2010 / 279 species

Green Heron, Mount Loretto

Aside from Puerto Rico, we didn't range very far this year in our birding trips: NY, NJ, CT, MA, DE, and DC. Last year we had trips to Arizona and Florida--we added something like 70 life birds in Arizona alone. As my brother said, we'll never get that many birds in one trip in the lower 48 again.

So 279 species is a good number and there are, I think, 37 life birds (bold type, below) on the list.

Puerto Rico was obviously the highlight of the year if for nothing else names alone--West Indian Whistling Duck, Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo, etc.--but the birds that stand out in my memory are the chases--the Fork-tailed Flycatcher in CT, and especially the Barnacle Goose in the Bronx.

The flycatcher was exciting because it was so out of place--it's a bird I really never expected to see. The goose was most satisfying of all because we were able to read and report the band on its leg, proving that it was legitimate find (not an escapee) while adding a smidgen of information to the ornithological knowledge base.                                                                                                              

Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Cove Island Park, CT
Photo by Shari Zirlin

Barnacle Goose, Orchard Beach, NY

Tomorrow we start our adventures anew, but probably at the same place as we did this year--Point Lookout, and isn't it appropriate to begin the new year from that vantage point?