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
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