Bird wishlist for 2021 (1 Viewer)

[jqmhelios]

2021's almost here, and likewise my desires to see specific birds have developed as well. For 2021, my wishlist is:
1. White-tailed eagle (Will visit Mull in order to look for the eagles, I know several places where they can be reliably seen, including an area giving great views of a nest from a huge distance away. I'm talking about the one overlooked by the Mull Eagle Watch hide. Reviews I get about the sea eagles here are a little overwhelming, to be honest)
2. Golden eagle (Seen a lot in Spain and still can't get enough of these, know several extremely good locations for them on Mull)
3. Hen harrier (All my photos of them are bad, maybe because I never looked hard enough. However places on Mull during summer light should give great views)
4. White-headed duck (Saw tonnes of marbled ducks but never a white-headed duck! Hopefully I'll get lucky)
5. Great bittern (Always a treat to observe, and thankfully there is a great place for them right next to Ely. Literally one stop by train)
6. Osprey (Never payed much attention to these guys. Hopefully Rutland Water will take away my desire to go under a raging sun miles to see the El Hondo pair)
7. Long-eared owl (Wanted to see a long-eared owl roost for eons, and only found out about one nearby recently)
8. Montagu's harrier (Always delightful to observe, love seeing them near La Mata near the lemon groves, something is amazing about them here)
9. Red grouse (Never was able to see despite searches)
10. European bee-eater (Just too beautiful!)

Most of these are easy. I'm very lazy for most of them. The only real trip I'll undertake is over Mull looking for eagles.

 

[lgonz1008]

2021 has the potential of being a great year for already just compared to 2020, I only have 2 trips planned for the year outside of my home state which hopefully will give me at least some of these birds (As usual the closer it is to 1, the more I want to see it):

10. White-tailed Ptarmigan (honestly any game bird is good, but it would be a highlight to see this cold weather specialist while birding the peaks of Glacier National Park)
9. Sword-billed Hummingbird (similar to the previous spot, almost any hummer from Northern Ecuador would be good, but I'll just put the one that's easy to find an a show stopper)
8. Andean Potoo (I'm a sucker for nocturnal birds and having my second Potoo species in my life list will bring a huge grin to my face, not unlike the ones you see in those creepy-ish photos of Great Potoo)
7. Andean Condor (I think we all know why this bird is here)
6. American Three-toed Woodpecker (Sadly one of two woodpeckers I dipped on while traveling through Oregon, so I'm hoping that Glacier and Yellowstone help me catch up with this one along with Williamson's Sapsucker and maybe, just maybe, Lewis's Woodpecker)
5. Toucan Barbet (Colorful fruit eater from the Choco Region, not the only one in this list)
4. Any Thraupidae Tanager (Copout? Maybe, but they rank in my top 5 bird families, so having to pick between Scarlet-and-white, Gray-and-gold, Glistening-green Tanager, and who knows how many others, I'd rather just pack them all together)
3. Torrent Duck (Beautiful waterfowl from the rapid waters from the Andes? Yes please! Honorable Mention to the White-capped Dipper that shares the habitat with)
2. Giant Antpitta (Everyone knows and many have seen Maria or her relatives and I want to say I saw her too!)
1. Great Gray Owl (Way too much of a long shot, but I can dream of finding one in Glacier or Yellowstone, no?)

So that's my list of hopes and dreams, let's see how many I get and by extension, how many I'll have to move on to a wishlist in a later year!

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

2021's almost here, and likewise my desires to see specific birds have developed as well. For 2021, my wishlist is:
1. White-tailed eagle (Will visit Mull in order to look for the eagles, I know several places where they can be reliably seen, including an area giving great views of a nest from a huge distance away. I'm talking about the one overlooked by the Mull Eagle Watch hide. Reviews I get about the sea eagles here are a little overwhelming, to be honest)
2. Golden eagle (Seen a lot in Spain and still can't get enough of these, know several extremely good locations for them on Mull)
3. Hen harrier (All my photos of them are bad, maybe because I never looked hard enough. However places on Mull during summer light should give great views)
4. White-headed duck (Saw tonnes of marbled ducks but never a white-headed duck! Hopefully I'll get lucky)
5. Great bittern (Always a treat to observe, and thankfully there is a great place for them right next to Ely. Literally one stop by train)
6. Osprey (Never payed much attention to these guys. Hopefully Rutland Water will take away my desire to go under a raging sun miles to see the El Hondo pair)
7. Long-eared owl (Wanted to see a long-eared owl roost for eons, and only found out about one nearby recently)
8. Montagu's harrier (Always delightful to observe, love seeing them near La Mata near the lemon groves, something is amazing about them here)
9. Red grouse (Never was able to see despite searches)
10. European bee-eater (Just too beautiful!)

Most of these are easy. I'm very lazy for most of them. The only real trip I'll undertake is over Mull looking for eagles.

'No bird in particular. I'd like to see more birds feeding/with their young. Before I had a camera, I once watched a Great Crested Grebe ferry a couple of the young across the water on his/her back. Now that I have a camera, I want to see more of that to be able to capture it.

 

[Ries]

I'm happy to even be able to go birding outside my local range i.e. corona allowing me train use again. Every bird I don't see around here is welcome, any beautiful rarity a bit more. Sure I'd like to discover a rarity myself. More, I'm keen on expanding my experiences with grasshoppers and dragonflies. Started that this summer, fell in love with it, starting to build knowledge and eager to meet them all in reallife.

 

[Original PaulE]

Black Kite and Green-winged Teal are 2 glaring omissions from my list that I hope to fill in 2021 also any Pratincole would be nice !! And lots of Skuas having missed out on the seawatching this year!!!

 

[foresttwitcher]

Anything, especially anything new if travel is possible...

 

[btooze]

Bearded Tit & waxwing for me.

 

[Mysticete]

Buff-breasted Sandpiper: This is the last regularly occurring bird that passes through the Fox Valley that would be a potential lifer
Evening Grosbeak: It's been a really good finch year, yet somehow they seem somewhat sparse around the Fox Valley

Kentucky, Worm-eating, and Swainson's Warblers: These are the last "widespread" eastern warblers I need for my lifelist. Assuming Covid Is manageable by spring, I am planning on doing a big warbler trip and targeting these

Le Contes, Nelson's, Baird's Sparrow: If Covid condition suck still, I will probably do an alternative trip later in the summer to the Dakotas, to target these birds as well as Yellow Rail, Black-backed Woodpecker, and White-winged Juncos, and a bunch of mammals

Eurasian Tree Sparrow: I haven't made a concentrated effort on this non-native, that I need for my ABA list. They occur close enough that I feel I should take a roadtrip for them, but just far enough away that its a pain

Scoters and Long-tailed Duck: My sea duck list for WI sucks...I keep missing these, sometimes by mere minutes.

Dickcissel: Another bird that should be around WI that I still keep dipping on.

Panama birds in general: I am planning on taking my delayed trip to Panama this summer. This will be my first trip to the Neotropics, so nearly everything will be a lifer. I am hoping most of all to rack up a bunch of new families, with an estimate of around 20 new ones possible on the trip.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Kentucky, Worm-eating, and Swainson's Warblers: These are the last "widespread" eastern warblers I need for my lifelist. Assuming Covid Is manageable by spring, I am planning on doing a big warbler trip and targeting these

If you're passing through eastern PA at any time, I can get you a Worm-eating, no trouble. In a good year, Kentucky, too.

 

[pbjosh]

We will finally be finishing our move to Europe (SU) in January. I've lived in Europe previously, but before I was a dedicated birder, and so I'm looking forward to the first few months of learning new bird song and seeing new birds in new local patches!

Certainly I'm most excited about Wallcreeper, Lammergeier, Hawfinch, and Wryneck. I'm also keen for a summer of alpine hiking for game birds, and hopefully if travel conditions are reasonable, I'd love to finally get to Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus. Maybe even Madeira or the Canaries.

Wth a little luck I'm hoping that on a return trip to Argentina in about 6-8 months time I'll be able to tack on a week or two and go to Minas Gerais (Blue-eyed Ground-Dove being my #1 there) and have another go at Cherry-throated Tanager, which I've missed in the past.

Still no big trips or big plans for the year, have to wait and see what is reasonable and when it is safe. The desire is there though.

 

[pbjosh]

2021 has the potential of being a great year for already just compared to 2020, I only have 2 trips planned for the year outside of my home state which hopefully will give me at least some of these birds (As usual the closer it is to 1, the more I want to see it):

10. White-tailed Ptarmigan (honestly any game bird is good, but it would be a highlight to see this cold weather specialist while birding the peaks of Glacier National Park)
9. Sword-billed Hummingbird (similar to the previous spot, almost any hummer from Northern Ecuador would be good, but I'll just put the one that's easy to find an a show stopper)
8. Andean Potoo (I'm a sucker for nocturnal birds and having my second Potoo species in my life list will bring a huge grin to my face, not unlike the ones you see in those creepy-ish photos of Great Potoo)
7. Andean Condor (I think we all know why this bird is here)
6. American Three-toed Woodpecker (Sadly one of two woodpeckers I dipped on while traveling through Oregon, so I'm hoping that Glacier and Yellowstone help me catch up with this one along with Williamson's Sapsucker and maybe, just maybe, Lewis's Woodpecker)
5. Toucan Barbet (Colorful fruit eater from the Choco Region, not the only one in this list)
4. Any Thraupidae Tanager (Copout? Maybe, but they rank in my top 5 bird families, so having to pick between Scarlet-and-white, Gray-and-gold, Glistening-green Tanager, and who knows how many others, I'd rather just pack them all together)
3. Torrent Duck (Beautiful waterfowl from the rapid waters from the Andes? Yes please! Honorable Mention to the White-capped Dipper that shares the habitat with)
2. Giant Antpitta (Everyone knows and many have seen Maria or her relatives and I want to say I saw her too!)
1. Great Gray Owl (Way too much of a long shot, but I can dream of finding one in Glacier or Yellowstone, no?)

So that's my list of hopes and dreams, let's see how many I get and by extension, how many I'll have to move on to a wishlist in a later year!

Andean Potoo is a heck of a bird, and is handily my biggest nemesis in S America (so much time spent looking, never even heard one). The rest of your Ecuador birds are thankfully all much easier. Great Gray Owl is an excellent #1 choice as well! Good luck!

 

[lgonz1008]

Andean Potoo is a heck of a bird, and is handily my biggest nemesis in S America (so much time spent looking, never even heard one). The rest of your Ecuador birds are thankfully all much easier. Great Gray Owl is an excellent #1 choice as well! Good luck!

One of my stops is at Guango Lodge that has had a roosting bird for the last few months, so fingers crossed!

 

[Mysticete]

If you're passing through eastern PA at any time, I can get you a Worm-eating, no trouble. In a good year, Kentucky, too.

My hypothetical plan is to do a spring migration run in May, swinging through Kentucky, then Ohio and Magee Marsh, and up into Michigan to see my folks. This assumes crane creek is open this year and I am vaccinated.

Kentucky I should be get even if I can't pull off the trip, as it breeds in reliable locations in the south part of the state, and there is a slight possibility for worm-eating, which are a rare breeder here.

 

[lammergeier05]

One of my stops is at Guango Lodge that has had a roosting bird for the last few months, so fingers crossed!

Got a staked out day roosting Andean Potoo at San Isidro a few years back. Seeing Northern Potoo at night with their bulging eyes is simply magical though. Managed to miss Maria at Angel Paz but got all the rest! Where I grew up as a kid, we had an irruption of dozens of Great Gray Owls one year - you’d see one on the bus to school every now and then. Not so easy in most of the lower 48 though.

 

[lgonz1008]

Got a staked out day roosting Andean Potoo at San Isidro a few years back. Seeing Northern Potoo at night with their bulging eyes is simply magical though. Managed to miss Maria at Angel Paz but got all the rest! Where I grew up as a kid, we had an irruption of dozens of Great Gray Owls one year - you’d see one on the bus to school every now and then. Not so easy in most of the lower 48 though.

It's not easy but that's what makes me hope to get it most, I'll probably contact a local guide to see if they have a stake out area for them (and any other target owl).

My one Potoo experience was a juvenile in Pipeline Road last year, the mom left it on it's own for that day, so for better or for worse it's one of my two nocturnal birds that I've only seen so far as a juvenile (the other being Great Horned Owl).

 

[pbjosh]

I've probably seen Northern Potoo 5-6 times, Common Potoo 20+ times, Great Potoo 6-8 times. I've seen Rufous twice. And have had awful luck with Long-tailed, both forms of White-winged, and Andean. Particularly the Atlantic White-winged and Andean are birds I have put a LOT of time into and never seen I hope you connect instead of suffering my luck with it!

 

[bonxie birder]

Heard many, but never seen a Common Quail. The biggest omission on my British list. Also Melodious and Blyth’s Reed Warblers.
Third time lucky for trip to Costa Rica, would love a bellbird

 

[Euan Buchan]

The thought of being able to travel on bus/train & car to see birds will excite me. This year I really missed watching The Gannets at Bass Rock (I'm hoping to go on a Bass Rock boat trip in June). Just visiting the ususal places I normally go but couldn't this year will be excellent for me.

 

[raymie]

Arizona birds in general, I am planning on making a trip over there in spring. My #1 target there is Elegant Trogon but I hope to see other things, too.

Ross' Goose and European Goldfinch are the most common Wisconsin birds I am still missing, so I hope to finally get them on my list. Given the irruption going on this winter I still need to see Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, and Hoary Redpoll, too. Who knows, I might even be able to get those before 2020 is over.

 

[Swindon Addick]

Mainly I just want to see some birds. Missed loads of regular species this year due to travel restrictions at key times. More day-trips to see things that don't turn up in Swindon. Any lifers that show up are a nice bonus, but there's so many species that my Birdtrack app reminds me I haven't see this year...