December birding

So, despite setting up this blog this past summer (August perhaps?), I'm sitting around recovering from getting my wisdom teeth pulled this morning..... might as well give this thing a kickoff.

2009 is coming to a close waaaaay too fast....

Notable events of the year?

March - May were largely spent in Maine, as I was the Official Hawkcounter for the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch near Pownal, Maine.

That's about it!


I spent 2 months living in Maine doing quite a bit of birding, although looking back I wish I would have birded more while I was out there, but I ended my time out there with a respectable 190 species.


That brings me to my next topic..... I'm looking at my lists for the year (I am an avid lister, afterall), and my Iowa year list sits at a meager 178 species. That is impressive for two reasons, #1, my Maine list is higher than my Iowa list, despite living in Iowa for 5 times as long this year..... and #2, this will be my lowest Iowa annual list since at least 2003 (163 species if I remember right)...


Maine is on my mind a lot right now. I just started planning for a 10 day trip (give or take) in August of 2010, which I'm already getting very excited about. Smack it right between summer and fall semesters of college and I shouldn't have an issue.

That said, I'm making it a goal to see (yes, see) 300 species of birds in Maine by 2015. I'll make that goal, but all said, I REALLY want to reach that by the end of 2012, so we'll see.



Back to Iowa?

Well, seeing as it is CBC season afterall, that is about the highlight of my winter break. I've only participated on 2 thus far, the Buchanan County CBC and the Ames CBC.

I started the Buchanan Co. count last season, seeing 34 species in its introductory count. It was a SPECTACULAR count this year, with 48 species recorded on Wed, Dec 16th (less feeder counts). By far and away, the highlight was a single LINCOLN'S SPARROW that another field party found. A single HARRIS'S SPARROW was likely the highlight of the 37 species my field party (Kelly McKay and myself) found. An interesting side note, it was the Junco-iest count I've ever participated on, with a count total of 1,144 (again, less feeder counts).

Regardless, it was a huge success and I can't wait to conduct this count next year. I will likely register this count with National Audubon as well for next count season.


Unfortunatley, I was unable to hold the Northwest Clayton County CBC this season for lack of interest, but I will still be holding the Southeast Clayton County CBC on Tues, Jan 5th.

Looking ahead to the rest of the CBC season, I'll most likely be laid up for the rest of the week between my wisdom teeth and working, yet I'm still tossing the idea of the Lamoni CBC on the 29th, but it doesn't look promising.

CBC plans for the rest of the season:

Nelson CBC (WI) - 2 Jan
Cassville CBC (WI) - 3 Jan
Andalusia CBC (IL) - 4 Jan
SE Clayton Co. CBC (IA) - 5 Jan

Pending on how I feel, I might also do a partial day on the Worth Co CBC (northern IA) on New Years Day, on my drive up to Nelson, Wisconsin..... but it's not permanent.


Kelly McKay and I have worked on CBCs several times over the past few years and is likely my most common associate when I participate on CBCs. His passion is the Christmas Bird Count season, which runs from Dec 14-Jan 5. I believe he is #3 on the All-Time list for CBC participation, with my Buchanan Co. CBC being his 290th career CBC. He is also running a CBC "marathon" this year, participating in a different CBC each day of the count period. It is no easy task! Trying to find a different count for each day of the count period is hard enough in itself, but to say that this will be Kelly's 3rd CBC Marathon is incredible. Kelly is an extremely knowledgable biologist and it is always a pleasure to bird with him (but I must note that birding with Kelly is "hardcore birding" at its finest).

After the compilation of the Buchanan Co count, I decided to tabulate my current CBC total.... at 31 career CBCs. I have since particpated in the Ames CBC, which brings me to 32 CBCs. Needless to say, I have a long way to go to catch Kelly.


About time to catch some food and rest for the evening. Stay tuned....