On the 12th Month....

One step at a time. One month at a time.  One bird at a time.  It's time to take a look back on this years very often slow trek to the top, finding birds. 

We began in January.  It was a good start to the year finding 4 new lifers in one month.  That's almost unheard of these days. The birding was fun and the temps were wonderfully COLD!  I love birding in the cold weather.  On a rare snowy day in Sierra Vista, I found my exciting lifer, the American Bittern.  Then it was off to Lake Havasu where we found another cool bird, the Yellow-billed Loon.  These two bird species are favorites of mine and I had been really looking forward to observing them in the wild. Then, on a windy day, I chased the McCown's Longspurs.  I like grassland birds, but I had a nasty headache from the blustery conditions in Green Valley while helping birders target these two longspurs. If I were ever a paid guide, I think my strength would be finding grassland birds.  Another bird, which was less exciting, was the Barrow's Goldeneye.  All birds are awesome BUT some birds are more exciting to find than others.

Let's begin. January, 2016 I began the year with 706 observed bird species in my life.  And then it began as I added American Bittern, Yellow-billed Loon, Barrow's Goldeneye and McCown's Longspur

In February, the Rusty Blackbird continued.  It took 3 attempts to find this bird and eventually it happened.  I love blackbirds a lot and adding this lifer was a thrill for me.  Thanks to Brian for the encouragement to keep chasing it. 

Rusty Blackbird

Then March arrived.  I was SO looking forward to our trek out to California.  And all of it was a complete joy.  I love the ocean.  And I love all these birds.  The landscape was gorgeous and so was the ride out to Catalina Island. 
So in March, I added Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Black Turnstone and Spotted Dove.

In April, I began lacking the energy needed for chasing birds.  It was starting to get hot outside and the idea of standing in the desert sun was not my idea of fun.  I almost didn't go but thanks to Magill's encouragement, I went.  And I got myself a random lifer, AND RARE!, warbler for the state.  April-Prothonotary Warbler

If April was hot, May was even hotter.  I wasn't thrilled about hearing a Black Rail.  I would have liked to see the bird but it's a difficult one to see in the wild.  We chased the ABA first, Pine Flycatcher.  Thanks Jeremy for driving!  They were hot days and the only way I survived was by drinking ice cold water in my camelpack. Not my idea of fun birding.  While the excitement level was high, I was looking forward to birding in Wisconsin during the month of June in cooler temps. May-Black Rail, Red-headed Woodpecker, Pine Flycatcher

Then June came.  I didn't go anywhere exotic, but I did find myself enjoying the cooler temps of Lake Michigan with my people.  I missed being around the Wisconsin birding crowd. It was a tight study in a window of 3 weeks.  During this trek with Gordon, we landed the most lifers including rare gems like the Kentucky, Cerulean and Kirtland's Warblers.  Many were a lot of fun to look for.....except maybe the Mourning Warbler due to the intense cloud of mosquitoes. 
June-Yellow-throated Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Sedge Wren, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers, Kirtland's Warbler, American Woodcock, Little Gull, Mourning Warbler, Winter Wren and Alder Flycatcher.

In July, it was back to the heat.  I didn't want to return to Arizona but I had to save money.  I didn't think anything was going to come my way.  That is, until a Hudsonian Godwit flew into Arizona.  This is where I began to change as a birder.  

California Scrub-Jay

I could see that my days for chasing year birds in Arizona were coming to an end. I saw the massive crowd of birders and realized that it was time to move forward in my life as a birder.  I chased the Godwit because it was a lifer.  The weather was miserable and so was my attitude. At this point, I began taking my name off of the top 100 ebirders in Arizona and the US.  This was not a game for me, nor is birding a competition. ABA added the California Scrub-Jay and Townsend's Storm-Petrel as separate species ....and I added two more birds to my lifelist in July making it three lifers. July-Hudsonian Godwit, Townsend's Storm-Petrel and California Scrub-Jay

Hudsonian Godwit

Then August came.  And for a brief moment, I remembered the fall like temps of the North.  And I remembered how much I loved birding.  After many attempts of searching for this bird, it finally happened.   August-American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

I was truly expecting ZERO lifers in September until Hurricane Newton came our way.  The sky turned dark and gray.  It was rainy and cool.  And I felt alive.  I also felt like something magical was going to happen.  And it did!  The eye of Newton broke up close to home, introducing me to a new species from the Galapagos Islands!  RARE!  Storm-Petrels are another favorite of mine and so my blood was pumping after finding three different species here in the desert!  THIS was the BEST birding day of the year for me. And it will go down as a historic day in birding for the state of Arizona.  September-Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

My life at this point was overrun with overtime and work.  But the saving grace was a trek out to Monterey, CA where I'd be out on the ocean for several days.  This month would land me several important lifers and bring me closer to completing my birding chapter in California.  This was another fun California trek with Debi Love Shearwater. October-Pigeon Guillemot, South Polar Skua, Black-footed Albatross, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Lesser Sand Plover, Buller's and Flesh-footed Shearwater




In November, I did not find any lifers.  However, I have been adding old files into iNaturalist and I wanted to verify an ID on this hummingbird below.  I had labeled it a White-necked Jacobin, but the ID had never sat quite right with me.  When a birder is unfamiliar with new birds, it can be difficult.  To make it worse, I wasn't truly a birder in 2011. I was more like a bird photographer. I had only started getting interested with the birding challenge after this trip to Panama.  So technically, I added a tick on my list by adding this beautiful Snowy-bellied Hummingbird.  So November wasn't really a bust:)  When a birder can ID a bird with certainty, it then makes the bird a lifer even though I saw this bird back in Boquete in June of 2011. 

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird

And finally December.  It has been a long month and I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to add any new birds to my list.  However, several days ago I was able to add on Thayer's Gull and Eastern Screech-Owl during my visit to Wisconsin.  

Eastern Screech-Owl

This has been a hard fought year for some tough birds.  The rarity highlights include the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, Pine Flycatcher and Lesser Sand Plover.  We'll see you back next year, but for now I'm wishing everyone a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Birding Wisconsin

Cedar Waxwing at the Gill Farm

 The Wisconsin adventures are about to begin.  I'm still on the road and will be getting back to you all during the month of July so I apologize for my absence. It has been a fun trek into the Eastern part of the US looking for rarities and other beautiful things. 

My niece is growing up SO FAST!

I'm spending much needed time with the family.....

A mother Eastern Phoebe guards her nest

 ......and their birds.  Sometimes I tune out and revert back to my old self.  Just for a moment. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at a nest in Peninsula State Park

 We explore nature preserves, campgrounds and meet wonderful new people on the road. 

Searching for Barn Swallow nests in an old cattle barn at the Gill Farm

I eat Mom's homemade cooking.  There are dumplings and kraut, brats, sausage sticks and CHEESE!  Yum!!!  We grill out.  We gossip. 

And while doing so, my lifer American Woodcock stops to visit while I am without my camera.  I do have a Malibu and Rum in my hands though.  It figures that a secretive bird would stop by and visit when I am not prepared!  My family all watched the bird land and then take off.  The moral of the story.  Never leave your camera in the car:)

My brother gets the fire going.  I make the same expression when the American Woodcock stops by to PEEK on us. No photo.  Next time.

Other birds stop by and calmly pose for photos.  Heck!  Some of them even nest on the porch!

Babies take selfies.

The family gets together for Father's Day

And Downy Woodpeckers come for a sip at the feeders. 

My brother Jared exposes me to a new toy....the drone.  It's easy to operate, but the filming part is tricky.  I safely navigate the drone away from people and birds, but my brother has other ideas:)  

And while all this commotion is going on, I sneak in the time to chase rare birds in Wisconsin. There are rainy days which I treasure because the cool temps allow me to sleep in and enjoy my vacation. 

The Little Gull

 Every part of the world has its challenging birds. Here in Wisconsin, gulls are the challenge as are the many flycatchers.  I like gulls so I don't mind sitting through the thousands of them looking for one or two rarities. 

Red Admiral

So on this overcast and cool morning, I scoured the Sheboygan shoreline and found 3 Little Gulls mixed in with the hundreds of similar looking Bonaparte's Gulls. 

The header to this blog contains a Bonaparte's Gull so you can imagine how much I loved observing all of these birds.  They are one of my favorite gulls that I don't get to see often because I'm in Arizona:) It was a treat!  After a half hour, I located one Little Gull on a shoddy pier.  

Bonaparte's Gulls and a Little Gull.  Can you find the bird?

 Other gulls joined the fun as the Little Gull wobbled around the "Big Leagues".  I think Ring-billed Gulls are small but when they stand next to the Little Gull, they are GIANTS!

A Ring-billed Gull is a giant to the much smaller Little Gull

At the end of my count, I found 3 of them mixed into the crowd.  They have a shorter bill, are a quarter size smaller than the similar looking Bonaparte's Gulls, and have darker legs.  The cap on the head was also slightly different as were the primary tail feathers.  But to the naked eye, they look the same.  I found these birds because there wasn't anyone around me during the early morning hours.  The birds made their weird sounding short squawks at one another. Once I located the "different" calls, I was able to have a debate inside my head.  Why aren't these Bonaparte's Gulls?  I know. I know. I need to see a counselor:)  But hey, it's better than getting into a political debate with my father!  So let's turn off the news, internalize a little more, and enjoy nature!  Birds make for a much healthier debate:)

Door County with the family.  My niece catches me falling asleep on the ferry to Washington Island

At the end, I was confident about my ID. Native to Northern Europe and Asia, these Little Gulls have a known smaller population around the Great Lakes area and East Coast.

The people started arriving and asking me about the Pelicans.  Instead I spoke with them about the rarer gulls.  I helped other birders get on the birds and it was a satisfying bird challenge. But the people were still jabbering on about the PELICANS!  So I'll jabber about them as well in a future post:) Their presence is significant. Today it's raining in Wisconsin and I love it.  The temps are a cool 58 degrees and I have the house to myself!!  I sip my coffee with my gentle music playing in the background.  The doors are open and a breeze is moving through the house.  Tonight, we try out Bloody Mary's at a local restaurant.  Yeah, birding and family is a lot of fun.  Over the next several weeks, my friend Gordon and I will take you on some epic adventures that truly challenged us in the state of Wisconsin.   

I'd also like to make a shout out and thank Nancy and Earl Gill for their wonderful hospitality. Several of the photos featured in today's post are from their property. Nancy gave me a tour of their beautiful farm and a delicious jar of canned pickles!  I like pickles but these pickles are amazing.  Needless to say, I'm rationing the jar:)  SO GOOD!  There are so many shades to birding.  I love Wisconsin.  I love the relaxed pace.  Arizona birding is wonderful but it's stressful when you're with so many professional birders! They've made me a better birder, but sometimes the birding can be demanding there. Here, it seems less stressful with a lot more laughing.  And when I'm with my Shire, I feel at home.  Until next time........