USA Cross-Country itinerary if you had a 4-8 weeks? (1 Viewer)

[temmie]

I would start with 3 weeks in W-Mexico. It saves you some driving / twitching / scraping for certain species in Arizona and N-Mexico...

 

[lgonz1008]

I was wondering about a bit similar thing.

If I wanted to see all ABA regular species by traveling on 1-3 week tours, how many tours it would take?

Really depends on time of year and what you want to target, if you are fine with going to places outside of the US for some species (like the Southeast Arizona or the South Florida specialties) and skipping the established exotics, then you only need to do 5 proper trips:

• California: no way around it, the region has a lot of endemics and regional specialties that are pretty tough in other parts of their range/already on their way here
• Texas: peak Spring migration, a lot of breeding specialties that are easier to connect with here than their wintering grounds further South and best place to connect with Whooping Crane
• Colorado: an early spring trip here is a must if you want to see all the grouses/"chickens", combine with that a lot of wintering waterfowl and many species that usually breed in the Northcentral US, Mountain Plover, Longspurs, etc., and you have a proper 10 day trip here
• Maine & Massachusetts: 1 week in each state and you should get most of your targets, the region is great for pelagic and boreal specialties, and you can add the challenge of getting singing Bicknell's Thrush and lekking American Woodcock
• Hawaii: too many endemics and pelagics to ignore

These trips should be able to give you around 60% of all the commonly occurring species in the US, I skipped Arizona, Minnesota and Ohio for the main reason that these places while amazing for an US birder, don't really have much in them to keep you around if you've birded Mexico, Northern Europe or the Caribbean.

If you really want to cram all the missing targets, then here are 3 more trips to consider:

• Florida and Louisiana: Fall migration is amazing in Florida, it can help you connect with many species that might not be as reliable elsewhere including skulky "Southern" warbler like Kentucky and Swainson's Warbler, add to that the endemic Florida Scrub-Jay and other pineland specialties, plus a trip to Louisiana during the rice festival to see Yellow, Virginia, King and Clapper Rail
• Michigan: Kirtland's Warbler, unless you want to spend more time and money to go to one island in the Bahamas, planning a trip to Michigan in June can help you get this species, add a few days in Minnesota and the Dakotas, and you can get a lot of the species you might have missed in Texas or Colorado due to bad luck or time of year, including Trumpeter Swan, Upland Sandpiper, Baird's Sparrow and breeding Yellow Rail
• Alaska: the final frontier, amazing birding and wildlife spectacle, but most of the targets can be seen elsewhere around the world, Alcids in Hokkaido, Owls in Europe, Waterfowl anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. There are some birds to go here that give you a backup if other places are no good, such as Bristle-thighed Curlew and Aleutian Tern, plus seeing dozens of shorebirds, alcids, raptors and waterfowl in full breeding display is a spectacle everyone should enjoy if they can afford it, but similar to Hawaii, it's pretty costly, so you might want to pick your cards right

Hopefully this tells you where to go, and if you do all 8 trips, you should be able to connect with 90% of the residents, the species left out are widespread in the Neotropics and Eurasia, so you probably have connected with them already or will do so on your next trip in those regions.

 

[jurek]

Thanks! I will seriuosly consider such trips, also together with some Western landscapes and also mammals.

BTW - I briefly visited South Padre Island in spring, and want to echo other threads. Bird migration comes in waves. If you organize a trip beforehand and have fixed dates, you have about 90% chance of seeing a lull between migration waves and a rather mediocre experience. Only if you are flexible within few days, or spend much of the season there, you can expect to see a real fall of migrants.

 

[Mysticete]

If you area also keen on mammals, I would perhaps consider moving any Colorado/Great Plains trip to June. You can get the different grouse at other times of year, they are just not displaying and take a bit more work. But its likely that a lot of mammals (and of course herps!) will be hibernating if you go to early spring, or otherwise be harder to find.

 

[jogresh]

I've often fantasised about doing this, and ruminated on routes and logistics.
I've generally felt that with a 3 month visa i'd start in March in Florida and spend maybe 3 weeks cleaning up and having a great vacation, then head to southern Texas for the wintering things, perhaps a side trip into Mexico (Monarch butterflies?). Then either Colorado for the grouse or more likely, north up the west coast via the Condors to the Pacific Northwest (Washington and/or BC) for May; early but perhaps not too early. Alaska is an alternative, but expensive and a bit early. Perhaps leaving the USA after 3 months to hit NW Canada for 3 weeks in June.
Keep us posted as i'm really interested, and good luck and have a great trip!

 

[pbjosh]

If you area also keen on mammals, I would perhaps consider moving any Colorado/Great Plains trip to June. You can get the different grouse at other times of year, they are just not displaying and take a bit more work. But its likely that a lot of mammals (and of course herps!) will be hibernating if you go to early spring, or otherwise be harder to find.

Getting some of the chickens, particularly Lesser Prairie Chicken and Gunnison Sage-Grouse, away from lek is quite challenging. Of course it is possible, but if you planned a summer trip to CO and had a week-10 days as per spring trips, I guess you might get 4-5 out of 7 possible chickens, 1-2 of them only briefly, and miss out on some cool displays. I have not done the chicken run but have spent a lot of time in habitat for both Sage-Grouses and have only seen poop. I‘ve never had a good look at a Lesser Prairie-Chicken, just flushed/flying birds. And I‘ve never stumbled on a Sharp-tailed Grouse (I am surprised about that, though).

 

[opisska]

Honestly this thread is a gold mine. I have never really thought about US birding before - I have done some, but never considered what the actual targets can be around the country. Now I feel like watching some lekking chicken, when's the season?

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

I did a full chicken tour in early April last year with Rockjumper. This seems to be the month when all the tours go, so presumably the best time to see all the leks.

It's also a good time for all the Rosy Finches at garden feeders in higher altitude towns in Colorado.

 

[DMW]

I've also had fun planning US clean-up road-trips and even with 3 months, you run into timing issues, and the old problem of needing to be in several places at once. As Josh says, seeing some grouse at their leks (or being conspicuously territorial) can raise your chances from slim to highly probable. I did a chicken run before Gunnison Sage Grouse was a thing, and being a big fan of chickens, it's an itch I need to scratch, so the limited viewing window is a factor. Mid April is still pretty early for boreal migrants to be back on territory, so heading southwest to southern California afterwards and looping north and then east to do the Dakotas prairies, Minnesota and ending in Michigan is one route I've looked at.

 

[DMW]

I did a full chicken tour in April last year with Rockjumper. This seems to be the month when all the tours go, so presumably the best time to see all the leks.

Yes, the Gunnison lek observation point is only open during April.

 

[Mysticete]

Getting some of the chickens, particularly Lesser Prairie Chicken and Gunnison Sage-Grouse, away from lek is quite challenging. Of course it is possible, but if you planned a summer trip to CO and had a week-10 days as per spring trips, I guess you might get 4-5 out of 7 possible chickens, 1-2 of them only briefly, and miss out on some cool displays. I have not done the chicken run but have spent a lot of time in habitat for both Sage-Grouses and have only seen poop. I‘ve never had a good look at a Lesser Prairie-Chicken, just flushed/flying birds. And I‘ve never stumbled on a Sharp-tailed Grouse (I am surprised about that, though).

Yeah, if you are really sold on the idea of chickens, then earlier is definitely better than later. I don't think you can get Lesser Prairie Chicken away from a lek...there ranges are too restricted and I think a lot of it is difficult to access. Of course, all of the lekking grouse are easier at leks, although sometimes you have to deal with access issues...some state-managed blinds can book up far far in advance so you either need a lot of advanced planning or to join some pre-existing trip.

Oddly enough, the only lekking chicken I have actually seen...lek... is Greater Sage Grouse (Their was a lek just outside of Laramie when I went to school there). Gunnison Sage Grouse, Greater Prairie Chicken, and Sharp-tailed Grouse were all seen away from lek sites or outside the breeding season, and even my lifer Greater Sage Grouse was in August and not Lekking.

 

[Mysticete]

Honestly this thread is a gold mine. I have never really thought about US birding before - I have done some, but never considered what the actual targets can be around the country. Now I feel like watching some lekking chicken, when's the season?

Somehow I feel like it might not be the birding for you, given that a lot of leks (especially for Lesser Prairie Chicken) have blinds that need to be booked far in advance and I think cost money. Not exactly guided birding but not terribly dissimilar. Based on your trip reports and previous comments feels like it would clash with your preferences.

 

[opisska]

Oh, so the leks are not freely viewable from some public viewpoints? That certainly makes it less interesting. On the other hand it opens the possibility to search for less known and commercialized sites. I am not sure whether I have told the story of how we saw Great Snipe here, but the idea was fairly similar

 

[Mysticete]

Oh, so the leks are not freely viewable from some public viewpoints? That certainly makes it less interesting. On the other hand it opens the possibility to search for less known and commercialized sites. I am not sure whether I have told the story of how we saw Great Snipe here, but the idea was fairly similar

Certainly not Lesser Prairie Chicken or Gunnison Sage Grouse. The lek of Greater Sage Grouse north of Laramie was easy to view and at least back then didn't require any special access. I would guess you could probably find something similar for Greater Prairie Chicken and Sharp-tailed Grouse. You would just need to target areas that are less frequently visited.

 

[pbjosh]

I thought the Gunnison SG lek was still free? There are blinds or a trailer or some such that can be reserved but vehicle access is still allowed, no?

 

[DMW]

I thought the Gunnison SG lek was still free? There are blinds or a trailer or some such that can be reserved but vehicle access is still allowed, no?

Yes, still free on first come first served basis according to the Website

 

[njlarsen]

When i saw lesser PC in New Mexico, there was no fee and I was in my rental vehicle. It was necessary to have a reservation with the state office to avoid overcrowding.
Niels

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Our group were in the blind for the Gunnison SG but some other people turned up and watched from outside. I'm not sure if they had booked in advance. Unlike the Greater SG, the Gunnisons are very distant - just about able to see the differences with a scope, but don't expect great photos.

For Lesser PC we had to go to a private ranch in Kansas as the old Colorado location is no longer available to birders

We watched Sharp-tailed lek from the vehicles on a public track. A lone Dusky Grouse was found a bit further along the same track.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Though most suggestions here are broadly east-west, or vice versa, another angle to think about is north-south or vice versa.

Some years ago, I did a road trip from San Diego on the Mexico border all the way north to Deadhorse on the Arctic coast of Alaska. Though species diversity is undoubtedly higher going from, for example, California east though Texas to Florida, the diversity of biomes/landscapes heading south-north is unbeatable. This truly was an amazing trip culminating with Spectacled Eider at the top.

 

[raymie]

I'm 100% sure you could find a Greater PC lek that's just visible from a road - I know of one myself here in Wisconsin, and I'm sure they're more common out west where the species is more abundant.