Life List Additions!

I finally have a tally on the birds I added to my life list on my trip! I'm not a huge list keeper exactly...but I keep a life list and it's not a big number either...but as you get more and more tics on the page you really have to travel afar to add something new...or be ready to "scramble the jet" if you want to chase after rare sightings! If I was a free bird and didn't have 4 others depending on me, (Mom, Floss, Annie, & Casey) I'd be up and running :o)It is a competitive thing but its like you're competing with mother nature.

I was NOT able to photograph ever new bird I saw but I tried in almost every case a few times it was while I was out walking Casey without a camera and all I could do was watch helplessly as the bird was well seen and not photographed...or driving the car and it just flew right in front of me, even if you have your camera and the bird IS right in front of you is no guarantee you will get a photo of it.  I nearly gave up photography period due to birds! BUT TG the digital age came along and saved me from exile!

And thanks go out to my blog friend Jen of i used to hate birds for doing a bird outing with me and helping me with I'ds on some of the tougher ones. Not being familiar with Western birds makes it hard to I'd them and I'm awful with water birds of any kind since I live in a forest I'm used to forest dwelling birds! 

So here are my new additions...this is in the order I saw them and general location! 

1. Pinyon Jay - Garfield Co, CO 
2. Red Shafted Flicker - Garfield Co, CO
3. Sandhill Crane - Dinosaur N.M. Jensen, Utah
4. American Avocet - GSL, Utah
5. Wilson's Phalarope -GSL, Utah
6. Red-Necked Phalarope - GSL, Utah
7. Eared Grebe - GSL, Utah
8. Sage Thrasher - GSL, Utah
9. Sage Sparrow - GSL, Utah
10. Chukar - GSL, Utah
11. Bushtit - Craters of the Moon, Carey, ID
12. Long Billed Dowitcher - Ridgefield NWR, WA
13. Barrow's Goldeneye- Mt. St. Helens, WA
14. Varied Thrush - Mt Rainier, WA
15. Heermann's Gull - Port Townsend, WA
16. Thayer's Gull Port Townsend, WA
17. Chestnut Backed Chickadee - Olympic NP, WA
18. Red Breasted Sapsucker - Olympic NP, WA
19. Cinnamon Backed Chickadee - Oylmpic NP, WA
20. Surf Scoter - Coast Highway, Kalaloch, WA
21. Black Scoter - Coast Highway, Kalaloch, WA
22. Canvas Back - Astoria, OR
23. Northern Pintail - Astoria OR
24. Winter Wren - Cape Meares, OR
25. Brandt's Cormorant - Yaquina Head, OR
26. Black Oyster Catcher - Heceta Head Beach, OR
27. Common Merganser - Umpqua Rv Umpqua NF, OR
28. Northern Goshawk - Lower Klamath WLR- Doris, CA
29. Sage Grouse - Lower Klamath WLR- Doris, CA
30. Townsend's Solitaire - Lava Beds N.M., Indian Well, CA
31. Snow Goose - Tule Lake NWR, Tulelake, CA
32. Cackling Goose - Tule Lake NWR, Tulelake, CA
33. Lesser Goldfinch - Tule Lake NWR, Tulelake, CA
34. White Faced Ibis - Tule Lake NWR, Tulelake, CA
35. Green Winged Teal - Tule Lake NWR, Tulelake, CA

Final Tally New Lifers = 35 and there were some Unidentifiable's even with photos...so can't always get a perfect count...That brings my life list tally to 311 not huge But its a work in progress!   The tally of all birds's ID'd for this trip from start to finish was 122 Not bad! 

I found out that there is a 600 club, out there somewhere...if your life list includes 600 birds that means you get top Honors...so I'm half of that I am now however a member of the 300 club...if there is such a thing. I think some patches are in order like we used to get for bowling! 

I wanted to send y'all over to McQ;s Travels  for some super bird photos and an impressive birding spot to add to your birding wanna go list! Some other spots I really want to visit are the Bosque Del'Apache NWR down in NM, Aransas NWR in Texas (possible Whooping Cranes there)

Here is a great resource to bookmark, a list of 

hot birding spots by state!

PEACE and happy birding!

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.