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Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: April 12th, 2014, 5:31 pm
by J-Miz
chrish wrote:
J-Miz wrote:Got a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher here in northern Ohio today.
Very cool. Scissor-taileds are neat birds. Now you need your keen-eyed birder to pick out a Fork-tailed. ;)
That would be awesome, but I'm guessing that's more likely in late fall. I might go back and see the scissor-tailed once more. You better appreciate your TX birds...I believe I remember you saying Green Jay was a trash bird! I'll take that bird any day.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: April 15th, 2014, 8:37 pm
by Coluber Constrictor
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia), Dauphin Island, AL today.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: April 19th, 2014, 9:32 am
by krismunk
Another long overdue species, the short eared owl, my fourth lifer of the year.

Short eared owls aren't all that rare in Denmark (at least not during migration) but they're a bird of the western parts of the country where I never seem to find the time to go to.

Last week I was on holiday with my family. I guess I was in the right habitat at the right time of year but I hadn't thought about owls at all. Then, early one evening as I was kneeding dough I casually glanced out the kitchen window to see one fly by perhaps 50 yards away and seemingly land in the dunes nearby :)

I raced out the door with my camera but didn't find the bird again...

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 2nd, 2014, 10:30 am
by Crimson King
many of the migrants ( mostly warblers) I've seen this year are lifers, at least to photo.

http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... 19&t=13572

:Mark

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 6th, 2014, 7:32 pm
by Curtis Hart
I just got back from a quick trip to California. I picked up California Gnatcatcher, Cassin's Vireo, Le Conte's Thrasher, Nuttall's Woodpecker, and Black-throated Gray Warbler.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 13th, 2014, 3:14 am
by Freddy81
My latest lifters in Sweden is:
The sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) that also was a new bird sp for Sweden.

Then the Caspian Plover (Charadrius asiaticus) that also was a new bird sp for Sweden.

Then the latest one is The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) that was nr 32 for Sweden.

/Freddy

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 14th, 2014, 11:50 am
by chrish
krismunk wrote:Short eared owls aren't all that rare in Denmark (at least not during migration) but they're a bird of the western parts of the country where I never seem to find the time to go to.
The "western parts of the country"? Aren't the "western parts" of Denmark only a hundred km from the eastern parts? :lol:

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 17th, 2014, 10:21 am
by Andy Avram
Just got back from a week or so in Florida, specifically targeting those holes in my life list. Missed a few (Black-whiskered Vireo, Bachman's Sparrow) but got a whole bunch:

Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Mississippi Kite
Swallow-tailed Kite (not a lifer, but an ABA bird)
Purple Swamphen (introduced)
Least Tern
Roseate Tern
White-crowned Pigeon
Antillean Nighthawk
Chuck-will's-widow
Monk Parakeet (introduced)
Gray Kingbird
Florida Scrub-Jay
Cave Swallow
Brown-headed Nuthatch (how have I never seen this bird before???)
Seaside Sparrow

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 18th, 2014, 2:59 am
by krismunk
chrish wrote:
krismunk wrote:Short eared owls aren't all that rare in Denmark (at least not during migration) but they're a bird of the western parts of the country where I never seem to find the time to go to.
The "western parts of the country"? Aren't the "western parts" of Denmark only a hundred km from the eastern parts? :lol:
Yes :oops:

I just rarely have more than a couple of hours for a field trip and if I do I tend to try make the most of it by going abroad where there's more new stuff to find instead.

Also, I don't really have family or business reasons to go to Jutland and it's ridiculously expensive in terms of outrageous Danish gas prices, bridge tolls or ferry fare and perhaps acommodation so I usually find cheap airfare for southerly destinations or drive to Sweden instead. This was the first time in - seems crazy now that I type it - 14 years I've been to the west coast which is where the short eared owls are found.

While not a birding trip I saw a few other nice birds on the trip that I don't see around here, jack snipe, gannet, common crane as well as a bunch of herps, adders in the dunes, viviparous lizards anround the house, sand lizards, natterjacks, ...

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 3:38 pm
by Andy Avram
Henslow's Sparrow... finally....

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 30th, 2014, 12:01 am
by chrish
Andy Avram wrote:Henslow's Sparrow... finally....
that's a good bird. It is one that has eluded me for many years.

I did get a rather bad look and photo at a lifer last week...Hutton's Shearwater.
Pics and a New Zealand birding post coming soon.

Here's a lousy pic of the shearwater and the post is coming soon....

Image

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: May 30th, 2014, 7:04 am
by juicebox
Large Great Horned Owl, today chasing something on the ground, attempted twice to pick it up and think it missed its target.

Bald Eagle, in Kenosha WI ??!! I thought it strange so far in the south eastern part of the state.

-troy

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 5th, 2014, 1:02 pm
by Andy Avram
Got Bell's Vireo today, but missed King Rail although I did see my first Ohio Blue Grosbeak, giving me 300 Ohio birds!

Only lifers left for me in Ohio, aside from that King Rail are accidentals now.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 8th, 2014, 9:57 am
by Freddy81
My latest was Baillon's Crake (Porzana pusilla) that I only heard and did not see. But it was a good night.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 9th, 2014, 1:35 am
by krismunk
My recent weekend in Israel was a dedicated herping trip so birds were accidental. Of course I chanced upon a number of cool birds anyway including a couple of lifer kingfishers, pied kingfisher and white breasted kingfisher, lifer #5 & 6 for the year.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 9th, 2014, 7:28 pm
by Andy Avram
BLACK freaking RAIL!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 10th, 2014, 8:56 pm
by chrish
Andy Avram wrote:BLACK freaking RAIL!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent. That's a big one to knock of the US list. Congrats.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 11th, 2014, 6:34 pm
by J-Miz
Awesome, Andy! I should get down there but lack the motivation. Did you get to see it, too?

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 12th, 2014, 11:11 am
by Andy Avram
J-Miz wrote:Awesome, Andy! I should get down there but lack the motivation. Did you get to see it, too?
Jared, do it. Get down there, especially if you haven't seen one already. I think it (or they possibly) are seen every day in the morning and evening. I heard it calling and briefly got to see it fly up and over the grass. Not the best look, but it is a Black Rail so I will take any look I can. Crazy habitat. It is a dry hayfield on the side of a hill. I know some people got to see if pop out and run across the cut part of the hayfield.

Chris, I thought that bird was going to be a very hard to get hold out for me, and I figured I might have to settle with just hearing one. As it was a 2+ hour drive south of me in central Ohio, 10 minutes standing in a field, seeing it and then driving back and getting home after 10pm. I would say overall pretty easy!! And very, very lucky!!!

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 16th, 2014, 9:50 pm
by chrish
Andy Avram wrote:
J-Miz wrote:I would say overall pretty easy!! And very, very lucky!!!
I think most people's Black Rail sightings are very lucky!
Mine was while dragging a rope through a marshy prairie at Anuahuac to flush up Yellow Rails. One of them turned out to be a Black and it ran right in front of my feet. Lucky indeed.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 20th, 2014, 6:44 am
by VICtort
Varied bunting, Cochise County, AZ. I saw several near the Slaughter Ranch close to the pond in the big trees.
Vic

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 27th, 2014, 8:59 pm
by Gordon C. Snelling
Last week a laysan albatross at the Bolsa Chica reserve, yesterday a black throated magpie jay in Bonita calif.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 29th, 2014, 8:06 am
by monklet
Did the Laysan appear healthy? If so, that is truly remarkable. Was it flying or roosting? What day was that? I've gone back though June 15th on the Orange County Listserve and can't find any mention. That sighting is definitely worth documenting and reporting to the county compiler.

Also, I assume you know all this but, Black-throated Magpie Jay is not ABA area countable (whether or not you care). They're captive releases that are semi-established in the San Diego area. Doesn't make the bird any less beautiful of course.

Should add that they may be accepted as established and listable at some point in the future as have many other species, Rock Pigeon and Starlings, to name a couple examples. So, IF you're a serious ABA lister you could get a "free" tick in the future, if that ever happens.

This video graphically demonstrates the implications ABA acceptance of an exotic species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbohMUh1QnQ ...I strongly recommend it.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: June 30th, 2014, 2:47 pm
by Gordon C. Snelling
Yup, I am aware of the release status of the jays. But as you say gorgeous birds. I generally do not count the birds I see other than to keep a mental thats cool note. The laysan was in flight and looked healthy. One very impressive bird. I was there on 6-18-2014

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: July 1st, 2014, 8:21 am
by monklet
A Laysan was once recorded in the Cajon Pass, the corridor between San Bernardino and the high desert so... But that is the first time I've heard of one being seen on the coast in SoCal! That's be a lifer for me too.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: July 7th, 2014, 9:50 am
by jonathan
Just did a trip in Bangladesh. Saw my first Jungle Fowl despite having heard them a number of times before, which was exciting for me (seems like such a dumb bird to be excited about, but I'm easy). Also was really excited to get three new kingfisher species in the Sunderbans - Ruddy, Brown-winged, and Collared - in addition to two species I had already seen. But the absolute lifer highlight was a Brown Fish Owl. It was in Lawachara National Park hunting for frogs on the ground and looking like it was a freaking meter tall (we know it wasn't, but still).

Other exciting lifers included Red-breasted Parakeet, Buffy Fish Owl, White-bellied Sea Eagle, and Lesser Adjutant.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: July 10th, 2014, 4:40 pm
by Owen
Sucky shot, but Rhinoceros Auklet (spooked up by a passing Orca).

Image

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: July 12th, 2014, 12:10 am
by Verhoodled
It was going to be the black hawk. But then another funny borderland S. AZ bird showed up. And for most of our 3 hour hike, we were never out of earshot of one. We saw 6 males and at least 4 females.

Sure dresses funny for an Arizonan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNZuoGcLP0g

Elegant Trogon

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: August 14th, 2014, 9:34 pm
by chrish
I got two (maybe three) new lifers without going outside last week -

Clapper Rail was split into three species, and so I got a new rail - Ridgway's Rail (from a 1998 sighting)
- many of you may have also got this new rail as the east and west coast populations of Clapper are now split.

Wattled Honeyeater was split onto three species, two of which I have seen so I got one new bird there (lost one, gained two) - Northern Wattled Honeyeater and Western Wattled Honeyeater.

I also remember seeing a King Rail in Mexico about 10 years ago in Colima somewhere. If I can find that record, it represent another lifer - Aztec Rail!

All of this was announced here - http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/tax ... -for-2014/ but I didn't notice because I was out birding and getting 20 new "field" lifers....which will have to wait for another day. My 20 new field lifers came from my first trip to Costa Rica and I got one really GREAT lifer.....and it isn't the one you expect from there. Post and lifer list pending....

One of the great things about having your data in Ebird, the splits are automatically carried out for you!

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: August 17th, 2014, 8:23 am
by chrish
Finished (I think?) tallying up my birds from the Costa Rica trip. Saw 153 species in the limited birding we did, but only 18 (<12% :cry:) of those were new because I had done a lot of birding in southern Mexico and Panama before.

In the order that we saw them:

Tropical Pewee
Hoffmann's Woodpecker
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
Slaty Spinetail
Yellowish Flycatcher
Black-faced Solitaire
White-tailed Emerald
Red-fronted Parrotlet
Green Ibis
Bronzy Hermit
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
Great Green Macaw
Gray-chested Dove
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Royal Flycatcher
White-collared Manakin
Vermiculated Screech-Owl

But the primo, A number one new bird of the trip and best sighting of the trip period was this big fella. I have looked for this species for over 25 years in three different countries at both ends of its range and in the middle and have always come up empty. To spot his ugly physiognamy in the binocs as I scanned a flooded grassy field was almost a relief!

Jabiru

Image

Full Costa Rican birding post with photos (and even a herp post!) coming soon to a forum near you.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: August 23rd, 2014, 11:02 am
by Curtis Hart
Willow Flycatcher in western PA a couple weeks ago will probably be my last lifer until Bioko and Ethiopia this winter.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: August 23rd, 2014, 11:44 pm
by chrish
Not technically a lifer since I've seen thousands of this species before in New Zealand, but I did get a US lifer today -

Bar-tailed Godwit (#548 US, #467 TX)

Image

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: August 24th, 2014, 10:12 am
by chrish
Curtis Hart wrote:Willow Flycatcher in western PA a couple weeks ago will probably be my last lifer until Bioko and Ethiopia this winter.
OK, that's cool. I had to look up where Bioko is. That would be an awesome place to go.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: August 25th, 2014, 6:21 am
by JAMAUGHN
Such a weird-looking bird:

ImageBlack Skimmers, Rynchops niger by J. Maughn, on Flickr

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: September 1st, 2014, 6:56 am
by Noah M
Andy Avram wrote:Just got back from a week or so in Florida, specifically targeting those holes in my life list. Missed a few (Black-whiskered Vireo, Bachman's Sparrow) but got a whole bunch:

Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Mississippi Kite
Swallow-tailed Kite (not a lifer, but an ABA bird)
Purple Swamphen (introduced)
Least Tern
Roseate Tern
White-crowned Pigeon
Antillean Nighthawk
Chuck-will's-widow
Monk Parakeet (introduced)
Gray Kingbird
Florida Scrub-Jay
Cave Swallow
Brown-headed Nuthatch (how have I never seen this bird before???)
Seaside Sparrow
You might want to double check your Roseate Tern sighting. Ebird only has a few records for this state. My guidebook says they're uncommon, migrants, and a threatened species with only a few spots in the Keys where they have shown up. I'm not saying you didn't see one, but there are several other similar looking species that are more common to the state.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: September 3rd, 2014, 11:36 am
by Andy Avram
captainjack0000 wrote: You might want to double check your Roseate Tern sighting. Ebird only has a few records for this state. My guidebook says they're uncommon, migrants, and a threatened species with only a few spots in the Keys where they have shown up. I'm not saying you didn't see one, but there are several other similar looking species that are more common to the state.
Yip, and one of those well known breeding spots is on top of the Marathon Government Building which is where I stood in the parking lot for over an hour watching tons of Least Terns fly over before I finally started seeing a few pairs of the Roseates. Certainly a bird you have to do your homework on to see in Florida.

As for today I am debating taking a 2-hour drive down to see 2-3 Yellow Rails in a farm field in central Ohio. Long drive, but they have been seen 2 nights in a row now...

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: September 9th, 2014, 12:53 pm
by Andy Avram
Northern Wheatear.

I was about to leave for work and checked my email before I left. It was right around the corner from my house! I believe the 4th Ohio record ever. Either way I went there instead of work. A good reason to be late.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: September 9th, 2014, 3:45 pm
by chrish
Andy Avram wrote:Northern Wheatear.
That's cool. Any old world vagrant is always a good addition to the list.
I was about to leave for work and checked my email before I left. It was right around the corner from my house! I believe the 4th Ohio record ever. Either way I went there instead of work. A good reason to be late.
I usually end up reading about those sort of rarities just after I get somewhere else. :(

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: September 9th, 2014, 6:02 pm
by Andy Avram
chrish wrote: That's cool. Any old world vagrant is always a good addition to the list.(
Not sure this one was an Old World vagrant. They breed in the Canadian arctic, Alaska and Greenland but then migrate back over the ocean to Africa or Asia. I think this one was a North American breeder that got lost en route to Africa. Either way, really cool bird. I went back this evening to watch it longer.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: September 11th, 2014, 7:24 pm
by J-Miz
It's been five months since my last state lifer, but I finally got #293 today for Ohio:

Image
Whimbrel

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: October 20th, 2014, 9:13 pm
by krismunk
I didn't do any birding on my recent Texas trip (stretched my family's patience enough herping) so only came across a few very conspicuous lifers in the form of black bellied tree duck, roadrunner, screech owl, acorn woodpecker, scissor tailed flycatcher and vermilion flycatcher.

I missed out on all the lbj lifers and the red cockaded woodpeckers living in the forest right next to where we stayed. which was OK under the circumstances, would have loved to get an ID on the west Texas likely lifer hummers though :(

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: October 26th, 2014, 4:23 am
by Crimson King
groove billed ani. I posted it here:
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... 19&t=13572

:Mark

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: October 26th, 2014, 4:56 am
by krismunk
I got another lifer from my recent Texas trip 5 minutes ago, sitting in front of my computer.

While thoroughly unspectacular to you guys I was still glad when I realised the immature night heron on one of my three bird photos from the entire trip was actually yellow crowned :)

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: October 28th, 2014, 4:13 am
by krismunk
Red footed falcon in Copenhagen this morning :)

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: November 1st, 2014, 12:45 pm
by Freddy81
My last lifter was The squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides) found here in Sweden. It was nr 16 for Sweden. Cool find.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: November 7th, 2014, 9:17 pm
by nightdriver
It's been a while since I got one, but a lifer showed up 20 minutes from my house. Olive-backed Pipit Monday in Yorba Linda, CA.

-nightdriver

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: November 11th, 2014, 11:58 am
by Freddy81
A good day yesterday..we want to look at the American black duck (Anas rubripes) and we did get a nice time With this cool find. This was nr 4 for Sweden. Im happy.

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: November 14th, 2014, 1:00 am
by JAMAUGHN
Two today...

Parasitic Jaeger:
ImageParasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus by J.J. Maughn, on Flickr


Ancient Murrelet:
ImageAncient Murrelets, Synthliboramphus antiquus by J. Maughn, on Flickr

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: January 2nd, 2015, 9:41 am
by nightdriver
I made the drive up to San Francisco and back and saw the continuing Rustic Bunting. Not a bad way to spend 15 hours. ;)

Two ABA lifers in one year.....without splits....I'm on a roll :D

- nightdriver

Re: What was your last lifer?...

Posted: January 4th, 2015, 5:43 pm
by chrish
I just added Island Collared-Dove during a few hour layover in Guam. That's good, as are the other 28 lifers I got in the last weeks in Queensland. The bad news I that I didn't bird hard and left my life list at 1996!!!!! Arrggghhh! Just 4 more birds!

Birds of Queensland post coming soon to birper forum near you.