Winged Wednesday XII: 99 Common Birds
Scott Richardson ~ 2006-12-27
I’ve made checkmarks on a copy of “99 Common Birds,” our brochure listing the most expected species at the Wells Reserve, and although my Reserve bird list for 2006 contains 106 species, I only got 80 of the 99 “common” ones.
While I saw some tricky species—Snow Goose, Tricolored Heron, Laughing Gull, Fish Crow, Field Sparrow—I missed some that point to holes in my coverage and make me wonder if I simply forgot to write them down. How could I have missed Bufflehead, Broad-winged Hawk, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and American Redstart? By not being in the right place at the right time, I suppose.
I’ll keep listing the birds I see at the Wells Reserve, where about 240 species have been recorded by scores of observers. By the end of 2007, I hope I can tally all 99 “common” birds and half again as many “less common” ones.
Weather permitting, I’ll start my list on January 3 at 9 am. Join me?
UPDATE January 3: To the beach and back, an hour out, and 15 “common” species in the log.
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