eBird Recap - 2021
I initially conceived of the idea to do some sort of eBird recap in late 2021 and was thinking about it with some regularity in early 2022. I think the original spark came from a conversation with Nicole Richardson when I visited the Chelan Ridge Hawkwatch. She was talking about a great eBird list from when she was birding the Canadian prairies with James Kennerley earlier that summer. In just a short stretch of road, they had found a good raptor trapping spot (a highlight for Nicole), and a wetland with a diversity of shorebirds (a highlight for James). That got me thinking about what my favorite checklists would be, which progressed into wanting to do a whole write up.
I spent time in the first months of 2022 thinking about this project. I tried to think about what my selection parameters were for my favorite lists and began compile those favorites. Actual writing or serious progress failed to materialize, and as I become busier and busier, it shifted further into my back burners. In October, I brought up the idea in a conversation with my friend, Griffin Drake, which provided the impetus for me to return to this project. Flashforward to present day (2024), and this piece has been mostly completed for over a year. I knew I wanted to put it out on this website, but life intervened to delay the creation of this website until now. Fear not though, I will probably fill in the intermediate years (2022-2023) with like pieces.
I did a lot of birding in 2021. Measured with eBird checklists, it was more birding than I’ve ever done (536 lists more). My total of 1,316 was the first time I broke 1,000 lists in a year (an appealing threshold that I hope to continue passing). The reason I was able to fit so much birding in is because I spent May onward taking time off from school, while largely not working. The total is partially driven by several intensive trips that I undertook throughout the year. In terms of birding output, my two-week journey through Montana in late May – early June tops the list by a significant margin. I completed 277 checklists over 15 days, averaging ~18 lists per day. A stunning output, if I do say so, especially because I largely birded alone. Now, I think there are A LOT of incidentals, as I was trying to county list in almost everyone of the 31 Montana counties I visited. That means every 100 miles or whatever, I’m doing another incidental for a sandhill crane, common raven, red-winged blackbird, yellow-headed blackbird, Swainson’s hawk, etc., etc. It worked though, because I achieved my goal of a minimum of 20 species in every county in Montana, but perhaps further writing on that should be confined to another piece. The point is, that trip was high on birding and low(er) on driving, compared to my two-month cross country road trip, which was lower on birding and very high on driving. In a little over two months, I traveled ~15,000 miles, went fully from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic (stopped by the Gulf of Mexico on the way), drove through a total of 32 states. My output was “only” 340 checklists in 67 days, an average of ~5 per day. I did manage over 100 species more, with ~306 compared to the exactly 200 I had in Montana alone. For those wondering, on neither of these trips did I have the intent to maximize either species or checklists. I had certain target species, but also wanted to explore and enjoy the birding.
In addition to these major trips, I had ten or so day-long to week-long trips, where birding was the primary or significant component.
Favorite eBird Lists
One of those joyous times when something that is a bit of crapshoot works out. Zack and I were birding the north side of Flathead Lake, looking for Gyrfalcon and Snowy Owl, but there was a Glaucous Gull around. It had been reported at the Flathead County Landfill, north of Kalispell, and from the Flathead Lake WMA, on the north shore of Flathead Lake, where the gull flock roosted. We were birding at Porter Ranch Barn, which is right on the path “as the gull flies” from the dump to the lakeshore. It was something we had thought of, exactly when, I do not recall, but I think there was an element of “Maybe this Glaucous Gull will just fly overhead.” Well, we were birding there in late afternoon, and then gulls started passing overhead, and all of a sudden two really pale gulls cruise by. Compared to the Herring and Ring-bills they were with; they were pretty distinctive.
A great way to add another state bird to my list, as well as something I’ve started calling a “re-lifer.” I may write more on that idea in the future, but the idea is not remembering you’ve seen a species, or having it been a long time since you saw it, such that it feels like you’re seeing it for the first time.
My last year of undergrad was a rough one. The combination of covid and an involved senior thesis was quite spectacularly shit. Suffice to say, I was happy to be done with school. I don’t recall the exact day I finished up, but it was probably around Friday, May 1st. This was the first proper birding outing I did after finishing, and it felt like a good celebration of being done, and of having the freedom to bird as much as I wanted.
There were other lists that day, but this was easily the culminating one. Six hours, and a full loop of the auto tour route.
I took things pretty chill. I definitely was not operating at full mental capacity, so there was a point in the middle when was looking at shorebirds, and then got frustrated and took a bit of break from actively birding, had some food, and then carried on. It took me two hours to even begin the proper auto tour route because I was combing through the picnic area. This effort yielded a Sharp-tailed Grouse, White-crowned Sparrow, and Lincoln’s Sparrow in and among the hedgerows. I think I was hoping to find something crazy, or at least really interesting. I don’t think any of these species really met that expectation, but three solid finds do add up to something.
I got a taste of classic Montana weather throughout. Wind picked up throughout and then there was some rain 4 hours in, before clearing up.
The species total was 64. At some point I think I’d like to figure out how many lists I have with 60 or more species, because I don’t think it’s that many. It seems like it could be a good benchmark for really good lists (or lists in productive habitat that are too long and cover too much distance). The top species was probably Western Sandpiper. It’s one that I had been thinking about as a target for my state list for a while, but shorebirds are a rare commodity in Missoula County, and my few trips to Lake County had not yielded it.
For all the struggles I’ve had with IDing shorebirds, I felt pretty good about this one.
Skipping ahead to late October, my birthday in fact. It feels weird to not include any lists from what was such a productive summer of birding but such is the wealth of options, and many will not be included. This was an incredible evening, a fantastic end to a good day. This was my first pilgrimage to the Salton Sea. It had been on my list for a while. It is such a good birding spot, and is drying up, so I had a sense that I needed to see it before it disappeared. It had been a successful day, albeit with some confusion regarding access. There’s a lot of hotspots on eBird, and then the access is all farm roads, which seem like potentially they don’t have access, even though it’s probably fine.
Annnyyywaaayyyy… I arrived at this spot in the evening, as sunset was nearing. The bird activity was incredible. There were thousands of white geese on the road in, and hundreds of birds foraging in the wetlands as I pulled in. It felt overwhelming and I was torn between wanting to experience and take in the spectacle, while also knowing I needed to get some semblance of counts before everything flew out to roost. I guess that is a downside of my eBird habit, is the need to get counts.
The spectacle was incredible. The wetlands were covered with ducks and shorebirds. The evening light made a beautiful scene but did not aid my identification. The birds on the ground were impressive but were easily trumped by things moving out and coming into roost. There were flocks of 40-70 white-faced ibis overhead, but most impressive were the curlews. Nowhere else have I seen so many curlews together. A bird I am used to seeing in ones and twos on their breeding grounds in the uplands, or in the fives and tens in winter and migration, I was now seeing in the hundreds and thousands. It was hard to believe I could possibly be seeing that many.
The Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. America to the north, Mexico to the south, good birds all around. Exotic neotropical species reach their northern extent there, while others that extend further into the United States are common there. It is one of the major birding destinations within the US, for those seeking a taste of tropical species, without leaving the country. It is littered with famous birding hotspots, from Estero Llano Grande SP, to South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center, to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley SP. These are well and good and contain many exciting and notable species, but they are all trumped in sheer spectacle by a Target parking lot.
You might wonder how a parking lot set among box stores can top any birding related ranking (except perhaps when an equal ratio of house sparrows to parking spots is desired). The answer is that this is a huge roost site for Great-tailed Grackles, Bronzed Cowbirds, and the star of the show, Green Parakeets. They are classified as a Mexican endemic, with a nominate subspecies found from Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas south to Veracruz, and another at the intersection of Sonora, Sinaloa, and Chihuahua. This nominate population reaches its limit just south of the border with the US, and the populations along that border in the US are considered introduced, although the possibility of natural dispersal is not out of the question. Either way, it is an exciting species, and though I subscribe to arguments that species are best enjoyed in their native ranges, I do believe it can be exciting to see them where they are introduced.
Back to the spectacle. While the 200 hundred-some parakeets were what I came for, the spectacle was created by the thousands of grackles. It was pandemonium. My list tallies 8000 Great-tailed Grackles, plus 750 Bronzed Cowbirds (likely many more, but sometimes it’s best to fly just under the radar of reviewers and eBird filters), and 1000 European Starlings. The masses of blackbirds were hectic, amid the already hectic scene of the parking lot during late rush hour. After slowly birding through a relatively quiet Bentsen in the heat, it was so much happening in one small area, and such an exceeding of expectations.
Aplomado Falcon was a big target coming into South Texas. I think falcons are pretty sweet birds out of the box, but the plumage, combined rarity, especially with the US, of Aplomados really elevates their mythos. I knew the areas and had looked for them several times, but they are not a guarantee. I heard this was a potential site for them and had birded it before and found it quite pleasant. When I came back in the evening the next day, it was getting towards the end of my time in South Texas, so I was running out of chances to see this bird.
There was another birding group along the start of the road when I arrived. We birded alongside each other for a bit, before I carried on down the road and they headed off. This gave me a boost to feel like I was more committed. I think based on eBird reports, I knew this was a spot for Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, a lifer for me.
In the area with the whistling-ducks, the road was flooded, so I stopped and put on rain boots to walk further. I got looks at the whistling-ducks as light was fading, but the ID was still clear. I was also scanning for aplomados, but with the decreasing light, was becoming more doubtful. Whilst enjoying the ducks, and wondering how long I should stay, I turned around and saw an aplomado on the wire. It was shades of the Northern Hawk Owl I saw with Graydon in the Swan Valley in early 2020. So much effort searching, scanning, not seeing, wondering how long to stay… and then… turnaround and there it is.
It was amazing to see them. With such good looks at a pair. There was also a satisfaction of my commitment being rewarded.
My cross-country road trip was long. I visited a lot of friends and family, and that made the whole trip possible. Despite that, it was a lot of time solo and a lot of driving. By late November I was in Boston, approaching 6 weeks of my trip, and getting pretty grouchy. While Boston is similarly gray and depressing to Portland in winter, it wasn’t helping me feel less homesick (and in fact I was like, “wow, this place really sucks”).
On this day I was out to the northwest of Boston, procuring some tasty treats to enjoy with my friend Griffin. As I have done many times, I saved my daily eBird list until the end of the day, causing mild panic as I searched for a place to do a list as light was fading. There were a limited number of nearby eBird hotspots, but this place was close, and had a compelling name.
This is a five-species list. Neither the species themselves nor the number of them will blow the doors off anyone. Because of the sunset hour, I had to grind a little to find and identify any birds. But it felt like a special place. Being so far from home, even though the place wasn’t something I would recognize, it felt comforting and familiar.