The World, State, County and Home

                                                         True fans of the Pima Fan-tailed Warbler!
 Our lives are so brief on this planet.  As a kid, it seemed like forever.  And as we get older, it flies by.  Birding reminds me that I cannot wait.  Do it now or waste the precious time left. Sometimes I have to choose how to use my "free time" to bird because home improvement gets in the way. And sometimes life gets in the way. No matter what the reason, "progress" needs to be made every year on those lists.  My general focus is on world birds, but if I'm working AND I'm around home, then I work on my Arizona state, county and home lists(my patch/yard). 

In 2022, I had different goals.  One of them was to pay off all my debt which required some budgeting, and it was well worth it.  It also took me awhile to come up with a travel plan.  The idea of sitting in planes with masks on for long hours was not fun.  All during the month of January I stressed out about how I would tackle the year. And by the end of it all, I added 28 new bird species to my life list! 

Military Macaws were high on my list.  After studying habitat requirements, I was lucky enough to find 2 pairs around the Puerto Vallarta area.  Ebird records for this species are hidden. 

Back in Arizona, I added 9 new bird species seen in the state. My favorite chase has to be the one for the White-tipped Dove in the Huachuca Mountains.  Anytime I get to bird on base in those canyons, I am a happy camper. The rest were up in Phoenix around some pretty areas.  The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was an easy one but we made it difficult by walking around the entire lake.  I nearly passed out because I ran out of water.  My legs were all scratched up.  I hate birding in our summers.  Easy birding is where I am at now.  Hikes are fine in winter; not in summer. 

While none of the new Arizona birds were lifers from the world list, they were of interest.  Of significant note is the White-tipped Dove.  It's a first record for the state.  We've been waiting for years on this one to show up since they are very close to the border.  A Nutting's Flycatcher finally made it into Pima County. A surprising power combo of difficult warblers showed including very rare Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers! Rare vireos were in good supply with perhaps birders realizing that we all need to look at our Cassin's Vireos closer because a Blue-headed might be in the mix. 

Back in Pima county, where I work and live, I made headway in the new species department.  I groaned a lot on this drive but I finally put the LeConte's Thrasher on the list of "must do's".  I waited years to chase this one since it doesn't live in my favorite habitat, hot desert scrub. While they are easier to find in Arizona, a Bald Eagle or Horned Grebe is not easy to find in Pima County.  However, they were easy chases (and also one day wonders).  The not-so-exciting Nutting's Flycatcher made for an exciting chase into a remote and beautiful area near the Rincon mountains where I had never been.  There, a boulder lodged itself into the casing unit of my car.  That made for a stressful exit, but I took a breath and with some ingenuity, we were able to escape intact. A shocking Tufted Flycatcher showed up on Mt. Lemmon for a few days as did a White-eared Hummingbird at the Sonoran Desert Museum.  But to cap off the king for all Mexican migrants, a Fan-tailed Warbler showed up in Pima and it was GO! There was also one in Maricopa county for the Maricopa listers. 

Brown-headed Nuthatches in the Everglades with Homer were my first lifers for 2022. My travel for this year marks some very fun time spent with Homer in Florida, Khanh in Arizona, Oregon and Washington, a lone trip out to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico meeting up with Antonio Robles for a day and a California road trip out to the Orange County with my friend Celeste. These trips were to spend time with friends but also study a focused set of birds, including ones I wanted better views of. 

The Swinhoe's white-eye was the last lifer for the year.  While an exotic to California, it has spread all along the coast making it very countable in my books.  

I also found it difficult to get away from home again.  The house projects are draining all my energy....and um, birding money:)  This year, I put in new ceiling fans, adopted new leather furniture, finished the first bathroom and started the second one, replaced the dishwasher and water heater, put in a cat window, finished the ceiling tiles, and supervised the painting of the outdoor iron doors and railings. Next year it's new granite counter tops and sinks. 

So while I've been home watching the world pass me by, I've been watching my feeders closely this year.  I had 4 new bird species show up at our urban yard!  It brings the total for the property up to 81 species in a mostly urban concrete world. Red-naped Sapsucker, Greater Roadrunner, Pyrrhuloxia and CASSIN'S FINCHES(above) all showed up for a day or few days!  Cassin's Finches are rare in Pima County and even rarer for midtown!

Overall, the year was moderately slow for excellent rarities, but November was an over-the-top month full of crazy discoveries. A lot of the rarities we had this year were typical of rarities that generally show up every year in our areas.  You can always expect a Eurasian Wigeon (followed by a "how pure is this Eurasian?" conversation with birders), Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Parula, etc etc.  They were once exciting to chase but not anymore.   

The armchair tick happened some time in August with a new species split from meadowlarks.  Today we are finally proud to say with confidence that Chihuahuan Meadowlarks, not Eastern Meadowlarks, rule southeastern Arizona's grasslands. We have been saying it for years but this year it was finally recognized as its own species.  Bye bye Lilian's subspecies.  Note that this bird is overall whiter/paler in color to its Eastern Meadowlark counterpart. 

Of course the adventures will continue as we discover new habitat as only birders can do. Every time we find a new hotspot, we unlock another level of birder expertise. 

I still chase my favorites like Bonaparte's Gulls(above) or Lark Buntings(below), but I generally bird local now and away from the chases.  I can't stand the Group Me links.  Between the constant ding of a "rare" bird and birders squawking at each other, I was going mad. I deleted them all. There are subsects of birder groups that clash.  Birding should be fun.  I pretty much like everyone in the birding community. 

"Although let me tell you about those Phoenix birders....🤣" I joke. 

But I'm not into that competitive stuff. There's no reason for people to be mean to each other unless of course they are bad for the environment....as in endangering a bird in the wild. There are some photographers and birders that can cross those lines.  For certain birds, I hide my reports. The less I know what is going on between the personalities; the better off I am. However, I do like the juicy gossip. It's like shutting off the news on TV.  My reports come hourly for important notifications from ebird. No fuss; no hassle. 

This year I struggled to put together an agenda because I had a lot going on in my head and at home. Planning won't be difficult for 2023 and 2024 as things are all starting to fall in place. Next year Gordon and I will chase yet another North American grouse on a lek somewhere in Nebraska. Then it's off to Wisconsin for 2 or 3 rare warblers.  My work has also focused on research around Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Ecuador.  And I've finally tied the knot for a 2024 trek back into West Africa for several birds that I have wanted to see for years while also finally saying goodbye to my friend Sydney as I take her ashes back to the islands of Cape Verde where we met during our work with Peace Corps(that's a run on sentence for sure!). Life is an amazing journey. 

During my final days of the 2022 year, I find myself driving through the grasslands. It's a place of happiness and a place where Short-eared Owls, White-tailed Kites and Pronghorn rule. It's also a place where I best reflect on the days past.  Happy birding to you all!  I hope 2022 was good for you and that 2023 is full of adventure and smiles. Share your stories. I love reading about them!  The wins and the dreadful dips.  It's good to review your work and share your adventures.  Until next time......Happy Holidays!