January 1, 2019
I sure had an ambitious goal going into the year of identifying 300 different species of birds throughout the United States. Wow. If I based my success purely on numbers then this year was a monumental failure. My final tally for the year was a somewhat embarrassing 183 species. But all was not lost, as I actually feel like it was a good year for birding for me. Let’s take a closer look.
The Good:
I added 9 new life birds and 2-3 new yard birds. Most of the lifers came on my trip to the Grand Canyon in June, even though I had extremely limited time to actually focus on birding. I also did fairly well on wood-warblers, probably because I did quite a bit of spring hiking through the woods while training for the Grand Canyon. Also, perhaps even more notable and important, I really began to enjoy birding again this year. My efforts to spend more time outdoors and to focus on the natural world were rewarded with what I found to be a wonderful year exploring.
The Bad:
In typical fashion, I failed to spend any time attempting to identify gulls, flycatchers, and field sparrows. Often birding was my secondary activity and I did not take the time to study the birds observed in order to positively identify them. My confirmed numbers could certainly have improved if only I had been able to take my time.
The Ugly:
I can’t believe that I call myself a birder and that I am even writing this down for the world to see. My shorebird list only included 5 species (out of 43 total on Missouri checklist). Obviously I did not try very hard. Shorebirds have always been difficult for me as I often struggle with the ID and I don’t have very good optics for the long range viewing. In addition, spring migration occurs during a crazy busy time at home and at work and so I simply don’t get out much to look.
5 Biggest Misses:
- Green-winged teal – I know, really. One of the most common ducks in North America. I saw countless Blue-winged teal and had several possible sightings but was never able to get a good enough view to confirm.
- Least flycatcher – Yes, another incredibly common migrant. Back to the above comment about failing to take the time to study certain birds. That and the fact that my birding by ear is terrible, even though I have actually gotten better believe it or not.
- American Tree Sparrow – ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- Black-throated green warbler – I usually see plenty of these, but somehow did not see a single one. Maybe if my birding ear was better…
- California Condor – I know, there are only like 400 of them around. But again I spent time in the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, both of which are home to these giant birds and they are often seen in both places. The sting was made worse by the tour bus driver in Zion who stopped to point out the condors overhead, but actually it was really just a flock of vultures.
So what are my goals for 2019?
Well after this reality check, I need to get back to basics. I am aiming for 200 species this year. I don’t have any plans for any significant out of state travel this year, so I will have to focus on Missouri birds. No problem, as there are over 430 birds on the Missouri checklist. I need to clean up my shorebird, gull, and sparrow numbers and maybe take to time to study the flycatchers a bit. The good part is that I get to go outside and try to find them, and am motivated to improve on this year.
Of course it is possible that I will simply continue to marvel at the common birds at my feeders, get excited about every pileated woodpecker that I see in the woods, and stop in my tracks every single time I hear snow geese overhead and look up to find the flock no matter how far away they may be. Any birding is good birding, I guess, when I am still in awe of the simple things.
