2020 plus 2 Life Birds

How about it?? A new year, a new bird(s)?  That's right. Two months into the year, and two new life birds.  How did that happen you ask??  Let me share with you.

At the end of January 2020, my friend Donny was moving from Orange county, CA back to Seattle, WA. I flew out to help, and on the last day in California, while he worked, I got to BIRD.  Lucky, at the same Caspers Wilderness Park at birded in Feb. 2019.  Since it was late winter, sometimes mountain birds from the Rockies migrate down to the coast.  I was checking the local ABA listserv for Orange county CA, and looky what showed up.

Lewis Woodpecker ABA #622

The Lewis's Woodpecker might have woodpecker in its name, but it forages like a flycatcher and flies like a crow. It has a color palette all its own, with a pink belly, gray collar, and dark green back unlike any other member of its family. From bare branches and posts, it grabs insects in midair, flying with slow and deep wingbeats. 

The Lewis's Woodpecker was described by Alexander Wilson in 1811 and named after Meriwether Lewis who first saw the bird in 1805 while on his famous westward journey with William Clark.

Now time for our annual trip to the LRGV for winter birding. I haven't got a life bird in the valley since 2016. I'm long over due.

Common Black Hawk ABA #623

An aptly-named entirely black hawk with broad wings and short tail with a distinct white band. Flight feathers are slightly paler and it has long yellow legs and yellow on the base of the bill.  Typically found in woodlands near water where it hunts; shows an affinity for cottonwood trees at the northern end of its range.

Bird Gang 2020

Undisputed Era Birding

This was my second to last easy accipitridae hawk species to get. I've seen all the hawks, including a first ever ABA sighting of a Code 5 Crane Hawk in 1988.  At Santa Anna NWR, of course.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S17309659
Very luck this Black Hawk wintered at this reseca. What a rush!!  Now only Northern Goshawk(1) & Roadside Hawk(4) are left to see.


Next up: COVID-19 & Quarantine 

#2019 BigYear in Review

Happy New Year!!! 2020, can you believe it? Wow has the time gone by fast.  This post is a recap of the year that was #BigYear2019, all the fun stuff, places visited, good times and future plans. Below are some of the highlights.

the Bog in MN, Jan' 2019

Hawaii, Oct' 2019

• 10 lifers--Wow!! I had a good year, 2018--7, 2017--18, 2016--12, 2015--13 new and in 2014 I had 29 lifers. I traveled to Minnesota +5 in the dead of winter and Arizona +3 in late spring, which produced new birds. Ohio produced +2 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 #621 Life Birds.                                                                                                                    
• My ABA Birds of the Year are . . . .the code 2 Northern Hawk Owl & code 3 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. I saw the NOHO in MN with friends and made a video on my Youtube channel to document the cold and jubilation of the sighting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBKk75qToG8   Then, in October, a birder found this different looking sandpiper in Ohio. This Rare Asian Migrant was fantastic and a complete surprise.

Northern Hawk Owl

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, left

• My Ohio Bird of the Year is . . . .the code 2 Swainson's Warbler Finally I nabbed this wood warbler. Very rare for Ohio, like only 7 times ever. It was the last of my easy east coast warblers needed. Lucky I didn't have to travel out of the state. The bird was viewed by many over almost 30 days it was here in the Dayton area. 

Swainson's Warbler

Some more great Ohio birds I saw.  Only 2nd time ever Pomarine Jaeger & Red Knot. A Wilson's Phalarope showed up in Sept at Galaena boardwalk, a Nelson's Sparrow at Battalle, and a Snowy Owl down 71 South

POJA in Richland cty inland lake

Likes fisherman 

Red Knot, Wilderness Rd.

Wilson's Phalarope, juvi

Snowy Owl, field in Clinton cty

         

• 6 states visited--Minnesota(+31 foys/total species), Ohio(+206 birds), California(+47 foy), Arizona(+15 foys), Hawaii(+22/lifers did not count),  Florida(+22 foys)

• Hawaii trip, October 2019.  I will make a separate blog post later about the trip and new birds seen while in Hawaii. I have decided to keep my HI list separate from my "ABA Continental Life List". For example, Pacific Golden Plover, I still need for a life bird. They are really hard to see on the west coast, but in Hawaii, PAGP are like lawn darts, everywhere everytime. So like fellow ABA birders, before HI was added in 2016, we will just keep an HI only list. If and when I do see PAGP, will add it to my life list, and make HI just a "seen" bird. **the entire Gambill family of birders keep a separate Hawaii list, Mahalo**

• 321 total species--Finishing it strong!! My Christmas Florida trip really helped me get over 300 for the year. I ticked many Ohio common & new birds this year. This puts me at a 347.1 species per year average over 7 years.                                       
• STATS  In 2013--338; 2014--359; 2015--322; 2016--360; 2017--377; 2018--353; 2019--321

Northern Hawk Owl, MN

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 2019.

#289 Red-throated Loon
#290 Ross Goose
#291 YBSS                                                       

#292 Cackling Goose
#293 Snowy Owl
#294 Red-necked Grebe
#295 Northern Saw-Whet Owl
#296 Common Merganser
#297 Tundra Swan
#298 American Pipit
#299 Sharp-shinned Hawk
#300-321 Florida common birds, ie. Egyptian Goose, Roseate Spoonbill, M Frigatebird


**heard only 2019**
 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, VA Rail, American Bittern, Sedge Wren, Canyon Towhee(AZ), Louis. Waterthrush, Blue Grosbeak, Prairie warbler


Rarities seen in 2019--only saw two Code 3 or higher birds this year
         

             Code 3  Sharp-tailed Sandpiper--KillDeer WA, Ohio Lifer #621
             Code 3  Ruddy Ground Dove--Buckeye, AZ  Lifer #619

• 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: 

        Snow goose, LTD, Black & Surf Scoter, Yellow-bellied & Alder empidx., American Golden Plover, Baird's sandpiper, LBBG, Long-eared & Short-eared Owls, Brown Creeper, Canada, Pine, Connecticut, Mourning, Kirtland & Golden-winged warblers, Lapland LS,

• 2020 trips--So far many planned trips, but likely to change. 

           1. March 1--LRGV, 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. May 31--Cape Hatteras Palegic, Black-capped Petrel, South Polar Skua, rare petrel, Masked Booby
           5. July--Maine again, Red-billed TropicBird, Razorbill, Dovkie, Roseate Tern, Bicknell Thrush
           6. Chase a rarity. Can this be the year of a Code 4 or 5 chase??



Next up: Let's start off #BigYear2020 with a cold Ohio birding

#621 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in OH-IO!!

R.A.M.

Where is it?!?!

 It pays to bird your local state often. Now that it is fall migration, you never know what is going to show up. Day to Day, it can always change. But thanks to the wonderful birders of Ohio, and the technology we have today, the gap is closing.  I could be sitting here today writing this blog, and tomorrow morning, off driving someplace to see something new.  And with that . . here is how late Octobers usually go in Ohio.

 Sparrow season! Looking for Nelson's again(always a great year bird), and possible LeContes'(still a need for life bird). So on Saturday October 19th I saw the Nelsons at Battelle Darby MP. Yea!! Then later in the day, a great local birder reported a Rare Asian Migrant(R.A.M.) at KillDeer WA in Wyondot county. So Sunday morning by 10:30am . . .

Been here many times

Sharp-tailed piper

With Killdeer to right

#621 surrounded in confetti 

This Asian shorebird is related to our Pectoral Sandpiper, and like that species is it a long-distance migrant, traveling from Siberia to Australia and New Zealand. A few reach North America every year, mostly fall migrants in Alaska and the Pacific northwest; a casual stray in other areas, rare in spring. Very rare in Ohio, maybe first time ever?  Good news, the bird stayed for 12 days, so everyone in the state got to share the experience. 

 Distinct cap present in all plumages: vivid chestnut in breeding adult and juvenile, duller brown in non-breeding adult.

Gambill Family history:
Red & Louise: 1984, Attu Island, AK, life bird  #694; & again in 92 94 97 02'
Buddy Gambill: 5/26/1980, Attu Island, AK, life bird

Next up:  Ohio birds & Christmas in Florida!!

Where do I go from here?

Legend killer

Well, well . . . here we are again, in the middle of no where. It's the late summer of 2019 and birding is slow. Here in Ohio, the shorebirds are coming south now, with warblers to follow. So, at this point in the Blog, I thought I would do a recap of my birding adventures, and where the future leads me.



Past 7 years recap:
I saw my 500th bird, in southern Cally with my grandparents. I was a freshman in high school and just finished my last push in 1991 to get it done.  YEAH!!  Then came high school, then college, then post college, then my dads' death, then a girlfriend/wife, then my thirties, etc.  I got back into birding when I decided to visit my grandparents one spring in Texas. Then the next year, I invited my friend Sam to come done, and that's when the Code 5 Black Vented Oriole showed up . . . then off to the races. Take a look at the last 113 birds I've seen over the years, on the right side of the blog.

Today, late 2019: 
The last life bird I saw was May 19th, 2019, the Swainson's warbler, last of the east coast birds. That puts me at #620 for the ABA area and that's 9 total new birds this year. So I am very happy with my trips to MN, AZ and Dayton. So now is a good time to review my list, and write down every Code 1 and Code 2 bird left to see (minus palegic birds). Once that was done, my list shows that I only need 18--Code 1's  and 42--Code 2's.  Now, I have taken those birds and grouped them into which states I can see them and times of year. Remember, these things have wings and can fly!!
So below is my states I need to visit and what I can see there.

2013 LRGV

States                        Code 1 & 2 needs

California                   Arizona                 
Mountain Quail           Montezuma Quail             
WhiteHeaded Wp        Pinyon Jay                  
Hammonds Epmix       ComBlkHawk  2/20' TX    
Bells sparrow              Whiskered SOwl       
McGillverys                Buff-breast empidx         
CA Condor                 Mexican Chickadee
Island ScrubJay          Bendires Thrash     
PacfGldnPlvr              Rufus-winged Sp. 
                                   Varied Bunting       
                                   ThkBill KingB      
                                                           
Colorado                                 Oregon/Idaho
 Grtr SageGruse 4/21' CO       Chuckar            
 Mountain Plvr                         WhteHeadWp       
 Pinyon Jay                              Hammonds Ep. 
 MacGillivrays war                 MacGillivrays      
 Gray Crown RF                      Boreal Owl       
 Black Rosy Finch                   Cassia CrossBill
 Brown-Capped RF 4/21' CO
 Grtr Prairie Chkn
  Lssr Prairie Chkn 

  Lewis Woodpk 1/20' CA                         


Maine                      Alaska       

Thk-billed Murre     Thk-billed Murre            
Razorbill                  Horned Puffin                              
Dovekie                    Grouse                                         
Roseate Tern
Red-billed TB
Bicknells Thrush

Florida            East Coast Palegic  

Salt Marsh sp    Parasitic Jager10/20' OH
                          South Polar Skua/Great
                          Black capped Petral
                           Manx Shearwater

Texas                                        

 Black-capped Vireo                         
 Mountain Plvr 
                                                       
Ohio                                                                             
Smith LongSpur  4/21' OH                                 
LeContes Sparrow10/20' OH                                                          
                                                                                     
                                                                                         

Wildcards

Northern Goshawk
Chesnut Collr LS
Spruce, Sooty & Dusky Grouse
Black Swift, Black Rail                          
Bohemian Waxwing                        
Hoary Redpoll                             
Baird's sparrow  


                                                                                         
                                                                                         
2020 trips

• Lower Rio Grand Valley--Mar 1
• Colorado--May 1
• Stormy Petral II Palegic--May 31
• Maine/Seal Island--July

& beyond
The goal is to see almost all the remaining 50-60 birds listed, thus that would put me within range of 700 ABA traditional area. That would set me up for my first trip to Alaska to hopefully see #700 there.

 






Wood-warblers: Needed

MacGiillvray's--code 1, west coast CA NV WA
Comila--code 3, Big Bend NP TX
Rufous-capped--code 3, AZ
Golden-crowned--code 4, south TX, missed 2018 bird
Fan-tailed--code 4, AZ
Slate-throated Redstart--code 4, Big Bend NP, TX
Bachman's--code 6, extinct, giant cane bird, no habitat left

 Feel free to leave "good" comments on the blog, maybe we can meet up and BIRD!!

Next up: Hawaii & 15 year anniversary 

#620 Swainson's Warbler in O-H-I-O

"Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town
And everybody yeah, tries to put my Sloopy down
Sloopy I don't care, what your daddy do
Cause you know Sloopy, girl, I'm in love with you
 And so I sing out" -- The McCoys, 1965

My Sloopy bird for the year finally showed up here in Ohio. After birding most my entire life, I've seen a lot of birds. Almost every year, I can count on Ohio bringing a life bird my way. What a great state!!

2018--Iceland Gull 2017--Calliope Hummer & Long-tailed Jeager  2016--Curlew Sandpiper  2015--Brambling & Black-headed Gull  2014--Northern Wheater


so now was does 2019 have for me?!?

Swainson's Warbler, male

#620

Limnothlypis swainsonii













A heavyset warbler of southern swamps and forested ravines, the Swainson’s Warbler has a bold, ringing song but tends to remain frustratingly hidden in the understory. This brownish songbird isn’t as brilliantly colored as other warblers, but males have a subtle chestnut tone in the crown and sometimes a lemon-yellow wash below. The species forages mostly in dense vegetation on or near the ground, where it uses its hefty bill to turn over leaves in search of insects and spiders.


Back on May 13th, a local birder in the Dayton area was checking the Tecumseh trail in New Carlisle, OH . . and heard the very distinct call of a Swainsons' https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Swainsons_Warbler/sounds

This young male has set up shop and the entire state of Ohio and birders afar have come to hear this bird first, then see slight glimpses, then maybe get great pictures like these. Bird was last reported June 18th, even after the Dayton Tornados on May 27th . . it survived.

7th Ohio bird reported ever on Ebird archives?  GreenLawn Cemetery 1985.

Rare for Ohio

Family history

Buddy Gambill--saw it after 1981, no exact record
Red & Louise--#650 in 1983, 85', 87'

Wow, mine was #620 and R&L was so close at #650

      

Party?

Mr. 620 Birds & 510 HP XKR Jaguar

Question:
So now that I'm at 620 ABA traditional area for life birds. What to do from here? Where to go from here?

Next Update: Plan of Bird Action to #700⇺🐦🐦

Arizona Birds +3 lifers & 99 degrees hot

In the week after Easter, my family had not rented their villa in Scottsdale, AZ. so we decided to travel for some hot sun weather . . . and of course birds!!  Actually, this trip was a quick three day lay at the pool everyday trip.  But with the west coast time change, early to bed early to rise . . . on the road at dark, making it to Cave Creek park at sunrise for this

In the Light, Led Zeppelin

safe Selfie time

I  was at Cave Creek looking for the Bendire's Thrasher, the last of the thrashers for me. Ebird reports where three weeks old.  I did hike some trails, not to far thou. Lack of water and equipment, but two hours and I found some good Arizona birds and many first of years!!

Cave Creek Parkway/Marriott birds:
Gambels' Quail--common on grounds
Swainson's Hawk--road back CC, perched
Harris Hawk--over pool, harassed by black birds
White-winged dove
Rosy faced Lovebirds--now living at Marriott
Costa Hummer
Gila wp
Say's Phobe
Ash-throated Empdix
Verdin
Curved-billed thrasher--no Bendy's
Hooded Oriole--orange and singing
Rufus-crowned sp
Abert's Towhee--at golf course

Lovebirds

Abert's Towhee

Mt. Ord & Lake Saguaro birds:
Pied-billed Grebe
Zone-tailed Hawk--look thru the buzzards, to get a Zone-tailed!!
Spotted sp
Willet
Eurasian-collard Dove
Bells Vireo
Gray Vireo--Lifer #618
Woodhouse Scrub-Jay
N. Rough-wing Swallow
Lucy's Warber--at the lake, life bird #579 seen again!
Canyon Towhee--heard only 😹
 Black-chinned Sparrow--Lifer #617
Scott's Oriole--wow, what a pretty bird and song of the mountains.

Black-chinned sparrow #617

Gray Vireo #618

 If you hear a ping-pong ball bouncing around rugged and rocky hillsides of the Southwest, look for a Black-chinned Sparrow. These small, long-tailed sparrows are gray with a pink bill and brown wings. Only the male sports the namesake black chin. They forage on the ground in chaparral and desert scrub, but they don't stay out in the open for long. They spend winters in Mexico.

Scott's Oriole

 A small, drab bird of desert scrub, the Gray Vireo shows only faint traces of the typical vireo spectacles and wingbars. Song is a halting series of 2 to 3 note phrases with a burry quality.

Zone-tailed Hawk

Woodhouse Scrub-Jay

Buckeye, AZ-- 27033 W. Harzen Rd. birds:
Inca ground dove
Common ground dove
Ruddy ground dove--Lifer #619
20 Peacocks--exotic, non-countable, just loud
Western Kingbird

Which one is Ruddy? #619

4 species in photo, w Lifer!!

Very common in the tropics, this little dove ranges north to northern Mexico, and recently it has been showing up increasingly often in our Southwest. Ruddy Ground-Doves are appropriately named after the bright ruddy-colored plumage of the male, which makes them distinctive from males of other ground-doves.

20 or more Peacocks . . .very loud

Me down the lane getting RUGR

 For not being a birding trip, boy did I bird!!! Thank you mom for the week of sun and fun. We really enjoyed it. How about my Nissan Murano/National Car rental and prepaid gas, one full tank, back on empty, 332 miles

57 species
+3 Lifers
32 FOYS

next up: Life bird in OHIO strikes again . . . I love this state