


Moderator: Scott Waters
Whoa! Very cool.nightdriver wrote:Common Crane - currently in Nevada
You are pretty close to 500, Curtis. Could manage the difference sticking around Michigan?Curtis Hart wrote:I'm currently at 483 in the ABA. I'll enjoy getting to 500, but 600 and 700 are very accomplishable.
Chris, I am surprised your ABA list isn't higher, but I guess you have said you normally head south or to other countries. Seriously, you should consider a May trip up to Ohio. In a week (or less) you could make a killing on neo-tropical migrants, ducks and some pretty sweet herps. Or come fly up in the winter for some gull action. I got 6 species of gulls today and could have gone 7 or 8 with a little more effort.chrish wrote:I'm over 500 in the ABA (543), but 600 is going to be tough.
Andy Avram wrote:Chris, I am surprised your ABA list isn't higher, but I guess you have said you normally head south or to other countries. Seriously, you should consider a May trip up to Ohio. In a week (or less) you could make a killing on neo-tropical migrants, ducks and some pretty sweet herps. Or come fly up in the winter for some gull action. I got 6 species of gulls today and could have gone 7 or 8 with a little more effort.
Andy
I think my pace has accelerated in the last 100 or so as well because you become more selective and focused and tend to chase rarities more.nightdriver wrote:I think the time between 500 and 600 went faster than 400 to 500. All it takes is a few well placed trips. You need to come out and do some Pacific pelagics Chris.
-nightdriver
Congrats on the Tyrannulet. I had been down to the valley many dozens of times over 20 years before I finally got that little bugger.Curtis Hart wrote:picked up a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet at Anzulduas County Park this morning. I also saw a Yellow-headed Parrot this morning. I have decided if I'll count that one or not yet.
I picked up an Elf Owl at Bensten Rio Grande 3/21/2013.
Thanks. I heard another one at Bensten Rio Grande this morning, but didn't take the time to track it down. It was really tough to find the first one, even after I heard it.chrish wrote:Congrats on the Tyrannulet. I had been down to the valley many dozens of times over 20 years before I finally got that little bugger.
chrish wrote:Parrots in the valley are a pain. The only ones I have counted are the flocks of Green Parakeets and Red-headed Parrots which are pretty predictable. Yellow-headed is interesting though.....they do still occur in the Tamaulipan Scrub just a few hours south of the border.
I am surprised you haven't seen Greater Scaup before! At this point I am only a handful of ducks away from finishing them off for the ABA I need to head WAY north to Alaska and way south to Florida or by you in Texas.Curtis Hart wrote:I saw a Greater Scaup at Lake Hudson a week or so ago and picked up a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet at Anzulduas County Park this morning. I also saw a Yellow-headed Parrot this morning. I haven't decided if I'll count that one or not yet.
I picked up an Elf Owl at Bensten Rio Grande 3/21/2013.
Andy Avram wrote:You have gotten some pretty choice birds lately, but looking at the ABA website, which goes of AOU, and I don't see Yellow-headed Parrot on the list, thus meaning it isn't "countable". Of course that all could change in a few years, but personally I don't get as excited as some people about now non-native species added to the list.
Couldn't afford the field guide?? Sheesh......back when I was a boy....Curtis Hart wrote:My world total is 1126, which is low, because I've been SUPER lazy some times, and also couldn't afford the field guide once (Birds of Wallacea).
chrish wrote:Couldn't afford the field guide?? Sheesh......back when I was a boy....
Glad you got the requisite number. The problem is now that you are at 500, 600 is a long way off!Curtis Hart wrote:I'll finish my drive home tomorrow or the next day. Over the last two weeks I started in Mcallan, Texas spent a week in Big Bend NP, then on to Guadelupe Mountains NP, then north to Omaha NE. Here are the lifers I saw.
Clapper Rail - South Padre Convention Center
Gray Flycatcher - Big Bend
Black Chinned Sparrow - Big Bend
Zone-tailed Hawk - Big Bend and 2 from roads
Canyon Wren - Big Bend
Blue-throated Hummingbird - Big Bend
Lesser Nighthawk - Big Bend
McGillivray's Warbler - Big Bend
White-throated Swift - Big Bend
Hutton's Vireo - Big Bend
Plumbeous Vireo - Big Bend
Clark's Grebe - Balmorrhea
Snow Goose - Balmorrhea
Virginia's Warbler - Guadelupe Mts
Gray Vireo - Guadelupe Mts
Cassin's Kingbird - Rattlesnake Springs (Carlsbad Caverns)
Mexican Whip-poorwill - Guadelupe Mts
Harris's Sparrow - Omaha NE
My birding software crashed and I can't restore it until I get home. It's all backed up, but I'm not sure of my exact total. I think I'm at about 505. Thanks to everyone that gave me advice, especially ChrisH.
chrish wrote: You got two birds that I don't have - Virginia's Warbler and Mexican Whip-poorwill. I've seen both but didn't count either sighting.
Interesting that there were still geese at Balmorrhea. No Ross's among the snows? They are pretty common there if there are any white geese.
The Mexican Whip-poor-will (and a Whiskered Screech-Owl) were both calling along side a road at night in the Chiricahuas. We got out of the car and listened and called back as best we could. We had our flashlights ready, but even though both species got within 20 feet of us, we could never spot them. We did see a Caprimulgid silhouette fly from a limb where we had heard the Whip calling, but we never really "saw" it. (We saw the Screech-Owl fly over after calling as well, but didn't feel like we had "seen" it either.)Curtis Hart wrote:Why didn't you count those two?chrish wrote: You got two birds that I don't have - Virginia's Warbler and Mexican Whip-poorwill. I've seen both but didn't count either sighting.