How's Your 2025 List Going? (2 Viewers)

[hookem2010]

Mixed bag on my trip out to Lake Georgetown, my local spot for Golden-cheeked warbler. Didn't find the target, due at least in part to a fidgety baby and very loud construction nearby, but did add...
#112 Black-and-white warbler
#113 Rufous-crowned sparrow
#114 Northern bobwhite- county lifer #243! Only the 2nd record for the Hotspot and (sadly) the first for the county this year

 

[la_ravachol]

All ticks are newly arrived migrants today. I also found my first ever continental Pied Wagtail, which was a nice bonus.

184. Great Spotted Cuckoo
185. Yellow Wagtail
186. Northern Wheatear
187. Little Ringed Plover
188. Stone-curlew

 

[TicoTyler]

An exciting and long day today. Started in cloud forest, drove down to some salt flats, then through some grasslands in the volcanic foothills on the way home.

380 Ruddy Pigeon
381 Ornate Hawk-Eagle - I saw it flying just as I was leaving Monteverde reserve.
382 Resplendent Quetzal
383 Plain Antvireo
384 Lineated Foliage-gleaner - new for my photo list
385 Three-wattled Bellbird
386 Olive-streaked Flycatcher
387 Azure-hooded Jay - lifer! Just as I finished photographing my lifer Costa Rican Warblers one of these showed up in the same spot. 2x1
388 Black-throated Green Warbler
389 Costa Rican Warbler - lifer
390 Wilson's Plover
391 Least Sandpiper
392 Western Sandpiper
393 Semipalmated Sandpiper
394 Orange-fronted Parakeet
395 Northern Scrub-Flycatcher
396 Mangrove Vireo
397 White-lored Gnatcatcher
398 Prothonotary Warbler
399 Turquoise-browed Motmot
400 Grasshopper Sparrow - managed to see this uncommon for Costa Rica bird on my second attempt.

 

[TicoTyler]

A surprisingly high number of FOTY birds today at essentially my local patch. In large part thanks to a nice mixed flock that came through in the forest.

401 Short-billed Pigeon
402 King Vulture - I miscalled this as a Great Black Hawk at first. Turned out to be an almost entirely dark plumaged juvenile.
403 Russet Antshrike
404 Streak-crowned Antvireo
405 Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
406 Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
407 Torrent Tyrannulet
408 White-throated Shrike-Tanager
409 Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
410 Brown Violetear
411 Slaty-tailed Trogon
412 Black-headed Saltator

 

[AlexC]

4th time was the charm chasing this state bird earlier in the week:
156. Black-throated Green Warbler (CA lifer)

And a restaurant flyover pre-dinner appetizer:
157. Peregrine Falcon

Today, a last ditch 5pm effort for a decent 5MR bird surprisingly turned up quite quickly for me:
158. Red-breasted Sapsucker

..followed by the completely unexpected sunset migratory SPECTACLE of 200+ of the following raptor species swirling over my neighborhood, buffered by the wall of rain-laden clouds that engulfed the looming San Gabriel Mtns:
159. Swainson's Hawk

 

[hookem2010]

A nice walk along the creek added a couple of ducks.
#115 Black-bellied whistling duck
#116 Wood duck- a bird I'd expect to see more than 3 times the last 2 years with as much time as I spend walking along wooded creeks

 

[hookem2010]

#117 Black-chinned hummingbird visiting my feeder

 

[AlexC]

160. Bell's Vireo
161. Common Gallinule
162. Vermilion Flycatcher

 

[TicoTyler]

A surprisingly high number of FOTY birds today at essentially my local patch. In large part thanks to a nice mixed flock that came through in the forest.

401 Short-billed Pigeon
402 King Vulture - I miscalled this as a Great Black Hawk at first. Turned out to be an almost entirely dark plumaged juvenile.
403 Russet Antshrike
404 Streak-crowned Antvireo
405 Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
406 Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
407 Torrent Tyrannulet
408 White-throated Shrike-Tanager
409 Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
410 Brown Violetear
411 Slaty-tailed Trogon
412 Black-headed Saltator

413 Swainson's Thrush
414 Middle American Leaftosser (took me an hour of sorting through recordings to finally figure out what I'd heard. It was distinctive but I couldn't place it, even after earlier in the day I had listened to a different one of its vocalizations in Merlin.)
415 Spotted Woodcreeper
416 Northern Schiffornis

 

[OrnithologyDevotee]

I went hiking at El Capitan Canyon and enjoyed Refugio Beach down in Santa Barbara for two days. I found some lifers with only my Vortex Solo. Overall I think I may bring only the Vortex Solo from now on for short trips because of how compact and well it works. Bringing along my spotting scope and binoculars is a big pain.

28. Acorn Woodpecker
29. Western Gull
30. California Gull
31. Great Egret (I saw it through the bus window at a stop light)
32. Brown Pelican (33 of them! A big 25 bird flock and a smaller 8 bird flock)
33. Western Bluebird (I saw the loveliest pair of them sitting on a power line)
34. White-crowned Sparrow

 

[hookem2010]

Glad you're enjoying the new hobby. Beware, it gets addicting! I can no longer turn it off.

 

[Nightjar61]

A new spring migrant this morning.

85. Eastern Phoebe

Dave

 

[lgonz1008]

(Successful birding day around South Florida)
237. Chuck-will's-widow
238. Semipalmated Plover
239. Ruddy Turnstone
240. Brown-headed Cowbird
241. Black-necked Stilt
242. American Avocet
243. Wilson's Plover
244. Red Knot
245. Chimney Swift
246. Eastern Screech-Owl

 

[OrnithologyDevotee]

Glad you're enjoying the new hobby. Beware, it gets addicting! I can no longer turn it off.

Already happening! I've already started saving for new gear and lots of new traveling plans have started to revolve around what spots are good for birding! My highlight of each week recently has been Sunday when I have nothing planned and go out bird watching. Planning to go down to Ballona Freshwater Marsh next weekend since I've heard it's a very good hotspot with over 200 species of birds in the area.

 

[hookem2010]

Keep the posts coming! It's fun to relive those early days! (And I'm probably a "new" birder for this board, at less than a decade)

 

[TicoTyler]

Keep the posts coming! It's fun to relive those early days! (And I'm probably a "new" birder for this board, at less than a decade)

Not quite 5 year here myself! But quite obsessive with it once I started and live in a great area for it.

 

[Nightjar61]

Not quite 5 year here myself! But quite obsessive with it once I started and live in a great area for it.

Well this will certainly show my age, but I’ve been birding for about 55 years. What a wonderful way to live a life.

Dave

 

[Jacana]

After dipping a couple of weeks ago I finally caught up with the overwintering Hume's Leaf Warbler a few km down the coast. I also picked up a handful of spring year ticks at a reservoir on the way back:

127. Hume's Leaf Warbler
128. Great Egret
129. Iberian Chiffchaff
130. Black Kite

 

[hookem2010]

#118 Canyon wren (heard)
#119 Nashville warbler- common, but early
#120 Greater roadrunner
#121 Golden-cheeked warbler- frustratingly heard only

 

[la_ravachol]

A couple of migrants and some mopping up. I wasn't planning on mopping up these residents just yet, but there's so much flooding around different spots here I've had to change my plans a couple of times since I've found on arrival that certain areas are simply inaccessible. I'm concerned one excellent birding spot (or a large part of it) may even be permanently inaccessible where rivers have burst their banks in several places (hopefully not!). It's finally stopped raining every day, thankfully.

189. Eurasian Scops Owl
190. Bonelli's Eagle
191. Black Stork
192. Black Wheatear
193. Blue Rock Thrush