One Hundred fifty-two down, ninety-eight to go

Bird #152 Louisiana Waterthrush

As I've said all along, one of my goals this year is to see 250 species of birds in Rhode Island. Yesterday, I hit a milestone as my journey edges close to that number. I got my one hundred fiftieth bird. The bird that reached that milestone number was a barn swallow. Later in the day I got a cliff swallow ending my day at 151.

Today, despite leaving the house at 6 am, I only got one new bird, it was a Louisiana Waterthrush that I found at Stepstone Falls.  It was singing up a storm in a tree near the river. Despite being so loud, it took me some time to pinpoint it with the drab grey sky behind it. I hit other spots today, but there wasn't much going on in terms of bird life.

To give myself a chance at 250, I had hoped to reach 150 by May 1. Then when the majority of the migrants came in, I could hopefully concentrate on them. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy to hit 150 with two full birding weekends left in April. Hopefully as I count down from the ninety-eight to reach 250, I'll get quite a few more this month.

As for my place on "the list", I am pleasantly dumbfounded to still be among the leaders well into April. I am still in third place on the list we keep track of our number on. The leader, Jan StJean has seen 159 of the 175 birds. Second place is Carlos Pedro at 157. Of the top nine birders on the list, only one other (Matt Schenck at 144) works a full time job. The other seven are either retired or work 3 days a week or less.To see my name mixed in with some of the best birders I know sort of blows my mind. I do not have feeling of "pride" nor is it a reason to brag, the feeling is more like dumbfounded astonishment. By the way, Matt will not only surpass me, but in the end will obliterate my total. Matt is one of the best birders in Rhode Island and when he decides to go hardcore, I won't be able to keep up.

To reach 250, I need to see 18 more birds than I did last year in Rhode Island (232). But as I wrote before, I really need more than that, because I will not see all of the same 232 as last year. Some of the rare birds from last year won't show up this year. For example, the Little Egret (name not description) was only the second sighting in the state EVER. So very doubtful it will be back. Realistically I need roughly 25 birds I didn't get last year IF I get all of the birds that aren't vagrants. As of right now, I have seen eleven species in 2019 that I did not see in 2018.

Pace really doesn't mean anything when it comes to birding. It doesn't matter if I see a Pectoral Sandpiper in April or September. It counts the same either way. The key is to make sure you get the bird when it is around. That said, I checked to see where I stand against 2018. On April 13, 2018 I had 107 birds compared to the 152 this year. What is more shocking is my 152, is exactly the same number Jan StJean had on April 13 last year. To be on the same pace as her is mind boggling!

I was with Jan when I got birds 150 and 151. When we were walking back to the cars I said, only 99 more to go. To which she said "why 99?. I reminded her my goal is 250.  She said I'd definitely get that at the rate I'm going and to aim higher. Sounds good, But lets worry about 250 first