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This year's target is 500, with trips to FL, TX, AK, the Cape in South Africa, Kruger and a brief stopover or two in London.

The year started at Lake Tahoe, where the four year old Bald Eagle who had hung out the last three days of 2007, failed to show up on January 1st!

1. Steller's Jay
2. Mountain Chickadee
3. Canada Goose
4. Western Grebe
5. Common Goldeneye (L)

Then while driving back to Napa

6. Turkey Vulture
7. Bufflehead
8. Red-tailed Hawk
9. Feral Pigeon
10. Eurasian Starling
11. Brewer's Blackbird
12. Red-winged Blackbird
13. Anna's Hummingbird
14. Great Egret
15. Yellow-billed Magpie

Back at home in Napa

16. Lesser Goldfinch
17. Western Scrub-Jay
18. House Finch
19. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
20. California Towhee
21. White-crowned Sparrow
22. Golden-crowned Sparrow
23. Oak Titmouse
24. Yellow-rumped Warbler
25. Nuttall's Woodpecker
26. White-breasted Nuthatch

Then walking the dogs at Alston Park

27. Western Bluebird
28. American Robin
29. American Kestrel
30. White-tailed Kite
31. Ruddy Duck
32. Song Sparrow
33. American Goldfinch
34. Mourning Dove

January 2nd
Supposed to be a vacation day to chase birds, but the acquisition of a new company took me to the Buena Vista Winery in Carneros, where once business was completed I spotted a few birds, including the pair of resident Great Horned Owl's, who hang out in the tree right in front of the building.

35. House Sparrow
36. Dark-eyed Junco
37. Northern Flicker
38. Say's Phoebe
39. Great Horned Owl

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January 4th

Home
40. Northern Mockingbird

Taking advantage of a break between storms, quick trip to Huchica.
41. Double-crested Cormorant
42. Great Blue Heron
43. Snowy Egret
44. Mallard
45. Northern Shoveller
46. Northern Harrier
47. American Coot
48. Killdeer
49. Ring-billed Gull
50. Marsh Wren
51. Tricolored Blackbird (missed this in 2007, so very satisfying to get it so early in the year).

Awesome close ups of 3 otters also, both in and out of the water.

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January 5th - the storm continues.
Home
52. Spotted Towhee

Driving round Napa
53. Belted Kingfisher

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January 6th
Home
54. Bewicks Wren
55. Western Tanager (drab female, totally unexpected at this time of year)

January 7th
Carneros
56. Western Meadowlark
57. California Quail
58. Red-shouldered Hawk
59. Black Phoebe
60. Greater Scaup
61. Lesser Scaup

January 9th
Driving to Paso Robles
62. Wild Turkey
63. American White Pelican

January 13th
Home
64. Cedar Waxwing

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January 14th
Carneros
65. Horned Lark (L)
66. Clark's Grebe
67. Savannah Sparrow
68. Greater Yellowlegs
69. American Avocet

No sign of either the Mountain Bluebirds, Lapland Longspur or Palm Warbler.

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January 15th
Rutherford
70. Common Raven

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January 17th
Skyline Park, Napa
71. Bushtit
72. Coopers Hawk
73. American Wigeon
74. Pied-billed Grebe
75. Wood Duck
76. Acorn Woodpecker
77. Brown Creeper
78. Townsend's Warbler
79. Hermit Thrush

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January 18-20th
West Palm Beach, FL
Ibis Country Club
80. Common Moorhen
81. Osprey
82. Cattle Egret
83. Anhinga (L)
84. White Ibis (L)
85. Sandhill Crane (L)
86. Wood Stork (L)
87. Palm Warbler (L)
88. Eastern Phoebe (L)

Grassy Waters
89. Limpkin (L)
90. Little Blue Heron (L)

John D. Macarthur State Park
91. Brown Pelican
92. Sanderling
93. Laughing Gull (L)
94. Eurasian Collared Dove
95. Bonaparte's Gull

Ibis Golf Club
96. Common Grackle
97. Boat-tailed Grackle
98. Fish Crow (L)
99. Loggerhead Shrike
100. Tri-colored Heron (L)
101. Glossy Ibis

Janice Dickinson State Park
102. Snail Kite (L)

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Loxahatchee
103. Green Heron
104. Purple Gallinule (L)
105. Mottled Duck (L)
106. Blue-winged Teal (L)
107. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
108. Pileated Woodpecker
109. Solitary Sandpiper (L)

Boynton Beach Inlet - home of the worlds friendliest Terns and Turnstones
110. Caspian Tern
111. Northern Gannet
112. Royal Tern (L)
113. Forster's Tern
114. Ruddy Turnstone (L)
115. Black Skimmer (L)
116. Sandwich Tern
117. Black Vulture

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January 21st
Napa
118. Peregrine Falcon

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January 26th
Corte Madera
119. Canvasback
120. Long-billed Curlew
121. Black-bellied Plover
122. Western Gull
123. Marbled Godwit
124. Black-necked Stilt

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February 6th
Richardson Bay
125. Willet
126. Lesser Yellowlegs

Tennessee Valley
127. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
128. Fox Sparrow

Bolinas Lagoon
129. Horned Grebe
130. Surf Scoter

Las Gallinas
131. Black-crowned Night-Heron
132. Cackling Goose (L)
133. Ross's Goose (L)
134. Snow Goose
135. Green-winged Teal
136. Tree Swallow

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February 10th
Napa
137. Common Merganser
138. American Crow

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February 12th
In San Diego for a conference. I had intended to get most of 2/11 for birding, but a meeting changed my plans, so all I managed was a quick walk along Harbor Island at lunchtime.
139. Red-breasted Merganser

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February 16th
Napa
140. Purple Finch

February 18th
Point Reyes - we were both sick, so very limited birding.
141. Western Sandpiper
142. Varied Thrush

February 22nd
Home
143. Merlin
144. Sharp-shinned Hawk

February 23rd
Napa River
145. Downy Woodpecker
146. Hooded Merganser

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March 8th, Carson Valley NV
147. Golden Eagle
148. Bald Eagle
149. Black-billed Magpie
150. White-headed Woodpecker
151. Northern Pintail

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March 15th, Alston Park, Napa
152. Violet-green Swallow

March 21st, Bodega Bay
153. Common Loon
154. Eared Grebe
155. White-winged Scoter
156. Brant
157. Pelagic Cormorant
158. Surfbird
159. Black Oystercatcher

March 21st, Shollenberger Park, Petaluma
160. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
161. Cliff Swallow

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March 29th, a brief layover in London with bad weather providing limited birding opportunities.

162. Common Wood Pigeon
163. Winter Wren
164. Long-tailed Tit
165. Eurasian Blackbird
166. European Robin
167. European Magpie
168. Mute Swan
169. Carrion Crow

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March 30th - April 3rd Birding Cape Town area, with visits to Table Mountain, Cape Point, Constantia, Blouberg, Paarl, Rietvlei and Kirstenbosch.

170. Pied Crow
171. Cape Crow (L)
172. Cape Wagtail
173. Hadada Ibis
174. Hartlaub's Gull (L)
175. Red-winged Starling (L)
176. Rock Kestrel
177. Familiar Chat (L)
178. Orange-breasted Sunbird (L)
179. Rock Pigeon
180. Rock Martin (L)
181. Alpine Swift (L)
182. White-necked Raven (L)
183. Olive Thrush (L)
184. Kelp Gull (Cape Gull race) (L)
185. Helmeted Guineafowl
186. Cape White-eye
187. Cape Cormorant (L)
188. Karoo Prinia (L)
189. Ostrich
190. African Penguin (L)
191. Greybacked Cisticola (L)
192. Sacred Ibis
193. Yellow-billed Egret
194. White-breasted Cormorant
195. Pin-tailed Wydah
196. White-throated Canary (L)
197. Dusky Flycatcher
198. Black-shouldered Kite
199. Verreux's Eagle (L)
200. Cape Weaver (L)
201. Cape Francolin (L)
202. Forest Canary (L)
203. Lesser Double-collared Sunbird (L)
204. Sombre Greenbul
205. Cape Bulbul (L)
206. Swee Waxbill (L)
207. Great Crested Tern (L)
208. Great White Pelican
209. Reed Cormorant
210. Darter
211. Little Egret
212. Grey Heron
213. African Spoonbill
214. Egyptian Goose
215. Yellow-billed Duck
216. Little Grebe
217. Red-knobbed Coot (L)
218. African Swamphen (L)
219. Threebanded Plover
220. Blacksmith Lapwing
221. African Oystercatcher (L)
222. Black-winged Stilt
223. Lesser-striped Swallow
224. African Black Swift
225. Cape Robin (L)
226. Black Saw-wing (L)
227. Red-eyed Dove

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April 4th-12th at a combination of Mala Mala and Singita game reserves in the Sabi Sand adjacent Kruger National Park.

228. Arrowmarked Babbler
229. Black-collared Barbet
230. Acacia Pied Barbet
231. Crested Barbet
232. European Bee-eater
233. White-fronted Bee-eater
234. Little Bee-eater
235. Blackcapped Bulbul
236. Goldenbreasted Bunting
237. Cinnamon Breasted Bunting
238. Kurrichane Buttonquail
239. Lizard Buzzard
240. Yelloweyed Canary
241. Stonechat
242. Zitting Cisticola
243. Redfaced Cisticola
244. Rattling Cisticola
245. Bronzewinged Courser
246. Black Crake
247. African Cuckoo
248. Jacobin Cuckoo
249. Klaas's Cuckoo
250. Diederik Cuckoo
251. Burchell's Coucal
252. Spotted Thick-knee
253. Water Thick-knee
254. Cape Turtle Dove
255. Laughing Dove
256. Greenspotted Dove
257. Green Pigeon
258. Forktailed Drongo
259. Tawny Eagle
260. African Hawk Eagle
261. Martial Eagle
262. African Fish-eagle
263. Brown Snake-eagle
264. Bateleur
265. Green-winged Pytilia
266. Redbilled Firefinch
267. Jameson's Firefinch
268. Blue Waxbill
269. Common Waxbill
270. Bronze Munia
271. Ashy Flycatcher
272. Black Flycatcher
273. Chinspot Batis
274. Paradise Flycatcher
275. Crested Francolin
276. Natal Francolin
277. Swainson's Spurfowl
278. Hamerkop
279. Goliath Heron
280. Greenbacked Heron
281. Whitebacked Night-heron
282. Greater Honeyguide
283. African Hoopoe
284. Green Woodhoopoe
285. Common Scimitarbill
286. African Grey Hornbill
287. Redbilled Hornbill
288. Yellowbilled Hornbill
289. Southern Ground Hornbill
290. Pied Kingfisher
291. Giant Kingfisher
292. Malachite Kingfisher
293. Pygmy Kingfisher (L)
294. Woodland Kingfisher
295. Brownhooded Kingfisher
296. Striped Kingfisher
297. Redcrested Bustard
298. Blackbellied Bustard
299. Purple-crested Turaco
300. Grey Go-away Bird
301. Speckled Mousebird
302. European Nightjar
303. Fierynecked Nightjar
304. Square-tailed Nightar
305. Blackheaded Oriole
306. Pearlspotted Owlet
307. Spotted Eagle Owl
308. Verreaux's Eagle-owl
309. Redbilled Oxpecker
310. Yellowbilled Oxpecker
311. Brownheaded Parrot

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Continued...

312. African Pipit
313. Crowned Lapwing
314. Senegal Lapwing
315. Tawnyflanked Prinia
316. Harlequin Quail
317. Redbilled Quelea
318. White-browed Robin-chat
319. White-browed Scrub-robin
320. Bearded Scrub-robin
321. Lilacbreasted Roller
322. Purple Roller
323. European Roller
324. Doublebanded Sandgrouse
325. Redbacked Shrike
326. Longtailed Shrike
327. Southern Boubou
328. Blackbacked Puffback
329. Fiscal Shrike (L)
330. Threestreaked Tchagra
331. Blackcrowned Tchagra
332. Orangebreasted Bush Shrike
333. Lesser Grey Shrike
334. Greyheaded Bush Shrike
335. White Helmetshrike
336. Retz's Helmetshrike
337. Whitecrowned Shrike
338. Little Sparrowhawk
339. Shikra
340. African Goshawk
341. Gabar Goshawk
342. Dark Chanting Goshawk
343. Greyheaded Sparrow
344. Burchell's Starling
345. Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling
346. Saddlebill Stork
347. Whitebellied Sunbird
348. Scarletchested Sunbird
349. Collared Sunbird
350. European Swallow
351. Wiretailed Swallow
352. Whitethroated Swallow
353. Whiterumped Swift
354. Little Swift
355. Groundscraper Thrush
356. Kurrichane Thrush
357. Southern Black Tit
358. Hooded Vulture
359. Whitebacked Vulture
360. Common Sandpiper
361. Wood Sandpiper
362. Greenshank
363. Pied Wagtail
364. Willow Warbler
365. Yellowbreasted Apalis
366. Longbilled Crombec
367. Yellowbelled Eremomela
368. Green-backed Cameroptera
369. Red-billed Buffalo-weaver
370. Village Weaver
371. Spectacled Weaver
372. Bennett's Woodpecker
373. Goldentailed Woodpecker
374. Cardinal Woodpecker
375. Bearded Woodpecker
376. Eastern Nicator (L)

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Singita added a few new birds, but overall we had a great total for the Sabi Sand in April, I was delighted to catch the last of the migrants before they departed.

377. Pale Flycatcher
378. African Harrier-Hawk
379. Sabota Lark
380. Yellow-throated Longclaw
381. Red-faced Mousebird
382. Marico Sunbird

We also had a great mammal total for the trip with

1. Wildebeest
2. Duiker
3. Klipspringer
4. Steenbok
5. Impala
6. Cape Buffalo
7. Kudu
8. Nyala
9. Bushbuck
10. Reedbuck
11. Waterbuck
12. Side-striped Jackal
13. Black-backed Jackal
14. Baboon
15. Eland
16. Vervet Monkey
17. Cheetah
18. Leopard
19. Lion
20. Giraffe
21. Hippo
22. Spotted Hyena
23. Scrub Hare
24. Thick-tailed Bushbaby
25. Honey Badger
26. White Rhino
27. Tree Squirrel
28. Warthog
29. Large-spotted Genet
30. Slender Mongoose
31. Mellers Mongoose
32. White-tailed Mongoose
33. Banded Mongoose
34. Dwarf Mongoose

And we missed wild dogs by 5 minutes!

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April 20th, Napa Valley Iris Gardens

383. Bullock's Oriole
384. Ash-throated Flycatcher

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April 25th, commuting in Napa

385. Purple Martin (L)

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April 29th, Napa

386. Hooded Oriole