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400 Texas Species in 2003 (1 Viewer)

Steve Gross

Well-known member
I've done it! My goal this year was to see 400 species in the state of Texas. Yesterday, that was accomplished. I was really sweating out the last 14 birds, but trips to varied habitats over much of the state (from the grasslands of NE Texas to over 7000' of elevation in the Davis Mountains to the scrublands and mesquite thickets of the Rio Grande Valley) pushed me over the top.

Three of my last four birds were lifers:

Audubon's Oriole
White-collared Seedeater
Brown Jay

and I saw several other relative rarities along the way, including Smith's Longspur, Montezuma Quail, and Williamson's Sapsucker. Bird #400 was a Green-tailed Towhee, which responded to a tape of its call note at Falcon State Park.

It's been a great year. I had not orginally decided on doing a Big Year, and I do not consider this to be a Big Year attempt (I spent eight weeks out of state, something one cannot afford to do during a Big Year). Once I saw my list after about June 1, I established the goal of 400 species.

I know of at least five other Texas birders who have a higher year total than I. I was hoping to be in the top five, but I'm still pretty proud of my accomplishment. My ABA (American Birding Association) total for 2003 is 468. Both the TX total and the ABA total may expand by at least one tomorrow, when I venture to Austin to see a Lewis's Woodpecker. I'm still hoping for Ferruginous Hawk, which we might nab on the road tomorrow as well.

The Texas Big Year total has been broken during 2003. A whopping 503 species (and counting...) has been seen by Eric Carpenter, an Austin birder. He's been everywhere a rarity has occured, and still was missing a few possible species when last I heard (e.g. kittiwake). That's utterly amazing.

No matter how many species you saw, I hope that you got as much enjoyment from your year as I did mine. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself next year, but I know that Texas will offer new opportunities for expanding my birding horizons.

Steve in Houston
 
Your happiness is palpable in your thread Steve. Good for you. I guess with a count like that, lifers are becoming harder and harder to get huh?
 
I've gotten a few lifers in TX this year, bringing my state total to 450. My TX year list stands at 376, my ABA year list at 441. These numbers may wind up close to last year's, but without a trip to AZ or FL, they won't surpass them.

I'm going camping and birding in Guadalupe Mts. National Park in a few weeks, hoping to add a few TX birds: Steller's Jay, Townsend's, Hermit, and McGillivray's Warblers, Juniper Titmouse, and hopefully a few owls. Getting that TX list to 500 will take quite a while, longer than it will take my ABA list to get to 600.

Steve in Houston
 
Here are some comparative statistics:

Texas: 2,268,601 square miles
United Kingdom: 93,788 square miles
England: 50,356 square miles

So, there's some idea of what we're dealing with here in Texas. Two national parks, eight different bioregions (according to the Texas Ornithological Society), two time zones, desert, seashore, dry, wet, arid plains to semi-tropical forest. It's a lot to cover, but it also explains why Texas has the highest species total in the US and why so many 1st North American records have been found here (remember, North America in birding terms does not include Mexico).

Come on over and see us some time. We'll be happy to show you around.

Steve in Houston
 
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