Greetings...
Maybe not quite a run for the roses, but at least a shot at a number.
On January 13 this year, I was standing on Virginia Beach looking for Little
Gull with three friends. Two of them are nonresidents of Virginia, and both
were a bit smug about their Virginia state lists being higher than mine, a
resident. Up for the challenge, I decided then that I would try to see
three-hundred birds in Virginia this year for two reasons. The first was the
more trivial cause, to beef up my state list. Iliff and Armistead (the lad,
not the dad), stood ten and twenty birds (or so) ahead of me respectively. I
was determined to catch Marshall, and was hoping to be just around the corner
from George. The other reason, perhaps a bit more righteous, is a byproduct
of the first. I'd never been to many birding locations in VA, including
Highland County, Back Bay, or The Great Dismal Swamp to name a few. I'd done
much of my birding in Maryland, and more recently I've stayed fairly local.
I've barely traveled through the state other than on major highways. I
figure that I've lived here now for a decade, I might as well take my coat
off and stay a while.
After deciding to go for three-hundred, I got curious as to what was a "good
number" for a year in VA, not sure if three-hundred was respectable, easy, or
rather difficult. This wasn't that easy to pin down. I was told that
three-hundred was indeed a "good number," and that doing it is a feat, but
possible with determination. I agree with this assessment. Each ten birds
beyond three-hundred became significantly more difficult I was told, getting
to where 330 was something of an undertaking. I was still curious to the
record, as I thought that might be a way to personally gauge what would be a
good total to aim at for the year.
It wasn't until I talked to Ned Brinkley that I found out the record. 345,
established in 1996 by Ned himself. While a staggering number, Ned was (and
remains) convinced that it easily beaten. I think Ned has been smoking too
much of the funny stuff myself, but I listened to him. Slowly he eroded away
any good sense I had, and I opted to take a shot at his number, with one big
glitch at the time. I needed the one winter boat I was going to be on to
have a productive day. It was one of Brian Patteson's trips, and the
previous week had a great day while I was nursing an injury (and watching a
football game). In short, the trip I took was very good, and I've been
slowly stockpiling birds since that early February pelagic. Still somewhat
concerned about falling on my sword, I wasn't in any hurry to go public with
the quest until recently.
Today I got my 294th bird of the year in Virginia, Willow Flycatcher, with
Sue Heath. The vast majority of the birds I have seen have been witnessed,
however not all of them. Credibility is a hard thing to sell, so I won't
bother doing so here. Of the "unwitnessed" birds, I still hope to get them
all witnessed at some point, though I know that is unlikely. Still, most of
the hard to find species have been witnessed.
Today's bird leaves me 51 birds shy of the record, but hey, why not go for
350? So I'm looking for 56 more birds. I have six-and-a-half months to find
them. This gets to the point of my email. There are roughly 150 or so birds
on the Virginia state list that I haven't seen. That total doesn't include
the so-called "Category Three" birds (birds that while correctly identified
are of unknown origin; I have gotten two species that I consider Category
Three, Barnacle Goose and Ring-necked Pheasant), nor does it include things
that are extinct or extirpated.
There are still quite a few silly misses on this list that I will have no
problem finding. For instance, Caspian Tern is being reported from Virginia
along the Potomac, not far from where I live. I've simply not made the
effort for it. Several other species are easily observed along the coast, I
just have to go to the right spots to see them. Those species I am not
worried about getting.
Ned and I have both spent a fair amount of time looking over the birds that I
haven't seen, and both concur that there are probably about twenty birds that
are probably not "missable" with appropriate effort. Worth mentioning here
is how sporting Ned is about this. I truly believe that Ned will be more
disappointed if I don't get to 350 than I will. Thus far, his help has been
immeasurable. He has shared information about where to find certain birds
that I am a bit clueless about; he has put together a kayaking trek and a
pelagic trip; and he has taken me to a couple of lesser known spots for a few
species. Most of all has been his generous hospitality and fine
companionship. His assistance in this thing has been remarkable.
The birds. The following twenty birds will be hard to miss with a moderate
amount of birding and a trip or two offshore. They are in order of
likelihood, as Ned and I both see it with only slight disagreement. I could
probably find most of these on my own, but would love to hear about locations
for some of the more secretive ones. The White-fronted Goose is banking on a
return of that species to Fauquier County this fall. If they don't return, I
might need help with that one.
Sandwich Tern
Western Sandpiper
Black Tern
Cape May Warbler
Audubon's Shearwater
Pectoral Sandpiper
King Rail
Black-billed Cuckoo
American Avocet
Caspian Tern
Stilt Sandpiper
Dickcissel
Sora
American Golden-Plover
Bridled Tern
Red-necked Phalarope
Parasitic Jaeger
Orange-crowned Warbler
Ross's Goose
Greater White-fronted Goose
The next fifteen get a little tougher and a lot more effort. While all will
undoubtedly be seen in the state this fall, it is possible (likely) that I
won't get them all. I could easily miss a few of these birds. I hope to
only miss a few of these birds. The listserv will play a big part in many of
these.
Le Conte's Sparrow
Little Gull
Northern Goshawk
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Long-tailed Jaeger
Long-billed Dowitcher
Connecticut Warbler
Lark Sparrow
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Hudsonian Godwit
Baird's Sandpiper
American White Pelican
Western Kingbird
The next group of sixteen gets really tricky. All will be observed in the
state. Some of these birds are breeders, but are very local. Others show up
and don't stick around. Many are hard to actually nail down. Some have a
smaller window of opportunity to find them, and depending on other factors, I
might not be able to put in the effort that I need for them. I would be
delighted with ten of these birds, though Ned has had them all in a single
year, but that takes a boatload of luck.
Bachman's Sparrow, breeds, but not that easy to find.
Painted Bunting, will be hoping for reports from VA Beach this winter.
Red Crossbill, recently seen in Highland County, and tempting to run out
there and get it.
Black Rail, checked this weekend at Dulles Wetlands, spent last Saturday
night at Saxis. Becoming worrisome.
Lapland Longspur, hoping to find some that stick around in winter. Would
love some help on this one.
Thayer's Gull, dumps, dumps, and more dumps. Plus a CBBT visit or ten.
Black-headed Gull
Common Moorhen, would be nice if the Huntley Meadows bird returns, otherwise
I would love to hear about one of these.
Curlew Sandpiper, fall at Chincoteague I hope.
Sandhill Crane, when someone finds one, lock it in a barn, would you?
California Gull, this will be a frustrating miss if I don't get it. Steve
Rottenborn found one a mere fifteen minutes after I walked away from him this
winter. I also skipped a chance to look for one at Hunting Creek a day that
it was seen. Alas.
Long-eared Owl. People are private about locations of this species, myself
included. I'm hoping to find one where I've found them before, but am
willing to hear about roosts in winter.
White-winged Crossbill, probably need to chase this thing to a feeder, the
least appealing aspect of this game.
Brewer's Blackbird, would love some help here.
Swainson's Hawk, right place at the right time and a pinch of luck is what
this takes. Tough to coordinate.
Henslow's Sparrow, I perhaps hope this bird is easier to find than Ned does,
and if anyone has a location that they breed, or knows of an abandoned strip
mine somewhere that even seems promising, I would love to check it out.
This next group is the last of the likelies, in that each of these birds is
almost certainly annual, but finding them is a matter of being in the right
place at the right time, which isn't always possible. A handful of these
birds would be very exciting, and combined with the possibilities above would
put me close to Ned's mark of 345.
Pacific Loon
Black-capped Petrel
White-faced Storm-Petrel
Ruff
South Polar Skua
Franklin's Gull
Sabine's Gull
Roseate Tern
Arctic Tern
Sooty Tern
White-winged Dove
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Gray Kingbird, happened to be on the Eastern Shore last Sunday when Calvin
Brennan found one. A quick check some thirty minutes later failed to produce
the bird. Hopefully not my only shot.
Cave Swallow
Now the wish list. These birds are less than annual, damn near impossible to
count on any of them, and quite frankly are only mentioned here because they
are have been seen in Virginia. Any of these birds I would probably race to
see, so please keep me in mind if you find one. Feel free to call. There
are 82 on this list, and five would be outstanding. Ned has flagged the ten
he thinks most likely with a double asterisk, but I have already moved one of
those up (Henslow's Sparrow).
**Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
Black-browed Albatross
Yellow-nosed Albatross
Herald Petrel
Fea's Petrel
Short-tailed Shearwater
White-tailed Tropicbird
Brown Booby
Magnificent Frigatebird
Little Egret
Reddish Egret
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Greater Flamingo
**Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Garganey
Cinnamon Teal
Tufted Duck
Barrow's Goldeneye
Swallow-tailed Kite
White-tailed Kite
Marsh Harrier
Ferruginous Hawk
Gyrfalcon
Yellow Rail
Paint-billed Crake
Purple Gallinule
Limpkin
Snowy Plover
Mountain Plover
Long-billed Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red-necked Stint
Eurasian Woodcock
**Black-tailed Gull
Mew (Common) Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Elegant Tern
White-winged Tern
**Dovekie
Common Murre
Thick-billed Murre
Black Guillemot
Common Ground-Dove
Groove-billed Ani
Burrowing Owl
Allen's Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird (Not officially on the state list, but one from
this past winter will soon be considered)
Lewis's Woodpecker
Western Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
**Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, the Culpeper County birds haven't been seen yet,
but am hoping that someone finds one breeding this summer in another part of
the state.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Black-billed Magpie
Boreal Chickadee
Rock Wren
Bewick's Wren
**Northern Wheatear
Varied Thrush
Sage Thrasher
Sprague's Pipit
Bohemian Waxwing
**Northern Shrike
Bell's Vireo
Black-whiskered Vireo
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
**Western Tanager
**Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Spotted Towhee
Black-throated Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Pine Grosbeak
Hoary Redpoll
Shiny Cowbird
If anyone is still reading this at this point, I'm impressed. I'm not even
sure that I would be if I didn't write it. That said, please feel free to
email or call me regarding this little endeavor if you have any insight,
thoughts, suggestions, or birds. I'll keep you posted. Thanks.
Cheers...
Todd
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Todd Day
Jeffersonton, VA
Culpeper County
540-349-9094
703-209-8463 (Cell)
BlkVulture@xxxxxxx
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