A Year Full of Birds

 

Great Egret at Fort Lowell Park, Tucson, AZ 12-8-2012

It was an amazing year of birding for me in 2012. I started the year in Andover, MA and ended it in Tucson, AZ after driving across the country in August with my good friend, Kathryn Kelley! All across the United states I counted birds and I have been counting them since 2008 on a regular basis. Before that I simply listed any new species I saw by recording the date and place next to the species information in my bird book. Now that I use eBird I have been able to enter all of that data into their database which keeps track of all my sightings for me. At the end of 2012 this is where I stand. I started the year with 420 Life Birds. The higher you go, the harder it gets to see something new. But, with over 1000 possible species in the United States (excluding Hawaii) I still have so much to see!

Kathie’s eBird Stats	Life	Year
Total Species	432	281
Total Checklists	4848	1080
ABA Area Ticks	1815	812

 

Snowy Owl on Plum Island January 10, 2012

One of the most exciting birds to see this past year was the Snowy Owl on Plum Island! I was able to add 3 new states to my list of states where I have counted birds. I now have a total of 33 states and 1 Canadian Province that I have counted birds in!

Kathie’s State Lists	Life	Year
1. Arizona	258	155
2. Massachusetts	181	118
3. Utah	148	0
4. Connecticut	141	83
5. Maine	115	70
6. West Virginia	106	7
7. New York	84	57
8. New Mexico	75	48
9. California*	74	74
10. New Hampshire	66	44
11. Florida	65	0
12. Colorado	65	34
13. Oklahoma	53	0
14. Alabama	47	0
15. Ohio	44	0
16. Washington	38	0
17. Kentucky	36	22
18. Texas	34	28
19. Tennessee	32	22
20. Maryland*	22	22
21. Rhode Island	21	13
22. Wyoming	20	0
23. Arkansas	17	7
24. Idaho	13	0
25. Mississippi	12	0
26. Nebraska	11	0
27. Pennsylvania	10	5
28. Indiana	8	0
29. North Dakota	6	0
30. Iowa	4	0
31. Illinois	3	0
32. New Jersey*	3	3
New Brunswick, Canada	2	0
33. South Dakota	1	0

*New States Lists added in 2012

Here are just a few of my birding highlights from 2012!

White-throated Sparrow in Central Park 3-18-2012

Savannah Sparrow at Great Meadows NWR in Massachusetts 4-14-2012

 

Chipping Sparrow in Connecticut July 10, 2012

 

 Great Blue Heron eating frog in Andover, MA, May 5, 2012

 

 Manx Shearwater** at Revere Beach, MA 5-12-12

 Juvenile Brown Creeper, Norridgewock, ME 6-9-2012

 Magnolia Warbler in Central Park, NYC 5-18-2012

 

 Western Kingbird, Lakeside Park, Tucson, AZ 10-9-2012

Tennessee Warbler** in my backyard 10-22-2012

 

 Lark Buntings in the Avra Valley 10-28-2012

 

Ross’ Goose at Bosque del Apache, NM 11-5-12

 

 Black-crowned Night Heron at Lakeside Park, Tucson 11-14-12

 A sky full of birds in the Imperial Valley, CA 11-23-2012

One of the most exciting things to happen to me last year was when my husband surprised me by taking me on a trip to the Salton Sea over Thanksgiving. While most people were out shopping on Black Friday, I was out counting birds! You can read all about it in The Salton Sea Stories!

Barn Owl in Palm Tree at Visitor’s Center at the Salton Sea

 

Yellow-footed Gull** at the Salton Sea, CA 11-23-12 

**Life Birds in 2012

Counting Birds in the Counties

There are 3,143 Counties (or county equivalents) in the United States according to the US Census Bureau. Of these I have counted birds in 191 of them. I guess I still have a long ways to go! Check the list below to see if I have counted birds in your county! I added 41 counties to the list this year!

Kathie’s County eBird Lists	Life	Year
1. Pima, AZ	233	137
2. Santa Cruz, AZ	164	37
3. Cochise, AZ	154	0
4. Essex, MA	153	108
5. New London, CT	115	81
6. Davis, UT	99	0
7. Fayette, WV	95	0
8. Pinal, AZ	95	8
9. Somerset, ME	82	52
10. Maricopa, AZ	74	54
11. Box Elder, UT	70	0
12. Imperial, CA***	67	67
13. Socorro, NM	66	42
14. Barnstable, MA	63	0
15. Rockingham, NH	61	42
16. Weber, UT	61	0
17. New York, NY	60	54
18. Middlesex, CT	60	28
19. Middlesex, MA	59	39
20. Lee, FL	57	0
21. Aroostook, ME	56	0
22. Fairfield, CT	54	2
23. Androscoggin, ME	50	7
24. New Haven, CT	50	0
25. Cumberland, ME	44	37
26. Oklahoma, OK	43	0
27. Gila, AZ	43	0
28. Niagara, NY	41	0
30. Windham, CT	41	25
31. Warren, OH	41	0
32. Marshall, AL	39	0
33. Nicholas, WV	37	0
34. Christian, KY	36	19
35. Tolland, CT	36	6
36. Franklin, ME	34	9
37. Penobscot, ME	33	24
38. Kings, NY	33	19
39. Hartford, CT	32	13
40. Thurston, WA	31	0
41. York, ME	31	6
42. Arapahoe, CO***	31	31
43. Suffolk, MA	30	23
44. Worchester, MA	28	24
45. Riverside, CA***	26	26
46. Hancock, ME	25	0
47. Pocahontas, WV	25	0
48. Graham, AZ	24	0
49. Collier, FL	23	0
50. Boulder, CO	22	0
51. Kennebec, ME	22	6
52. Stewart, TN	22	20
53. Washington, MD***	21	21
54. Washington, RI	21	13
55. Hillsborough, NH	20	15
56. Yuma, AZ***	18	18
57. Madison, AL	17	0
58. Larimer, CO	16	0
59. Merrimack, NH	16	9
60. Norfolk, MA	15	0
61. Jefferson, CO	15	5
62. Franklin, MA	15	0
63. Morris, TX***	14	14
64. Cheshire, NH	14	0
65. Coconino, AZ	14	0
66. Hidalgo, NM	14.	2
67. Canadian, OK	13	0
68. Pierce, WA	13	0
69. Morgan, UT	13	0
70. Uintah, WY	11	0
71. Ector, TX	11	10
72. Bowie, TX	11	2
73. Teton, WY	10	0
74. Yavapai, AZ	9	0
75. Mason, WV	9	0
76. Shelby, TN	9	0
77. Greenlee, AZ	8	0
78. Waldo, ME	8	0
79. Grand, UT	8	0
80. Luna, NM	8	7
81. Comanche, OK	8	0
82. Santa Fe, NM	8	6
83. Miller, AR	7	6
84. Sebastian, AR	7	0
85. Denver, CO	7	0
86. Iron, UT	7	0
87. Fayette, KY***	7	7
88. Tishomingo, MS	7	0
89. Culberson, TX***	7	7
90. Butte, ID	7	0
91. Limestone, AL	6	0
92. Pulaski, AR	6	0
93. Steuben, IN	6	0
94. Lincoln, NE	6	0
95. Torrance, NM	6	0
96. Marion, WV***	6	6
97. Brown, OH	6	0
98. Carroll, TN	6	0
99. Mitchell, TX***	6	6
100. Dallas, TX***	6	6
101. Billings, ND	6	0
102. St. Francis, AR	5	4
103. Garfield, CO	5	0
104. Douglas, CO***	5	5
105. Bonneville, ID	5	0
106. Sagadahoc, ME	5	3
107. Montgomery, TN	5	3
108. De Baca, NM	5	0
109. Herkimer, NY	5	0
110. Beckham, OK	5	0
111. Montour, PA	5	0
112. Fayette, TN	5	0
113. York, NE	5	0
114. Sedgwick, CO	4	0
115. Mesa, CO	4	0
116. Scott, IO	4	0
117. Marshall, MS	4	0
118. Alcorn, MS	4	0
119. Quay, NM	4	0
120. Millard, UT	4	0
121. Richmond, NY***	4	4
122. Mackintosh, OK	4	0
123. Lebanon, PA***	4	4
124. Hunt, TX***	4	4
125. Harris, TX	4	0
126. Seneca, NY	4	0
127. Saline, AR	3	0
128. El Paso, TX***	3	3
129. Summit, CO	3	0
130. Pueblo, CO***	3	3
131. El Paso, CO***	3	3
132. Eagle, CO	3	0
133. Custer, ID	3	0
134. Cook, IL	3	0
135. Nelson, KY***	3	3
136. Sandoval, NM	3	0
137. Okmulgee, OK	3	0
138. Pike, PA	3	0
139. Dauphin, PA***	3	3
140. Haywood, TN	3	0
141. Las Animas, CO***	3	3
142. Lewis, WV*	2	2
143. Clark, KY***	2	2
144. Woodford, KY***	2	2
145. Hardin, KY***	2	2
146. Hunterdon, NJ***	2	2
147. Guadalupe, NM	2	0
148. Colfax, NM***	2	2
149. Orange, NY	2	0
150. Jackson, OH	2	0
151. Sequoyah, OK	2	0
152. Northampton, PA***	2	2
153. Madison, TN	2	1
154. Tarrant, TX	2	0
155. Potter, TX	2	0
156. Palo Pinto, TX***	2	2
157. LaGrange, IN	2	0
158. Clark, AR	1	0
159. Cabell, WV***	1	1
160. Logan, CO	1	0
161. Huerfano, CO***	1	1
162. Volusia, FL	1	0
163. Orange, FL	1	0
164. Fremont, ID	1	0
165. St. Joseph, IN	1	0
166. Jasper, IO	1	0
167. Carter, KY***	1	1
168. Bath, KY***	1	1
169. Allegany, MD***	1	1
170. Keith, NE	1	0
171. Somerset, NJ***	1	1
172. Morris, NJ* **	1	1
173. Mora, NM***	1	1
174. Curry, NM	1	0
175. Bernalillo, NM	1	0
176. Westchester, NY	1	0
177. Onondaga, NY	1	0
178. Washinton, NY	1	0
179. Seminole, OK	1	0
180. Pottawatomie, OK	1	0
181. Custer, OK	1	0
182. Butte, SD	1	0
183. Titus, TX***	1	1
184. Reeves, TX***	1	1
185. Oldham, TX	1	0
186. Nolan, TX	1	0
187. Midland, TX	1	1
188. Garfield, UT	1	0
189. Wayne, WV	1	1
190. Harrison, WV***	1	1
191. Washington, CO	1	0

***New County Lists added in 2012

And, since the world didn’t end on December 21, 2012 Celeste and I decided to go birding! Just look what we found when Celeste and I did The End of the World Birding Adventure at Lakeside Park in Tucson!

 Vermillion Flycatcher at Lakeside Park, Tucson, AZ 12-21-12

Yeah, it’s been a really good year! Now can you say, “Big January?”

And…are you crazy enough to join me?

The Game starts at midnight tonight!

Notes from My Nest: Birds and Family

 Cooper’s Hawk 12-12-12

It has been very busy around here during this month of December. Beside getting ready for the holidays I have been birding all over the place with Chris and Celeste. I barely have had time to enter my bird counts into eBird; never mind having time to process photos or blog. Chris Rohrer and I participated in the Christmas Bird Count on December 16th. He has all the photos. I didn’t even bother to bring my camera. I focused on finding and counting birds. It was our first Christmas Bird Count ever and we had a great time and learned how the whole process worked.

 Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk 12-10-12

In my own yard the hawks have been hunting my feeders. Sometimes I see one almost every day. In-between hawks the little birds keep on coming. My regular yard birds at this point are Pigeons, Mourning doves, Anna's Hummingbirds, Gila Woodpeckers, Verdin, Yellow-rumped Warblers, House Finches and Lesser Goldfinches. I still see Say’s Phoebe’s once in awhile as well as Common Ravens.

 Xavier checking out the Christmas Tree 12-15-12

Our son and grandson currently live with us and it was fun watching Xavier checking out the Christmas tree and all the decorations. He spent Christmas with his other grandparents in Boston this year while we eagerly awaited the arrival of the rest of our Children from around the country. We had not all been together since 2003. This promised to be a magical Christmas and it was.

 My little Christmas Elf, Natalie!

My youngest son, Alex was the first to arrive on December 18th with his wife and daughter. Natalie charmed us all with her smile and her sweet little voice. It wasn’t long before I was calling her my Little Christmas Elf!

 Natalie and Uncle G!

 

 Grandpa playing board games with his sons.

 

 Natalie loved my ballerina Christmas tree ornaments!

 

 Her childlike joy was infectious and had us all smiling!

The next to arrive was my daughter, Renee with her husband, Randy. When Chris and Melissa arrived on Christmas night our family was finally complete! I was so full of joy and  contentment that I didn’t take many photos! Thankfully, my dear friends Chris and Celeste reminded me about this and they took photos for us! Where are they? Well, I have yet to offload them as well! I am having too many adventures to post about, LOL! There will be more to come soon, as well as the continuation of The Salton Sea Stories! Until then, I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Christmas Duck!

Doesn’t it look like it has Christmas Ornaments on its face?

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from My Nest to Yours!

 Meme and Natalie on Christmas Eve 2012

Christmas has arrived in my nest with all of my children coming home and being together for the first time in 10 years! The last child and his wife arrive tonight but the rest are here and we are already having fun. G, Renee and her new husband Randy, and my youngest son, Alex are off on a 6 mile hike in Sabino Canyon. Meanwhile, mom is home cooking and blogging and spending time with Natalie, my little grand-daughter who is the perfect little Christmas elf! Having all my kids here is The Best Christmas present of all!

 Santa Claus Horse (Have you ever seen one with whiskers?)

However, I got another early Christmas present by taking my daughter on a trail ride through Saguaro National Park on Sunday while the guys watched football! Renee loves horses and this was her Christmas present, but it was mine too! Pantano Stables did a great job and the prices were surprisingly affordable! The horse I rode was white and his name was Big John, but he should have been named Santa Claus since he had white whiskers!

 One happy cowgirl!

 

 Happy Trails in Saguaro National Park! 12-23-12

 

 Randy and Alex (son-in-law and son)

 Alex and Renee have not seen each other in 3 years!

 

 Christmas Morning baking Buttons and Bowknots

 

 My grand-daughter, Natalie 12-25-12

 

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

My little Christmas Elf!

 

• The Christmas Monkey (A Christmas Poem from Kathie’s Poet Tree)

A Sky Full of Birds (and why they flew)

 Cattle Egrets 11-23-12 near the Salton Sea

On the Friday after Thanksgiving when so many people are at the store shopping I am standing at the edge of an agricultural field in the Imperial Valley of California near the southeast corner of the Salton Sea. My husband has brought me here as a special treat to see birds and I am not disappointed! We found a field full of egrets, ibises and curlews, and as I stood watching they all suddenly took wing and filled the sky!

A sky full of birds

 

 

Cattle Egret in flight

 

So, why did they fly?

 

Because a juvenile Peregrine Falcon is swooping over the field of birds!

 

 

Cattle Egrets and ibis.

 

The young Peregrine made another pass but never caught a bird.

 

The birds circled around, then settle down once again.

 

• The Salton Sea Stories (click link to read all posts)

A Flurry of Birds

 Cattle Egrets take wing near the Salton Sea-11-23-12

Gus and I now headed back to the main road on our way to our next birding hotspot along the eastern edge of the Salton Sea. We were headed north on Gentry Road when we came to a big curve with lush green agricultural fields all around.

In the middle of the road a pair of Cattle Egrets scurried to the side…

 

…just as a car rounded the bend!

 

Gus pulled off the road and I jumped out to count and photograph birds!

 

Egrets and Ibises all fed together.

 

Cattle Egrets are smaller than Snowy Egrets or Great Egrets. They have short yellow bills and black legs, and their legs and necks are shorter than the other two species. In breeding plumage the their legs turn pinkish red and they develop rusty patches on their heads, and breasts. Unlike the other egrets, these birds favor open fields where they can follow tractors or cattle and eat the insects kicked up by their movements. Cattle Egrets are native to Africa and did not arrive in North America until the 1940’s to 1950’s after first migrating to South America. They are found mostly along the lower half of the United States from coast to coast.

Cattle Egret standing watch.

 

Cattle Egret exploring

 

Cattle Egret Flying

 

As I stood watching the birds I would see them rise and resettle over and over again.

Long-billed Curlews and Cattle Egrets in Agricultural fields near the Salton Sea

 

Feeding together

 

Rise…

 

…and resettle

 

Cattle Egret

 

White-faced Ibis

 

Cattle Egrets and Curlew

 

Why did they fly?

 

A sky full of birds 11-23-12

But why did they fly?

Come back to find out why on December 22nd!

• The Salton Sea Stories (click to read all posts related to this story)
• The Mountains (a new poem on Kathie's Poet Tree)