An End of the Year Bird Review

 In 2020, I presented the best bird discovered for my end-of-year blog post, the Eared Quetzal.  This year I thought I'd end on the best last new bird seen of the year, the California Condor. In my opinion, both of those species are the BEST birds you can see in Arizona. However, many birders would disagree and list a ton of other amazing species. These are the two species that make me lose my $hIt! when I see them in the state and that's why I consider them the best. While 2021 was a better year for birds, it was still a tough one to navigate.  Ridding myself of the covid weight, the deaths of friends and co-workers, airport delays, reactions to the vaccinations, crazy work schedules and procedures, and resuming cancelled trips + newly scheduled ones was just VERY exhausting. I did it though.  I added lifers(new birds seen in my life). 

                                                                           End of year hopes  

When not chasing new species around the globe, I keep up my challenges by working on 3 lists closer to home.  These personal challenges are fun and make birding more exciting.  I keep lists for Arizona, Pima and Manitowoc Counties. 

In Manitowoc County, home to my family in Wisconsin, I added 3 new county birds and a lifer bringing my overall total to 190.  On a walk to the lighthouse, I added these 3 birds below, the Gray-cheeked Thrush, an Eastern Meadowlark and Baird's Sandpiper.  I always wonder what my real bird list would be if I lived there the entire year.  It was a quick trek home with my birding primarily done in the morning.

Now onto Pima County! I had to wait until this last day of 2022 because I added 2 new birds to my county list!!!  That's how crazy winter has been here.  On this last day, I added Rusty Blackbird and Scarlet Tanager!!!  These are mega rarities, especially for Pima.  For most of the year, I had slow adds but beginning in October, things got crazy. I added 8 new birds and now have a total of 395 birds for the county!!!  That is truly exciting.  Let's take a look.  The Scarlet Tanager was easy as was the Black-legged Kittiwake.  And to be honest, the Rusty Blackbird was easy with a group of people looking for it together.  The Short-billed Dowitcher was annoying because I had to scrutinize the similar looking Long-billed Dowitchers feeding around the bird! I found the Short-billed after a half hour of ID work.  It was a headache since it didn't call for most of our observation. The Common Grackle was a surprise during my walk at work around the baseball field.  It wasn't chaseable for the public but it was fun to see walking around the irrigated field. The Black-throated Green Warbler was tough because it didn't like to stay still.  That is a super rare warbler for Pima found by my friend Sharon Goldwasser. The one I was most excited for this year was the Varied Thrush.  Sadly this female died at the Wildlife Rescue.  And THE worst one of the bunch was the wayward Lapland Longspur.  I think I visited the site in Marana 4 times before I was able to get a really good visual.  All these birds are really excellent Pima County birds.  5 are so rare that it has been decades since one had been seen! The Black-legged Kittiwake was a shock!

Now onto Arizona state birds!  Then I'll get into the fun storytelling part of my journeys this year. In Arizona, I added a whopping 12 new birds to the list.  None were lifers, but many were shockers!  Get ready for a state first!  

For the state of Arizona, I have now seen 485  species.  This year was a gullapalooza with three new species added!  The Yellow-footed Gull is very rare and was seen up at Lake Havasu.  I believe it was a second record.  The newly renamed Mew Gull is now the Short-billed Gull and that was a fun one to chase.  And lastly the trickier and much further Lesser Black-backed Gull was a not so fun chase in an area that I'm not fond of!  The Least Flycatcher introduced me to a new hotspot.  The Brant was in a ghetto spot and it creeped me out but I wasn't going to dip on this bird again. The Common Grackle was a great start to the year with a fun encounter with Max during our first start of the covid vaccination rollout.  It was great speaking with people again in person. The American Tree Sparrow was located in a very cold place.  I had forgotten to wear jeans on this little trek.  The American Woodcock was a state first and a gamble.  It paid off but it was DIFFICULT!  The Long-tailed Jaeger was super fun.  And most of these birds were somewhat challenging!  The easiest one was the Scarlet Tanager.   That's it for the listing challenges.  Now let's talk about the real work for lifebirds which is my main and most important goal.  Here are the stories behind some of these crazy birds......

Best Bird-the Greater Ani

I had been most excited to see this bird for many years.  There were other birds that I really wanted to observe as well this past year, but this was the one that I wanted to see most.  And in Panama, this large cuckoo was seen around our camp and other areas during my trek down to the Darien and Gamboa.  I think dinosaur looking birds are cool.  What was interesting was that this species of Ani usually flocked in pairs instead of groups like the Smooth-billed or Groove-billed Ani.  And they are BIG!  

The Birds that made me say "meh"

I will admit.  And it's hard to do, but I'll admit it. There are some birds that do not excite me.  Vireos are like that for me.  The Bicknell's Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush are also "2" species that I wasn't particularly excited to see. First off, I really consider those 2 thrushes the same species.  The Bicknell's is a slightly smaller version of the Gray-cheeked Thrush with a prettier vocalization. I get the sense that they will be lumped together down the road.  So finding the Gray-cheeked Thrush was an empty feeling because I feel like I've already seen a version of it.  

Vireos. Some thrushes. And some SANDPIPERS/PEEPS. The Little Stint was the other non-exciting find this year.  What I loved about the search was the company and habitat.  However, if I had to sum up this bird, I'd call it a sassy looking Western Sandpiper. Oh, I felt guilty for getting a lifer and not feeling anything, but when I shared with others my feelings, they shared with me that they've had similar experiences. Maybe some day, I'll see the Little Stint in a different light.  

Special Experience

One of the most emotional experiences for me was birding the Pacific coast of Washington around Port Angeles.  My friend Sydney, in the early years of our friendship, invited me to Sequim to explore.  Not many years later, she moved to Florida and we were never able to explore Olympic National Park together.  This year, as I headed up the mountain, I experienced sadness and had some regret about how we had never shared that experience together. 

As I explored her old stomping grounds where she was post master, I saw roads that I remembered she had named.  I'd turn on Toad road and start laughing.  I remembered her telling me about Kitchen Dick and Hooker roads. I found those on the way to the beautiful Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. It was here I found my first Black Swift.  This was a lifer and thrill. 

It was as beautiful as she had described.  As I wandered those trails alone, I carried in my thoughts all of her stories about these places.  I did these hikes before her funeral.  When I met her friends and family, I began to put together the place and the people and I understood why my friend held Sequim near and dear to her heart. 

My Preferred Habitat to Bird-the mountains of Oregon and Washington

While Panama was a celebration of my 10th year as a birder, it was also a difficult area to bird.  It was humid and often miserable.  My preferred habitats are cold and snowy areas.  So I met up with Khanh and just did some driving around the mountains and their sketchy roads for some incredible sightings. 

We played detective and had so much fun observing some really fun grouse.  Sooty Grouse left tracks in the snow and Khanh followed one set of tracks to this female below.  We watched her feed in the quiet of the snowy mountain.  That was a very special experience. 

The pic below was of a trail that scared the hell out of me.  The weather constantly changed and I was a nervous nellie thinking we'd get trapped on the top. While this is some of my favorite habitat, it's also the scariest.  Elevation is my weakness as a birder. 

Why I Hate Stupid Hunters

While we searched for secretive grouse in Oregon and Washington, we had to be careful not to reveal their locations to hunters.  Not all hunters are good people.  Some are rather stupid.  While behind a truck of Kansas hunters, we saw the idiots pull out their rifles and shoot one of the Spruce Grouse ON THE ROAD!  That is a big no-no!  Hunters are not allowed to shoot on the road because it's dangerous.  They saw us and were about to assassinate the whole covey of Spruce Grouse.  Then they took off because they saw us with cameras and were surprised that we snuck up on them.  Khanh flew out of the car and helped these grouse back up to their mother on the hill. The above pic is a juvenile male who was confused by what was going on.  I stayed in the car to watch for the hunters and Khanh helped these little ones back to safety in the deep forest. Just a reminder to hide your ebird reports on sensitive species.  Hunters AND photographers use our ebird reports to disturb (or kill) these special birds. 

Reflective Experience(10 year anniversary) Gamboa, Panama

After the Darien, I went out on my own.  I stayed with a friend in Gamboa at his canal home.  During that time, I had a lot of anger issues to resolve.  But I also needed to bird.  I just wanted quiet and to be alone.  Ivan was great. We chatted a few times and caught up.  It was good to see him. And it was good to be back to the place where birding sparked something inside of me.

I memorized all the little details I could about the home.  How the floor creaked.  How it had that old home smell.  How it had character.  I remembered the first birders I ever met sitting in the dining room discussing at our candlelit dinners their finds.  It was my first step into the birding world.  I just hadn't known it at the time.  

As I approach 50, I begin to see the mortality around me.  It makes each of these experiences now much more meaningful. I know that every day must count.  And when I see people again, I take the time to speak with them because I may never see them again.  I have lost too many people this year.  My friends have also lost too many people.  And it wasn't from covid.  Life is full of unexpected surprises and consequences. I can't take these things for granted anymore.  There are no guarantees.  

Most Challenging-Great Green Macaw

The Great Green Macaw reminded me that I'm getting older. This was an excellent find in the Darien and a lifer.  This parrot is critically endangered in most of its range.  There was a patch of undisturbed rain forest on this ranch.  We were hoping for the Harpy Eagle, but we got the Great Green Macaw instead.  

The one mile hike up the mud sucking trail nearly killed me.  I started off and lost my mud boots!  I was offered a horse, but I declined.  As we reached the summit, I was almost out of water.  The people who lived on the ranch had no issues at all, but I was not feeling it.  I slid down the mud trail into the dark forest where I was bitten up by many mosquitoes. As we returned back to the ranch, I ran out of water and nearly passed out in the mud.  Thankfully, there was a horse nearby and I was able to ride back down.  Had that horse not been there, I would have been in big trouble.  I sweat so much and had to constantly drink water.  Living in the desert, I am always aware of this, but there are times when these things can still happen.  I shared some water with others who needed it, but when it came time for me to drink, I was out and there's a lesson in there somewhere.  I just don't know what it is. 

I learned scope pictures with my iphone are often better than my professional camera gear in the dark forest conditions.  That day I passed out from exhaustion and slept well.  It was the only day that I slept well in the Darien.   

Best Chases

I love snipe, rails and woodcocks.  When an American Woodcock showed up in Portal, it was a no brainer.  There was a small group of birders who banded together and we got to see this first Arizona state record.  What a treat!

Another exciting moment happened in McAllen, Texas.  We went to chase the Green Parakeets.  These birds are so cool.  But I also love playing detective.  It makes the birding much more fun.  And Gordon and I were having a blast. As the sunset over this ugly city, we saw a cloud of green yappy parakeets flying over to the telephone lines.  WOW!

Most Spiritual Moment

Manakins are very special birds to me.  If I had a spirit bird, I think it would be this family of birds.  During a moment in Gamboa, I had this male Blue-crowned Manakin fly up to me.  We spent a lot of time looking at each other in the dark forest.  He followed me around for a bit on the trails and it was a special experience. 

Prettiest Bird

I don't know. This is a matter of opinion.  To be honest, there were many beautiful birds, but the coloring on this Green Jay below is unreal!  This subspecies can be found in southern Texas. 

Most Cryptic Bird

The Common Pauraque was a challenge, but eventually we were able to pick out this amazing bird from the leaves. 

Best Surprise

In Port Angeles, WA, while on a spit in the ocean, 2 River Otters came out of the ocean and started digging around me.  

Then I looked over to my right and had the closest views I've ever had of Harlequin Ducks!!!!

Weirdest Looking Bird

The Red-billed Scythebill, from the Darien in Panama, is the craziest looking bird I've seen this year.  That bill is unreal!

Most Spontaneous Trek-Roosevelt Lake

A rare Long-tailed Jaeger flew into Arizona during migration.  We went to chase it from the shore.  That was until we decided to get lunch and ran into a friend who just happened to have a pontoon!

The chase was on and we had such a fun and relaxing afternoon on the water getting beautiful close up views of some very rare and special birds. 

I broke my best record ever this year with 745 bird species seen!  That is mind boggling to me. 

I added 143 lifers to my list bringing me closer to that 2000 bird goal in a few years. 

The question now is, what will I do in 2022?  For the first time in awhile, I don't have any plans.  Covid flairs itself up and down.  Flying has become a drag with all the requirements, cancellations, delays etc.  It was nice to end the year quietly and at home.  I wrote down 5 goals.  I have to pay off my bathroom remodel, but I will not restrict myself from living my life.  To celebrate my 50th, I'd like to spend time with some very special birds.  We'll see what this next year brings.  I hope you all have a wonderful new year and thank you for stopping by to read this blog.  All my best!