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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

ABC Game for your Local Patch (1 Viewer)

buckskin hawk

Oklahoma Birder
Things have really slowed down. Migration is over and the summer heat is on. I was needing to find something to keep my local patch interesting so I came up with a simple game. We used to play this in the car on long trips so I adapted it for my local patch.

See how many birds you can find using the alphabet. Once you list a bird you can't change it or use it again. Example if you see an American Crow, you have to determine whether you want to use the A or the C. Once you use the A, you can't change it. It was pretty easy to form a strategy since most of us who regularly bird a local patch, pretty much know what birds will be found. See what you can do?

Time that I took is 1 hour.
A = A merican Crow
b.= B arn Swallow
c = C hickadee
d = Mourning D ove (They were hiding this morning. I would have finished in 45 minutes.)
e = E astern Bluebird
f= Scissortail F lycatcher
g = Great Crested Flycatcher
H = Cooper's Hawk (This one was a first in my local. It was a juvinile and he let me get many goods looks back and forth between my guide and the bird!)
I - Indigo Bunting
J = XXXXX (Where were the Blue Jays??????)
k = Eastern Kingbird
L = Least Flycatcher
M = Northern Mockingbird
N = White breasted Nuthatch
O = XXXXX
P = Pileated Woodpecker
Q = XXXXX
R = Robin
S = Red shouldered Hawk
T = Ruby Thraoted Hummingbird
u = XX (Any one have a "U"??)
V = XX
W = Eastern Wood Pewee
X = XX (Are there any X birds in the world?)
Y = Yellow billed Cuckoo
Z = xx ( I can't think of one of these either.)

Score = 19

My local patch this morning was my neighborhood which has a small pecan grove with large ponds and large pasture in Tulsa Oklahoma.
 
Hi Buckskin,

Off the top of my head I can come up with Xantus's Hummingbird and Xantus's Murrelet as two US birds I can think of for X. Upland Sandpiper for U but I'm stuck on z's for US birds. Good luck to anyone coming up with any combination of those on their patch ;)

Luke

On the game front - here's what I came up with for my trip to a local land trust site yesterday which combines woodland with an orchard and fields - an amazing day with 2 rarities (Dickcissel and the Kite) and some good uncommon birds (Acadian Fly, WE Warbler, Both Cuckoos):

Acadian Flycatcher
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Yellowthroat
Dickcissel
Eastern Phoebe
Field Sparrow
Grosbeak, Rose-Breasted
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated
Indigo Bunting
Jay, Blue
Killdeer
Louisiana Waterthrush
Mississippi Kite
Northern Cardinal
Ovenbird
Pewee, Eastern
Q
Red-winged Blackbird
Song Sparrow
Tanager, Scarlet
U
Veery
Worm-eating Warbler
X
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Z
 
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I haven't heard of a Xantus Hummer or Murrelet. They aren't listed in Cornell's birding guide. They aren't in my Sibley's eastern or western guides. Where can I read about them?

Kuddos on your score of 22 :clap: . You have the Jays, a Scarlet Tanager and a Veery! With both cuckoos, and a worm eating wabler that would be a great day in any patch.

I did see my Baltimore Oreole this afternoon in my yard. I wonder where he was this morning when I needed him. Usually have a verio or two but not this morning. Still no jays, however.
 
Streatham,
Tried it again this time from a top my pony, just to make it interesting. (Ever tried to use your bins while on a horse. She is very good at standing but still has to breath and swat an occasional fly.) Didn't dismount or move to another habitate, just pasture with scattered woods and ponds. One pasture is grazed and one is fallow with grass past the belly of my horse. See if you can restrict your count in some fashion and try it again.

A=American Kestrel
B=Bluebird
C=Cowbird
D=Dickcissels
E. Eastern Kingbird
f. Field Sparrow
g. Great Creasted Flycatcher
h Great Blue Heron
I Indigo Bunting
J
K Killdeer
L
M meadowlark (eastern)
N Northern Mockingbird
O
P Eastern Wood Pewee
Q Bob White Quail (The wildlife department is telling us it was a banner year last year for quail.)
R Red Tailed Hawk
S Scissortail Flycatcher
T Great Tailed Grackle
U
V
W White Breasted Nuthatch
X
Y
Z

Couldn't find a Jay, barred owl or verio or any of the yellow warblers, etc. I did find a "Q" . Where are all the my blue jays? I didn't even notice them missing until I started this game. I wonder if they do this every year.

Only 18 for the prairie!

Here would be another V = Vesper's Sparrows but they are more of a winter visitor.
 
Here's one for my local patch in Hu-ben,Yunlin County,Taiwan.

A=Arctic Warbler
B=Black Bulbul
C=Chinese Bulbul
D=Black Drongo
E=Crested Serpent Eagle
F=Collared Finchbul
G=Grey-cheeked Fulvetta
H=House Swift
I=?
J=Japanese Sparrowhawk
K=Kingfisher
L=Little Egret
M=Black-naped Blue Monarch
N=Malayan Night Heron
O=Oriental Cuckoo
P=Fairy Pitta
Q=Bastard Quail
R=Red-headed Tree Babbler
S=Tree Sparrow
T=Grey Treepie
U=*
V=Vinous-throated Parrotbill
W=White Wagtail
X=?
Y=White-bellied Yuhina
Z=*

That's 22.

If we can use scientific names there is Urocissa caerulea(Taiwan Blue Magpie)for U and Zosterops japonica(Japanese White-eye)for Z.Only reason that I know these scientific names is because you have to use them with the Chinese guides.
 
Boy - that is a great list. 22 is a top score so far. I'm just a novice-familiar with the US birds and their common names but you have a V and a Y that isn't a Yellow something. I want to look these two up in the database.

The hard letters seem to be U, X and Z. Who has any? Of course we could use scientific names but let's keep it challenging.

I just heard that there are some Upland Sandpipers breading at the Tall Grass Prairie near Bartlesville, Oklahoma, which is a great day trip. Maybe I'll try there.
 
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