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!