New Records for 2016 Fall 2016 |
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Every year I keep lists of birds seen in my yard for each of the 12 months and every year I challenge myself to see more species in a given month than I've ever seen before. It may have been the weather associated with El Nino, but whatever the case I was able to set new records for 7 out of the 12 months of the year, some of which may stand for a long time to come. |
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January The biggest surprise of the year may have come at the very end of January when I noticed this male rose-breasted grosbeak looking for seeds at my feeders. Normally in Central and South America during the winter months, he was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. His presence may make the January 2016 record of 29 species impossible to beat. |
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July A common bird, the great crested flycatcher was one of the species that tipped me over the edge into record territory. This particular individual is looking a little ragged after splashing around in the stream that runs through my meadow. Prior to this year the July record was 51 species. This year I smashed that number and set a new record of 57!
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August The installation of my "Thinking Chair" is probably what allowed me to obliterate a record for the second month in a row. This simple Adirondack chair is set up at the northern edge of the meadow behind my house, which gives me a commanding view of the landscape with the sun to my back. Long hours spent in this wonderful spot allowed me to capture a photograph of a female (or juvenile) scralet tanager. The old record for August was 42. This year's new record is 50!
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September The third consecutive month with a new record, September relied on another flycatcher to get the job done. This eastern wood-pewee was photographed from the Thinking Chair and it helped me reach a new record of 36 species, narrowly beating the previous record of 34. |
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Copyright 2017 William Danielson |
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