Monday, December 31, 2012

A Year Full of Birds

 

1. Great egret Fort Lowell Park, AZ-kab 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

 

2. SNOW Plum Island, MA-kabSnowy 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!

3. WTSP Central Park-kab White-throated Sparrow in Central Park 3-18-2012

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

 

6. Chipping sparrow, CT-kabChipping Sparrow in Connecticut July 10, 2012

 

7. GBHE Andover, MA-kab Great Blue Heron eating frog in Andover, MA, May 5, 2012

 

9. Shearwaters-kab Manx Shearwater** at Revere Beach, MA 5-12-12

10. Brown creeper, ME-kab Juvenile Brown Creeper, Norridgewock, ME 6-9-2012

11. magnolia warbler NYC-kab Magnolia Warbler in Central Park, NYC 5-18-2012

 

12. Lakeside park, Az-kab Western Kingbird, Lakeside Park, Tucson, AZ 10-9-2012

13. Tennessee Warbler in TucsonTennessee Warbler** in my backyard 10-22-2012

 

14. Lark Buntings-kab Lark Buntings in the Avra Valley 10-28-2012

 

15. Ross' goose NM-kabRoss’ Goose at Bosque del Apache, NM 11-5-12

 

16. Black-crowned Night heron-kab Black-crowned Night Heron at Lakeside Park, Tucson 11-14-12

17. sky full-kab 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!

18. Barn Owl, CA-kabBarn Owl in Palm Tree at Visitor’s Center at the Salton Sea

 

18. yellow footed gull-kabYellow-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!

verfly-kab 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!

9 comments:

  1. Woo Hoo! What a year for you Kathie!

    Great round up' you saw some really great stuff. I envy that Snowy Owl most of all. We may not have much of them in the States for another 10 or 15 years.

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  2. What a great year! Glad I got to experience some of it with you! Looks like you do need to get back to Utah this coming year!

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  3. Awesome Kathie! I just posted my own stats for 2012 at BirdingIsFun.com. Looks like you killed me on the number of checklists submitted to eBird this year. Well done lady!

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  4. I am amazed by your bird numbers. Maybe I can be a part of your Big January. I don't see Yavapai or Coconino counties on your list.

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  5. Kathie, you have an amazing birding year. It is wonderful you are keeping so many list and do the Ebird! I wish you many more new birds in 2013! Happy New Year!

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  6. HAPPY new year!!
    beautiful birds from 2012!

    may your year be filled with all good things..and more 'lifers'!!

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  7. Kathie you are one dedicated score keeper looking at all the birds that you have noted in journal! Glrious photos of the various species..A snow owl..what a treat!
    The last yr. for me was different adjusting to new home in the quiet country woods. I find this a challenge and many days felt down and isolated.Too many changes and I felt overwhelmed. NO I am NOT travelling to Arizona this winter.
    This year will be my first Canadian winter in five years!!
    I look forward to meeting up with winter face to face and stay tuned in to the quiet slumber period Mother Nature has
    cast.Hubby will go himself for a month..I may take a sidetrip to Florida for a week.
    I wish you a Happy New year filled with new birding adventures. I am blessed in meeting you through our blogging and look forward the beauty of the rich desert scenes through your camera lens.love and light Anna

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  8. Looks like you had great year! Nice shots!

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.