So How Is Your 2005 List Going (1 Viewer)

[LSB]

Pallid Swift (2)today (lifer) takes me up to 238 (233) Northumberland and on my local patch too. :t: :t:
Best shot I got tho

 

[lassa8]

Today picked up right where I left off yesterday! I was heading up Cayuga Lake and I ran into some friends who had a Pomarine Jaeger in their scope (lifer). I continued up the lake with them and we found an Eurasian Wigeon (lifer) on my fourth try for it this autumn. What a great weekend!

480 World (USA + Costa Rica)
289 USA

 

[postcardcv]

Pallid Swift (2)today (lifer) takes me up to 238 (233) Northumberland and on my local patch too. :t: :t:
Best shot I got tho

fantastic - that's a bird I'd love to see in the UK. A couple were in Norfolk today, but nowhere near me... maybe I'll get lucky before the end of the year.

 

[dbradnum]

fantastic - that's a bird I'd love to see in the UK. A couple were in Norfolk today, but nowhere near me... maybe I'll get lucky before the end of the year.

Hmmmph. A swift (note lower case) got reasonably close to me this afternoon at Cley while waiting for the American Golden Plover to come in, just after 3pm. Picked it up over Walsey Hills while in one of the three central hides, so about 1/2 mile distant - far too far away to be anything other than swift sp.

Did manage:

273: Richard's Pipit
274: American Golden Plover (lifer!), showing well

though, so a good day.

 

[Andrew]

Nice one Dave.

 

[Jacamar]

It's been almost two months since my last year tick. This week I finally got one, though, and a lifer to boot!

196. Little Hermit (Lifer)

My life list total at the end of last year was 173! :brains:

 

[Nightjar61]

Didn't get any World/ABA Area year ticks today, but I did get two Indiana year ticks: Red-breasted Nuthatch (which I saw in Minnesota earlier in the year) and Hermit Thrush (which I saw in Arizona this summer).

Dave

 

[Dave B Smith]

Had to go home to Florida for a few days for personal business but managed to swing back through Cape May for a three day weekend before returning to work. Migration numbers were way up and I managed 11 year birds (9 were lifers*).
That brings my year list to ABA 303 and World 597.
Swamp Sparrow*
Purple Finch*
Black Scoter*
Northern Gannet*
Brant Goose*
American Black Duck*
Red-throated Loon*
White-winged Scoter*
Long-tailed Duck*
Boat-tailed Grackle
Lesser Black-backed Gull

 

[buckskin hawk]

Up to 233 with a trip to the Great Salt Plains NWR in western Oklahoma. Noteable birds were:
Green winged teal
ruddy duck
Sandhill crane (missed the whooping cranes by a week or so)
Burrowing Owl
Northern shoveler
Northern Harrier

It would be nice to find another 17 or so to get up to 250. Maybe with another trip later to the duck pond, a trip to the sewage treatment facility, and luck at the barn, I can find a few more.

 

[buckskin hawk]

Well, so far I have had no October ticks for my year list. However, a friend and I are heading out for Cheyenne Bottoms/Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (in Kansas) tomorrow for a three day birding trip. We should see the migrating Sandhill Cranes and possibly a Whooping Crane or two! I have the "sandhill" for this year, but the "whooping" would be a year tick, as well as a new bird for the state of Kansas. We have always visited this two areas in the spring of the year, but we wanted to see what was "out and about" in the fall.

Hope I have something to report when we get back to Missouri!

Did you see the whooping cranes? I was told that they had been and left the Great Salt Plains NWR in about mid October.

 

[Larry Lade]

Well, Buckskin, we are back from Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. We saw thousands of Sandhill Cranes, but alas, no Whooping Cranes. They are still randomly passing through that area, but the last ones seen there were on October 20. A staff person at Quivira NWR informed us that there are some 240 (I think he said) Whooping Cranes and 140 or so of them are down at Aransas NWR (where they winter). So that leaves 100 or so that are still en route. A person just never knows what day a few might be passing through the area.

I have seen Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR in Texas a couple of times, but I sort of wanted to get them over in Kansas also! Maybe next time. I cannot get over there in Kansas too often, as it is 300 miles from Saint Joseph!

I did get a "Lower 48 (states) year tick" while over in Kansas though! AMERICAN AVOCET. (Still do not have one for Missouri this year.) And what a year tick it was! I did not just see one or two of this species, but thousands of them! They were everywhere. Also by the thousands were Greater White-fronted Geese ("Speckle-bellies" to the hunting fraternity) and Sandhill Cranes! Pretty impressive sight!

So, the bottom line is that I did not get any "year ticks" for Missouri for the month of October. Hopefully, I will be able to see some loons (divers), scoters and a few other species during the months of November/December.

 

[jtibbetts]

Has a surprise year tick today at work with a flyover Snow Bunting! Also plenty of Redwings, Fieldfares, Siskins, Redpolls, Skylarks and a single Brambling moving through!

307: Snow Bunting

 

[buckskin hawk]

Well, Buckskin, we are back from Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. We saw thousands of Sandhill Cranes, but alas, no Whooping Cranes. They are still randomly passing through that area, but the last ones seen there were on October 20. A staff person at Quivira NWR informed us that there are some 240 (I think he said) Whooping Cranes and 140 or so of them are down at Aransas NWR (where they winter). So that leaves 100 or so that are still en route. A person just never knows what day a few might be passing through the area.

I have seen Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR in Texas a couple of times, but I sort of wanted to get them over in Kansas also! Maybe next time. I cannot get over there in Kansas too often, as it is 300 miles from Saint Joseph!

I did get a "Lower 48 (states) year tick" while over in Kansas though! AMERICAN AVOCET. (Still do not have one for Missouri this year.) And what a year tick it was! I did not just see one or two of this species, but thousands of them! They were everywhere. Also by the thousands were Greater White-fronted Geese ("Speckle-bellies" to the hunting fraternity) and Sandhill Cranes! Pretty impressive sight!

So, the bottom line is that I did not get any "year ticks" for Missouri for the month of October. Hopefully, I will be able to see some loons (divers), scoters and a few other species during the months of November/December.

We had great flocks of avocets, green winged teals and Sandhills at the Great Salt Plains last weekend as well. Cheyenne Bottoms is only 150 due north of the Great Salt Plains. Most likely whatever flies into there might just end up at the Salt Plains NWR, just no whoopers this time. Oct 20 is about the same time they gave for their last sighting of whoopers.

I would have loved to see any other type of goose other than the Canadian. Maybe I can find a "speckle-belly" or loon later this year.

 

[Ben Rackstraw]

World list now a tantalising 20 short of the magic 4 figures, following a great introduction to Ecuador. Among the many highlights, managed to add 5 new bird families (Hoatzin, Gnateaters, Tapaculos, Sungrebe & Seedsnipe).

 

[LSB]

Picked up Desert Wheatear and Chimney Swift(lifer) to take me up to 240 ( 235 Northumberland)... B B B B

 

[Gavin Haig]

Mega-rough sea this morning produced an obliging Grey Phalarope, so local year list now 178. Really pleased as I hadn't seen Grey Phal for years, so pleasure compounded somewhat by seeing 2 more a mile or so inland at Colyford Common late afternoon. Good day for me.........not so good for Grey Phals, methinks

 

[scoxie]

Amazing how many Grey Phalaropes are about, Gavin! At least three at Marazion/Penzance.

180 Grey Phalarope.
181 Dartford Warbler.
182 Arctic Tern.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Amazing how many Grey Phalaropes are about, Gavin! At least three at Marazion/Penzance.

Also 10+ at Plymouth............quite a wreck.

40-odd Leach's Petrels at Chesil Cove (Portland) today. Now, one of them dawdling past Seaton seafront tomorrow morning would be nice...............

 

[Gavin Haig]

Not much of a breeze this morning, so didn't bother seawatching (in the faint hope of a stray Leach's). Instead had a walk up Beer Head, where viz mig has been brilliant this autumn. I'm always hoping for a Snow or a Lap Bunt, or maybe Woodlark, which are realistic possibilities, but there's also the "you'll be lucky, mate!" list........and this morning one of them put in an appearance. A fly-over Richard's Pipit moves the total on to 179.

Still a few gaps to fill - can you believe, no Pochard, nor Turnstone......local birding's a fickle business!

 

[jtibbetts]

Guess what my no 308 is? Youve guessed it: Grey Phalarope! It would appear that theres one for almost everyone at the moment!
Mine was at Belvide this morning, also there was a good inland record of juv Arctic Skua!