2024 Targets (1 Viewer)

[qwerty5]

Anything bird related that you hope to experience/accomplish in 2024.

My number one goal is to finally get 200 year birds in my county. 210 should not be hard, but this year I was thwarted by a horrible May and being gone for all of September and most of October. My other targets are also all for my county, because I don't have any travel plans yet:

1. Bell's Vireo. I look at eBird and they seem to be breeding everywhere around my county, but they just refuse to be found by me.

2. At least two county warbler lifers. Possible options: Connecticut, Mourning, Golden-winged, Worm-eating, and (incredibly unlikely) Kirtland's.

3. Rough-legged Hawk and Short-eared Owl. Both scarce wintering birds. I still have a chance to connect with one or both this year.

4. A 100+ species day. This shouldn't be hard with a good day in May, but the problem is finding the right day and actually being able to go birding.

5. 15 county lifers. I've got to increase my list from embarrassing to not-quite-as-embarrassing.

 

[Mysticete]

Anything bird related that you hope to experience/accomplish in 2024.

My number one goal is to finally get 200 year birds in my county. 210 should not be hard, but this year I was thwarted by a horrible May and being gone for all of September and most of October. My other targets are also all for my county, because I don't have any travel plans yet:

1. Bell's Vireo. I look at eBird and they seem to be breeding everywhere around my county, but they just refuse to be found by me.

2. At least two county warbler lifers. Possible options: Connecticut, Mourning, Golden-winged, Worm-eating, and (incredibly unlikely) Kirtland's.

3. Rough-legged Hawk and Short-eared Owl. Both scarce wintering birds. I still have a chance to connect with one or both this year.

4. A 100+ species day. This shouldn't be hard with a good day in May, but the problem is finding the right day and actually being able to go birding.

5. 15 county lifers. I've got to increase my list from embarrassing to not-quite-as-embarrassing.

Oof...Bell's vireo (well "true" Bell's Vireo...I have seen the likely to be split in the future Least Vireo) has been a nemesis bird for me. I am pretty sure they are on the decline on the edge of their ranges. Certainly the Wisconsin Bird Finding guide which is some decades out of date at this point lists them at a lot of localities they are absent, or at least reliably absent from. I've chased a few and tried for them at supposedly reliable locations, and dipped each time.

Of course my non-birder colleague photographed one in her background in town during migration...sigh....

 

[qwerty5]

Oof...Bell's vireo (well "true" Bell's Vireo...I have seen the likely to be split in the future Least Vireo) has been a nemesis bird for me. I am pretty sure they are on the decline on the edge of their ranges. Certainly the Wisconsin Bird Finding guide which is some decades out of date at this point lists them at a lot of localities they are absent, or at least reliably absent from. I've chased a few and tried for them at supposedly reliable locations, and dipped each time.

Of course my non-birder colleague photographed one in her background in town during migration...sigh....

In Ohio they are increasing. The past 5-10 years have brought a lot of new reliable breeding sites.

 

[Mysticete]

Weird. I wonder why they would be declining in WI and increasing in OH. climate related maybe?

 

[Mysticete]

Anyway, as to the actual thread topic, I am still not exactly sure what 2024 will bring me. Due to furloughs I doubt I will be able to go anywhere exotic (or too exotic anyway). I'll probably continue to try to knock off a few missing state birds, and perhaps chase a few rarities

Birds trips I am considering:

Not in 2024, but in between Christmas and New Years I will be making my first trip, with a colleague who is a photographer, to Sax Zim Bog area. Targets include Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, and American Marten. Boreal Owl would be great but I am not counting on it

The other trips are still speculative, and may or may not happen, depending on work, conference schedules, etc

Dakotas to knock off some sparrows and a few other random ABA birds I need, as well as hopefully get some cool mammals. Main bird targets would be Baird's, LeContes, and Nelson's sparrows, along with White-winged Junco, Yellow Rail, Gray Partridge, Lewis's Woodpecker, and Black-backed Woodpecker if I dip on it in Sax Zim Bog

Alternatively, I may do my long belated Appalachian trip, with targets including Worm-eating, Kentucky, and Swainson's Warblers, plus hopefully some cool salamanders

Another option, If I have a few extra bucks, would be a long weekend in the Austin area of Texas, specifically targeting Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo, but hopefully also get the local form of Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and a few others.

Anyway, that is what I have been considering for the moment, but who knows really.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

I don't have any specific species targeted, but if all goes according to plan, I should pass 6,000 species in '24.

 

[JRP01]

I would love to pass 300 birds in my country, Im at 253, lets see if i get it

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

No real targets for me this year. Been Long-eared Owl for such a long time. Maybe a Monty’s would be nice.

 

[Farnboro John]

Photographing the remaining birds I've seen in Britain but not photographed here. To put that in perspective I think the easiest ones are Icterine Warbler, Black Stork and Wilson's Petrel.

John

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

No real targets for me this year. Been Long-eared Owl for such a long time. Maybe a Monty’s would be nice.

Though looking at Bubo Little Auk and Pom Skua are also in my top 10 targets.

 

[BenjiS]

My target is probably to get my life list above 200 - not difficult really but something worth aiming for!
Also hopefully get to 200 year birds in 2024 as will hopefully start driving so will be able to twitch birds which are further away!

 

[Original PaulE]

Mostly the same as last year! Caspian Tern, Black Kite have now added Citrine Wagtail to my most wanted list after the shenanigans in Cornwall!!!

 

[Bewick]

Have much more goals, but this list will just include the more probable species- not including possible twitches nor possible holidays:
0. Siskin, still yet to see one
1. Tawny pipit (France)
2. Water pipit (UK)
3. Common crane (UK)
4. Rock sparrow (France)
5. Black woodpecker (France)

Edit- Would like to surpass 300 birds- On 263. A goal of 220 birds and 41 lifers are my count goals for 2024.

 

[hookem2010]

Mysticete, if you make it to Austin, let me know and I can give you the low-down or show you some spots if you'd like.

 

[Nightjar61]

I usually try to go on two international birding trips a year. I have booked a trip to Paraguay in late March and early April. I’m dreaming of where else I can go late next summer.

I’d like to get to 3,000 on my life list. It won’t be easy and will depend on how well I do in Paraguay and whether my second trip is to a country that will yield enough lifers.

Finally, I want to see 200 species in my county next year. Despite some amazing and unexpected rarities this year, it has been an unusually slow year in which I missed several key species that I should have seen. I’m currently at 192 species, so it looks like 200 is out of reach this year.

Dave

 

[hookem2010]

2024 goals, hmmmm...
1) Actually make it to Colombia. I don't even know what expectations to set for the trip, but hopefully hitting 700 for my life list
2) Go somewhere with the family where I can add a handful of new ABA species
3) Get my current resident county list to #2 overall for my Texas counties
4) See a 2nd longspur species
5) Hit 400 species for Texas. Certainly I can manage 3 more species without significant travel

 

[Val35]

So far for 2024, I only have one trip planned but it's a non-birding trip to Italy in January. I still have one target bird there : Red-Billed Leiothrix.

Then of course, I'd like to add some species to my Corsican list : I have to try for Long Eared Owl, it's a localised breeding species here but the data suggest that there might be a nice population in the Northwest of the island. I guess I'll try this in February/March.
Then I don't know what migration will bring but hopefully a few new birds for my regional list (the ones I can think of now are Bar Tailed Godwit, Greater Scaup and Yellow Browed Warbler) and maybe even some lifers !
My Corsican list is currently at 247 species and it would be nice to reach 250 in 2024

 

[temmie]

Internationally, if I would finally start going to countries I haven't been before, I should be able to hit 5000 this year, but I feel I will, probably go to a country I have been before and clean up on some birds that will get me a quarter of new birds compared to some blind spots on the world map.

Birds I really want to see next year are Moustached Woodcreeper, Araripe Manakin, Lear's Macaw, Hooded Visorbearer and Scalloped Antbird.

I should be able to push my (long ignored) Belgian list as there are still plenty of bogey birds like Griffon Vulture, Long-tailed Jaeger, Ortolan bunting, Booted Eagle, Dartford Warbler and Citrine Wagtail.

In the end, I hope to include as much butterflying / mothing / mammal watching as possible, in between all the birding!

 

[pbjosh]

I have no real goals or targets, I just hope to stay healthy and fit and keep birding and traveling. I have a few trips in the cooker - likely S India (perhaps w/ Andamans?), perhaps a China trip, perhaps a Bolivia trip, likely another trip in Brazil (or if not back to Peru or Colombia)… and I’m sure other things will pop up or I’ll squeeze in some birding in Europe one way or another.

 

[lgonz1008]

Main goal is to reach 2,000 (currently at 1,661) in the life list and thankfully I have some trips planned that can get me there:

• Jamaica trip in March with some friends can guarantee me 30+ lifers, including my first taste of proper Caribbean species that can't be Florida vagrants.
• Alaska in late May with my family has been planned to be a wildlife trip but if all goes right, 20+ lifers wouldn't be out of the question.
• Ecuador trip in August only got one week confirmed out of the hoped for two, but I can realistically get over 100 lifers including some icons like Andean Condor and Stygian Owl.
• Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil is the last planned trip in late October/early November, this one is still tentative but if all else fails, seeing 250+ lifers is realistic with the cotingas of the region being my most wanted targets.
• On a more local level, hope to get my Florida life list to 350 species (currently at 344) and this should be easy if I made a trip to the panhandle in winter, but not sure if I can make the time with everything else I got on my plate.
  • Top 3 realistic nemesis birds in the state are Black Rail, American Woodcock and Blue-winged Warbler, but vagrants like Bicknell's Thrush and Kirtland's Warbler seem to be found once every year and we get lucky in winter with some wild rarities (King Eider and Red-throated Loon being two recent additions)