To 500 and Beyond.......

Stripped Sparrow, this is probably the rarest bird on my year list.  It is the first time one has been recorded north of the Mexico border he was found about 75 miles east of Austin, Texas.  The American Birding Association will probably not count it on their official list because there is no way to prove that this sedentary bird did not receive help getting here.  It is a life bird for me

Most people have hobbies the allow them to pursue some sort of challenge, exercise their minds or their bodies, meet new people or just plain relax doing something they enjoy. But from time to time they find themselves in a position to crank it up a notch and create a challenge beyond the normal activities of the pursuit. In the late seventies, I started to jog for exercise. I remember when I thought I had accomplished big things by running a mile. Then jogging became running and suddenly the whole world was donning trainers and hitting the roads. Races cropped up and everyone increased their millage. Soon I was participating in 10ks and then a half marathon, 13.1 miles. What had been a relaxing morning exercise routine suddenly became an obsession.


I must be pron to this type of challenge. I have always enjoyed a nice relaxing hike in the mountains or along a stream. Even started weekend backpacking excursions where I would put on a fifty pound pack and hike two to five miles into the woods or up to the top of a mountain and camp for the weekend. Very relaxing and enjoyable pastime. Then my wife suggested she wanted to hike all the way from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail in one summer. I wasn't sure I could even do that but we started out one late March morning in 1991 and six months later we had hiked 2,200 miles. This however changed the face of hiking completely. It becomes almost a job, I likened it to working in the factory of the trail where you had to get up every morning and manufacture miles or your goal would not be reached. In fact you have to hike 11.7 miles every day without a day off to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in six months. It is no longer a nice relaxing stroll and in many ways it takes the fun out of hiking. But it is after all a whole new type of hiking.


Any time a hobby is pushed to the extreme, certain aspects of the hobby are lost. This is true of birding as well. I enjoy birding immensely, I like the challenge of identification, I like associating with the people who share the hobby, I like getting out in the fresh air, I just plain like watching birds and seeing what they do. I often just find a bird I like and sit and watch it for a long time to study its behavior. But in the past six months I have set a new bar and it has taken a certain toll on my enjoyment of the hobby.

Rufus-capped Warbler.  This is my favorite North American Warbler.  It is barely a North American Species.  There are only about a dozen records of these birds nesting north of Mexico and that is only in the past fifteen or twenty years.  I have seen them on three other occasions but never like this magical five minutes. 

If I am going to try to see as many species as possible in a year, I am pressured on several levels. I can't just stop and go home if I haven't found all the possible species. Once all the common birds are found, I have to zero in on ones I have not seen and I have to keep searching till I find them. If there is a rare bird reported within a reasonable distance, I have to chase it no matter what the weather is or how it might conflict with what else I might want to do. I am not saying that I am sorry for this new birding challenge but it has taken some of the fun out at times.


There have been positive aspects of the super birding challenge. It has pushed me to explore new places in North America that I have not seen. I have met dozens of really interesting people and have a new network of contacts all over the US My birding skills get better every time I spend more time in the field. An most of all I am really enjoying the enthusiasm and hard work of the Students at Three Sisters Adventist School as they learn about birds and teach me things I didn't know about them. I do not regret this challenge and look forward to see what avian friends await me on the second half of the Big Year.

Northern Wheatear, this is another life bird.  As far as vagrant chases go, this was easy.  We were headed east on I-90 in northern Ohio and I was aware that one had been seen at Headland Dunes State Park on Lake Erie.  Eight miles off the freeway and a short walk to the beach where many local birders were already looking produced the bird fairly quickly.

This now catches me up and there are 82 more species to be found to bring my total over 500, my original stated goal. Happy Birding.


373 Neotropic Cormorant, San Ygnacio, Texas
374 Gray Hawk, San Ygnacio, Texas
375 Cactus Wren, Laredo, Texas
376 White-collared Seedeater, Father McNaboe Park, Laredo, Texas
377 Audubon's Oriole, Salnienio, Texas
378 White-throated Swift, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
379 Say's Phoebe, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
380 Rock Wren, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
381 Canyon Wren, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
382 Canyon Towhee, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
383 Cassin's Sparrow, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
384 Black-throated Sparrow, Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas
385 Gambel's Quail, Deming, New Mexico
386 Black Rosy Finch, Sandia Crest, New Mexico
387 Brown-capped Rosy Finch, Sandia Crest, New Mexico
388 Louisiana Water Thrush, San Pedro Preserve, Arizona
389 Magnificent Hummingbird, Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, Herford, Arizona
390 Acorn Woodpecker, Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, Herford, Arizona
391 Bridled Titmouse, Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, Herford, Arizona
392 Rufus-crowned Sparrow, Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, Herford, Arizona
393 Scott's Oriole, Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, Herford, Arizona
394 Arizona Woodpecker, Hauchuca Canyon, Arizona
395 Sinaloa Wren, Hauchuca Canyon, Arizona
396 Townsend's Warbler, Hauchuca Canyon, Arizona
397 Hepatic Tanager, Hauchuca Canyon, Arizona
398 Broad-billed Hummingbird, Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, Arizona
399 Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Paton's Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, Arizona
400 Elegant Trogan, Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona
401 Plumbeous Vireo, Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona
402 Cassin's Vireo, Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona
403 Rufous-winged Sparrow, Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona
404 Botteri's Sparrow, Patagonia Road, Arizona, near Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona
405 Mexican Jay, Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, Herford, Arizona
406 Yellow-eyed Junco, Madera Canyon, Arizona
407 Costa's Hummingbird, Florida Canyon, Arizona
408 Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Florida Canyon, Arizona
409 Rufous-capped Warbler, Florida Canyon, Arizona
410 Guilded Flicker, Buckeye, Arizona
411 Bendire's Thrasher, Buckeye, Arizona
412 Le Conte's Thrasher, Buckeye, Arizona
413 Cliff Swallow, Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona
414 Rosy-faced Lovebird, Granada Park, Phoenix, Arizona
415 Baltimore, Oriole, Sweet Water Wetlands, Tuscon, Arizona
416 Phainopepla, Colorado River Nature Center, Bullhead City, Airzona
417 Pine Grosbeak, Santiam Pass, PCT, Cascade mountains of Oregon
418 Mountain Bluebird, Santiam Pass, PCT, Cascade mountains of Oregon
419 Black-backed Woodpecker, Santiam Pass, PCT, Cascade mountains of Oregon

Another Neo-tropical Warbler from south of the border, I have seen this guy once before in south Texas and I had to make five visits to this park before I got this view. 

The larger bird is a Hook-billed Kite, one of the rarest North American raptors.  They are seen extensively in Central and South America but only make it across the Rio Grande River into South Texas in a couple of places and are really hard to find.  I staked out this spot four times before I got this flyover.  The smaller bird is a Sharp-shinned Hawk who was not happy with the kite.

Probably the rarest North American Oriole, the Audubon's Oriole has a fairly small range that involves mostly central and north east Mexico.  But it does stray across the Rio Grande River in a couple spots and is reliable at feeders that are manned during the winter in Salineno, Texas.