[texbirds] Travis County Big Year 2012
- From: Kenny Anderson <kennya290@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2013 23:35:57 -0600
The closing months of 2011 brought some exciting birds to Travis County
such as Sage Thrashers, Green-tailed Towhees, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Lark
Buntings, Mountain Bluebirds, Annas Hummingbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, and
Huttons Vireo. I had been doing my third county year list, actually
stepping up my effort- when I realized it would have been a great year to
put forth a huge effort. I finished 2011 with 278 and was lamenting that I
hadnt pushed a little harder. When the calendar changed to 2012 it
occurred to me that not only were most of the aforementioned birds still
around but I knew right where they were. I started quietly ticking them
off in those first weeks of January 2012. When my son Dean and I returned
from my friend Ed Fairs with Annas Hummingbird photos, my wife noted that
I had already added that bird to my county list at the end of 2011. The
picture started to reveal itself. Some of the details of that exchange are
a tad fuzzy and revisionist- something to the effect of Hey, youre doing
a big year, and so I thank my wife Bernadette and our four children for
being excited and supporting my Travis County Big Year 2012.
The year began with two homeschooled children and two in grade school.
After getting the elementary school goers to their classrooms , I would
take a lap at the West Bouldin Greenbelt. This local patch and near circle
would be the foundation of my efforts. Some weekdays our homeschool
endeavor would make fieldtrips, other days were cooperative with other
families and time birding was arranged. Weekends usually had one long day
of birding and one short. In the fall, my youngest went to kindergarten
and my oldest returned to High School; I definitely missed my young
associates. The exciting Fall migration frequently found me in the field
and school pick-ups would include the recounting of the birds seen. I was
birding a lot and it was showing in my total.
I ended the year with 302 species. My original goal was 290 and when that
passed- I pushed hard to reach 300. Eric Carpenter, who has done a Texas
Big Year and a Hornsby Big Year, was enormously helpful mentoring the
project. Strategy, targets, identifying with struggles, trips, stake-outs,
celebrating a tick
he does a lot for Texas birding and I thank him for
his efforts.
I thank Byron Stone and Tim Fennel for their interest in the project. As
their former student I appreciate their continued efforts- particularly
with photo analysis.
And I thank Brush Freeman who covers the eastern portion of the county
like no other, and I wish he had been around a little more this year. I
appreciated a meet up at Webberville and covered gasp- his Bastrop County
inner circle. That break demonstrated that theres a reason to cross the
county line more frequently.
Below are a few highlights for the year:
· A Big Day of 151 for the team and 150 for my personal list. I
look forward to the weeks of scouting leading up to the Big Day and also
spending the day with my team mates: Maggie Burnett, Eric Carpenter, and
Paul Sunby. These guys are fun, funny and tough to keep up with.18 new
Travis County birds for my cumulative list. 1 Life bird- a Green Violet Ear
at Maggie Burnetts home. West Bouldin yielding 6 exclusive birds to the
list and 26 West Bouldin warbler species, as well as many enjoyable
greenbelt mornings with Mike Huttons Rogan and Suzanne Kho.33 total
warbler species, 8 hummingbirds- its nice to have friends with great
birds: AJ Johnson, Julia Heskett, Ed Fair, and Maggie Burnett.24 species of
ducks and geese.23 sparrows and 2 longspurs. Chuck Sexton giving a great
tour of the Rogers Tract of the Balcones Canyonlands NWR, Black-capped
Vireos and their unique habitat- a marvelous day. Taking trips with Nate
McGowan- showing him new birds and new places in the county. All the
outings with Paul and Will Sunby, including leaving the southern border of
the county for Ruddy-ground Dove and Black-tailed Godwit chases.
The year had a few low points as well:
· Hornsby Bends high water levels ran contradictory to the areas
drought. Shorebird, duck and swallow numbers and diversity were down.
Birding in Austin will be no fun if the problem there isnt fixed. No yard
additions to the list; what a year to end the 10 year run of Scarlet
Tanagers. I wasnt home as much and that didnt help, but I believe I am
seeing the effects of infill and my neighbors new 32 car parking lot.
Drought, low water levels, and dead trees. Big Webberville Parks Pecan
loss and removal was particularly disheartening. Drought and growth pushing
many of the last big land ranches/farms into sale. New toll roads
facilitating the sprall. Travis County Parks: Milton Reimers and Pace Bend
Parks habitat loss (finest areas) in the name of attracting and
entertaining park-goers. Dogs- more of them, and off leash. I see them in
the City of Austin Nature Preserves like I never have before. 25
shorebirds was underwhelming.
Misses:
· Palm Warbler- I knew where one was in December and didnt
follow-up soon enough. I got lost trying to get all the more unexpected
holdovers. Roseate Spoonbill- I worked in July/August as well as limited
access to vehicle. Cassins Sparrow- I spent a lot of time and gas money
trying to see one, which made county listing seem silly. Then a friend
found one and when I didnt get over in a timely way
it was gone. Out of
all the exchanges with local birders, I never made effort to introduce my
under-taking to the Laguna Gloria regulars. They had Veery, Common Tern,
Least Tern, and Common Loon that I learned of too late. I did see Sedge
Wren, American Bittern, Ovenbird, and Black-bellied Plover, but they came
in the most difficult manner. Much time was spent trying to recoup them
that I would like to have spent seeking other birds.
· Surprises: 302 is a huge number, yet I was surprised to see
misses in each family.I was surprised I didnt find more, given my dislike
for the chased bird. I was surprised at how reluctant I would be to go from
one end to the other in the county. I mean this in the distance
relationship to state big years and North American big years. I was amazed
at how much driving I did do.
Here is a link to the 2012 list
*http://tinyurl.com/abvs4wf*
Here is a link to some of the photos from 2012
*http://tinyurl.com/ay6kr2y*
A Big Year project is enormous, so clearly illustrated in the photographs
of my children in the early year and seeing them today. A year is a long
time and a project like this has its stresses. It takes determination and
desire and a family willing to sometimes dismiss you from the duties of
daily life. Not to mention a few more tanks of gas than you might normally
consume. I learned a lot about birds, I never failed to take advantage of
an opportunity to utilize even a short time to go birding. I could look for
birds without end, but I wont miss the worry about the difficult to find
expected species. I highly enjoyed my year of finding as many different
species as I could, and Id probably do it again if given the chance.
Kenny Anderson
Travis County
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