#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