Halfway There

Bird #123 Pileated Woodpecker

There is no way I can compete with the top birders in Rhode Island. Although I am currently in third place, I have no chance of coming in the top five no matter how hard I bird. First and foremost the top birders are simply better than me. On top of that, most of them are retired and spend many days a week birding. Lastly, I like to fish too much. So instead of competing against the Jan StJean's and Matt Schenck's of the world, I am competing with myself and the birds.

Late last year, I decided for 2019 I was going to see how many species I could see in Rhode Island. Really putting forth effort will mean less trips to Plum Island. It would mean more chases after work to see rare birds that have been reported. It may even mean (deep breath) missing out on some fishing. Doing this "Big Year" is a challenge I'm enjoying but have no desire to repeat next year (next year I want to take trips to Plum Island and Cape May, NJ in May).

My goal this year is 250 species of birds. This is a doable number but by no means guaranteed. Today I reached the halfway point of that goal. I saw three species today, bringing my total for the year (in Rhode Island) to 125.

For statistics sake- There have been 152 species seen so far this year. The top birder has seen 137. To only be 12 birds behind the leader leaves me ecstatic. To put that in perspective as of March 1 last year there were 151 species seen and I had seen 72. The leader had 132.

This morning I went to Fisherville Audubon Sanctuary and looked for a Pileated Woodpecker. I found it and saw it a few times as it was bouncing from tree to tree. From there I went down the Narragansett coast looking for but not seeing any Bonaparte Gulls.

Next I went to Trustom. I took my scope out to the water looking for a Pied Billed Grebe without any luck. But I did see a Hermit Thrush which was a bird I am happy to see early in the year. Lastly, after sitting in traffic in two places and taking almost two hours to get home, I stopped at Lonsdale Marsh to see the Wood Ducks that my friends Dick and Marge Bradley found earlier today.

Birders are a pretty unselfish lot. They are happy to share information with the group. Quite a few of the good birds were reported by others, I've gotten to see because of their unselfishness. I have become pretty close with a few birders and have even enjoyed a nice supper with them after celebrating a Short Eared Owl. The above mentioned Jan StJean, has been pushing me to make sure I chase the rare ones and double checks that I saw the reports. She has been very helpful. The point is birding can be a team game and we all do better when we help each other. I am always glad to help other birders and have appreciated help I have received.

 I hit 232 last year which means I need to get another 18 species that I didn't see last year to reach 250. In truth I need more than that. There are just some species that were so rare last year there is almost no chance of seeing them this year. Some of these rarities are Scissor Tailed Flycatcher, Curlew Sandpiper, and Little Egret. There are others. Some birds are rare enough where one might show up a year such as Hudsonian Godwit. Those birds I will have to chase and hopefully be lucky enough to find. As of right now, I have seen eight species this year that I did not see last year in Rhode Island (three of them lifebirds, Barnacle Goose, Cackling Goose, and Evening Grosbeak). Whether  I reach 250 or not is still a long way away. That said, I am very happy with my start.

Bird #54, January 4
Brown Pelican