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

How is your 2018 List Going? (1 Viewer)

Rome is as stunning (and crowded) as ever - birds from the city:
292. Hooded Crow
293. Common Swift
294. Rose-ringed Parakeet
295. Yellow-legged Gull
296. Italian Sparrow
297. Eurasian Blackbird
298. Eurasian Wren

And day trips around the greater central Italian area (Orvieto, Cerveteri, Tivoli):
299. Eurasian Magpie
300. Common House-Martin
301. Black Kite (lifer)
302. Eurasian Jackdaw
303. European Goldfinch
304. European Serin (lifer)
305. Common Chaffinch
306. Eurasian Jay
307. Melodious Warbler (lifer)
308. Eurasian Hoopoe
309. European Greenfinch
310. Blue Rock-Thrush
311. Common Redstart (lifer)
312. Western Marsh-Harrier (lifer)
313. Grey Wagtail
314. Spotted Flycatcher (lifer)
315. Eurasian Blue Tit

And back in Rome at the Borghese gardens:
316. Great Tit
317. Long-tailed Tit
318. Monk Parakeet

Sending this update now from the train on our way to Croatia! One more so far seen from the train along the journey:
319. Black-winged Stilt (lifer)
 
203. Hooded warbler (NE bird 255, had seen it in MO but only once I think)
204. Philadelphia vireo (NE Bird 256)
205. Grasshopper sparrow
 
Not too many birds left to find in this part of the state at this time of year, but I did add two good birds to my Year List this morning.

279. Cerulean Warbler
280. Golden-winged Warbler

The Golden-winged Warbler was my 200th species for West Virginia this year.

Dave
 
Two new birds today, one expected and my main target, and the other completely unexpected.

281. Least Flycatcher
282. Northern Bobwhite.

Bobwhites were common in West Virginia about 40 years ago, but they’re now almost extirpated from the state. There are obviously a few around, but are rarely recorded. I saw one individual not far from where I saw these (there were three) four years ago, but none since then.

Dave
 
504. Greenish Warbler

Bumped into a singing male today in one of my study sites. They are a rare visitor to Öland with a few singing males every year and this is the first time I've found one in my areas. Very pleased!
 
With my Europe trip coming to a close, here were some final additions…

Journey from Rome to Pula, Croatia:
320. Common Wood-Pigeon
321. Eurasian Kestrel

And my 30th birthday spent traveling through Croatia's Istria region:
322. Great Spotted Woodpecker
323. White Wagtail
324. Corn Bunting (lifer)
325. Red-backed Shrike (lifer)
326. Subalpine Warbler (lifer - #947)


My hopes of cresting 1000 life birds by the big “3-0” were dashed, but I knew that was too lofty a goal months ago. Maybe I’ll get there for 31?

On Croatia’s Krk Island for some scuba diving:
327. European Shag
328. Common Linnet (lifer)
329. Cirl Bunting (lifer)

330. Golden Eagle
331. Eurasian Skylark

And on the final train back to Rome:
332. European Bee-eater (lifer - #950! personal goal for the trip)

Back to CT/NY area for a few days before returning to sunny LA…
 
Two more that I was missing for the year list.

10 May

Laurel Hill Park, NJ, US
273. Scarlet Tanager

23 May

Grote Markt, Brussels, Belgium
274. Common Swift

Latest Lifer: 734 : Montagu's Harrier (Sofia International Airport, Sofia, Bulgaria April 2018)
 
I had the pleasure of spending two days working in Shenzhen this week. Although there was no time for proper birding, I was able to free up an hour at a local park and ended up with four lifers, including dozens of Black Kites, floating effortlessly over Hong Kong on my way home.

31 May

The Ritz-Carlton Shenzen, poolside, Shenzhen, China
275. Red-whiskered Bulbul
276. Light-vented Bulbul

1 June

Central Park, Shenzhen, China
277. Greater Coucal
278. Long-tailed Shrike
279. Red-rumped Swallow
280. Oriental Magpie-Robin
281. Chinese Blackbird
282. Black-collared Starling

1 June

Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel, Hong Kong, China
283. Black Kite


Latest Lifer: 738 : Black Kite, Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel, Hong Kong, China, April 2018)
 
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Yesterday I left for an overnight trip to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. I dipped on my target bird, Chuck-will’s-widow, which would have been a state lifer. However, while looking for the chuck, I saw a completely unexpected “wow” bird.

283. Northern Saw-whet Owl

Saw-whets are probably the most difficult species to see in West Virginia. They’re strictly nocturnal, are usually found in the thickest woodlands, and are tiny. This one, however, landed in the middle of the road, giving me great looks in my headlights. It was probably hunting frogs which came out onto the roads after a heavy rain. (The rain was probably why the chucks weren’t calling or out on the road).

Dave
 
Weekend birding north of LA through the eastern Sierra Mountains / Owens Valley:

333. Bell’s Sparrow
334. Red-necked Phalarope
335. Swainson’s Thrush
336. Olive-sided Flycatcher (CA lifer)
337. Willow Flycatcher
338. Black-chinned Hummingbird
339. Varied Thrush (local rarity out-of-season)
340. Rock Wren
341. Violet-green Swallow
342. Steller’s Jay
343. Green-tailed Towhee
344. Common Poorwill
345. Red-breasted Sapsucker
346. American Dipper (CA lifer)
347. Hairy Woodpecker
348. Dusky Flycatcher
349. Cassin’s Finch
350. Pygmy Nuthatch
 
I have been away for just over a week touring through Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland. Along the way I saw a few new year birds.

165. Gannet
166. Puffin
167. Razorbill
168. Corn Bunting
169. Eider
170. Little Tern
171. Arctic Tern
172. Slavonian Grebe
173. Common Sandpiper
174. Spotted Flycatcher
175. Red Grouse
176. Golden Eagle
177. Ptarmigan
178. Green Sandpiper
179. Hooded Crow
180. Black Guillemot
181. White-tailed Eagle
182. Pied Billed Grebe
183. Black Grouse
 
This evening I chased a report made earlier this morning of a pair of Roseate Spoonbills. Once I arrived at the location, I quickly found my target.

284. Roseate Spoonbill

This is the first record of this species for West Virginia. An added bonus for me was that the birds were found in my county. Needless to say, the birds were a West Virginia state lifer (number 271) and Preston County lifer (number 229).

Dave
 
207. Common Raven - Corvus corax I-80 W, Rawlins US-WY
208. Prairie Falcon - Falco mexicanus 2200–2348 Elk St, Rock Springs US-WY
209. Black-billed Magpie - Pica hudsonia 9705 S US Highway 89, Jackson US-WY
210. Williamson's Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus thyroideus Grand Teton National Park, Jackson US-WY
211. American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus Grand Teton National Park, Jackson US-WY (43.7498,-110.7296) US-WY
212. Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana Grand Teton National Park, Jackson US-WY
213. Calliope Hummingbird - Selasphorus calliope Grand Teton NP--Jenny Lake Campground & Visitor Center US-WY
214. Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana Grand Teton NP--Jenny Lake Campground & Visitor Center US-WY
215. Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus 139 N Cache Dr, Jackson US-WY
216. Violet-green Swallow - Tachycineta thalassina Yellowstone NP--Grant Village US-WY
217. Steller's Jay - Cyanocitta stelleri Yellowstone NP--Mud Volcano US-WY
218. Barrow's Goldeneye - Bucephala islandica Grand Teton NP--Moose Wilson Rd. wetlands overlook US-WY
219. Dusky Flycatcher - Empidonax oberholseri Grand Teton NP--Moose Wilson Rd. wetlands overlook US-WY
220. Brewer's Sparrow - Spizella breweri Grand Teton NP--Moose Wilson Rd. wetlands overlook US-WY
221. Black-headed Grosbeak - Pheucticus melanocephalus Grand Teton NP--Moose Wilson Rd. wetlands overlook US-WY
222. Cassin's Finch - Haemorhous cassinii Grand Teton NP--Moose Wilson Rd. wetlands overlook US-WY
223. Snowy Egret - Egretta thula National Elk Refuge, Jackson US-WY US-WY
224. Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus Valentine, NE 69201, Valentine US-NE
225. Yellow-breasted Chat - Icteria virens
226 Blue grosbeak

The dipper, picture here
https://download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/104568241/1200
was a lifer, so were a few others. I now have 2/3 dippers of my home Northern hemispehere ;)
 
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This morning I went over to the Ohio River Valley with a target list of three species. It doesn’t happen often, but I did find all of my targets.

285. Summer Tanager
286. Dickcissel

The third target species, American Barn Owl, wasn’t a new bird for the year since I saw one in Jamaica in March, but it was a new bird for my West Virginia year list.

Dave
 
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