbeats before disappearing back into the vegetation

Open habitat, especially marshy or boggy meadows with a dense cover of grasses or sedges.

LeContes Sparrow . . . #626

The LeConte's sparrow was discovered by John James Audubon, and it was thought that he named this bird after a friend, Doctor LeConte. It is generally believed that he meant John Lawrence LeConte, although some feel that he was referring to another John LeConte, also a doctor, and John Lawrence's cousin.

The LeConte's is becoming more of a regular fall migrate here in Ohio.  All these years ago, both Nelson and LeContes didn't come this far east. The Nelsons was more east coast, and the LeContes was more Illinois in the fall and Minnesota in the summer. Then within the last 10 years, both species have become way more frequent each year. In Ohio, for the LeContes, you would have to go up to Mentor county, off the lake, on Wake Robin trail/marsh, and only for 1-3 days, when the sparrows would move in off the lake, rest, eat, and boom move on farther south. 

So in the last 9 years, I'm happy to finally see both LeContes and Nelsons sparrows here in Ohio

Video History

Gambill Family history:

Buddy--April 1980 Aranasas, Texas coast

Red&Louise--seen not sure when. Notes Nelson sparrow split w Seaside Sparrow in 1996.

COVID-19 Life Birding!!

ducks, lots of ducks