Birding Hot Spots Produce More Birds For The List

Kootani National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho

As you travel around your town, state, and country or the world, you will find birds everywhere you go. Certain areas however, often because of their location and a mix of habitats, are recognized as especially good locations for birds. Birders refer to these as hotspots. Some areas are more productive during a certain time of year, so do a little planning before taking a trip to one of these locations. A couple of local hotspots in Deschutes county are Shevlin Park, the First Street River Trail, and the Hatfield Reclamation Ponds out by the airport. Two state hot spots that are within a days drive of Bend are Klammath National Wildlife Refuge and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, I saw the first one when I was 8 years old and consider this my "spark" bird

Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota

As I have been traveling acrouss this vast country of ours, I have been trying to concentrate my birding efforts at some of these hot spots. If you are trying to put together the biggest list of birds, you would of course want to bird in areas that have the most birds. Most national wildlife refuges have concentrations of birds and other wildlife but many of them have specific habitat and only attract certain families of birds. A hot spot usually has several different types of habitat.

On this trip I was fortunate to visit one of the top ten Hot Spots in North America. The mix of coastal woods and marshes along the southeastern tip of New Jersey located on the Delaware Bay makes Cape May one of the hottest birding locations in the country. More than 400 species have been recorded. Spring and fall migrations can be outstanding, with 30 species of warblers possible on a single day. I had heard that a Whiskered Tern, a bird normally found in Europe and wintering in Africa, was being seen regularly. As often happens with this type of report, by the time I got there, the bird had moved on. But it was an enjoyable two days and as you have seen on the list I added several new birds. The list continues to grow as the Amazing Bird Race continues.

Cape May Hawk Watch

Black-throated Blue Warbler eating a spider

New Birds for the list:

167 Snowy Egret, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

168 Laughing Gull, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

169 Mute Swan, Cape May, New Jersey

170 Green Heron, Cape May, New Jersey

171 Royal Tern, Cape May, New Jersey

172 Fish Crow, Cape May, New Jersey

173 Brown Thrasher, Cape May, New Jersey

174 Black Vulture, Cape May, New Jersey

175 Eastern Phebe, Cape May, New Jersey

176 Field Sparrow, Cape May, New Jersey

177 Common Grackle, Cape May, New Jersey

178 Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cape May, New Jersey

179 Chimney Swift, Williamsport, Maryland

180 Tufted Titmouse, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

181 Blackpole Warbler, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

182 Spotted Sandpiper, Bowdoin Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Montana

183 Pileated Woodpecker, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia