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| Western Tanager, Avondale, NYE |
For the last couple of years I chased every bird in Rhode Island that I possibly could. In the beginning of 2019 I was birding with my friend Jan and we ran across other birders. She introduced me to her friends and told them I was doing a Rhode Island Big Year. I really hadn't thought about it, I just wanted to see as many species as I could. When Jan said that, I thought to myself, "Yeah, I guess I am.". I went completely hardcore. Even though I live in Mass and have a full time job, I ended up in forth place in the state with 290 species of birds. Jan, Carlos Pedro and Matt Schenck beat me.
I have to admit, I loved the game. I chased everything. If there was a report while I was at work, I'd rush to where the bird was seen as soon as I was free. The whole time I was at work, my heart would be racing with anticipation. When I had days off, I'd bird from sun up to sundown. I took pelagics, stayed on BI, and took the ferry multiple times.
Come 2020 I still had the same passion for chasing and birding. However, I had some vacations planned during prime birding and I knew there was no way I could duplicate my personal record. Then...Covid. So all of my plans, just like everyone else's got cancelled. So I did what I do, I went birding. I had one goal, I was hoping to get 250 species before June 1. The previous year, I had gotten #250 on June 1. In 2020 since I couldn't do anything else, I tried to get 250 in the first five months. I succeeded, but after that, I really just birded to enjoy birding. However, near the end of the year I obviously knew I was nearing my PB (personal best). I beat my 2019 record with a lifer Clay Colored Sparrow. I ended the year at 293. Despite beating my PB by three, I ended up closer to eight or nineth place than forth.
These stats aren't brags or even "humble bragging". They are just facts. There are so many birders that are far better than me but I saw more birds than them. The simple reason was I wanted it more. I was willing to drive to Mia knowing I'd have fifteen minutes of daylight to see an Olive Sided Flycatcher. I spent eight and a half hours in January at Farm Pond at Trustom waiting for a Chat to come out and feed on berries. I was absolutely obsessed. I burned through a set of tires in a year and basically toasted my Toyota Corolla over this period. It did not hurt that I became friends with RI's best birders and birding with them certainly raised my learning curve.
As 2020 was coming to a close, birding became less fun for me. I stayed home from a fishing trip in NH in late October hoping something new would fly in. Despite two days of sunup to sundown birding I didn't add any species to my list. This was one of the few times I can remember when I didn't enjoy birding. As I was nearing 290, the pressure I felt wasn't the same as the previous year. Instead of it being fun anxiety, it was really just work. I knew that in 2021 I would have to reevaluate how I birded if I was to continue enjoying it.
In the first four days of 2021 Carlos Pedro and others went HAM (Hard like A Mother). He had one hundred species in four day, 129 by the fifteenth, and ended the month of January with an incredible 138 species! I had to work the first few days of January. While my friends were killing it, and hanging out, I was at work. When I got my first days off I went birding alone. I needed to catch up. I did fine. I think I got 68 species my first day. However, I didn't have much fun playing "catch up". The following week I had Saturday off. Instead of hanging out with my friends I went after good birds that had already been seen in January. I remember getting exactly half of my targets. Meanwhile, they got some other good birds. So instead of seeing those birds with them, I had to "get" those birds too.
This is when I knew I had to change my birding or else I'd be miserable. So I put down on paper what I really liked about birding. The things I came up with were, in no particular order. Seeing as many species as I can, Bird photography, and birding with friends seemed to be my main priorities.
I realized if I didn't keep a list I would have more time for wildlife photography. I could spend as much time as I wanted looking at a bird instead of looking for "the next bird". Not keeping a year list meant I could bird with my friends without worrying about birds I didn't have. It would take the pressure off. I wouldn't have to chase a Marbled Godwit, Red Necked Grebe, Summer Tanager, or a host of other good birds. Lastly, not keeping a Rhode Island year list would allow me to bird in Massachusetts without worrying about missing birds in Rhode Island.
So about January 10th I decided not to do a Rhode Island. the truth was, I didn't know if I would regret it. I also didn't know if not keeping a list would change my behavior. Would I still drive a hundred miles after work to see a rarity, but not lifer, at Trustom?
Some of these questions and thoughts were answered almost immediately. Literally the day after I made my decision a Ross's Goose was found in Westport, MA. I went and spent 3 hours looking for it before the sunset led to me conceding defeat. However, I had a blast looking for the goose. I checked out farms and lakes I'd never been to. As sunset was approaching I checked out a farm that had a pond in it. A guy pulled up and asked "if it was there?" Apparently, the goose slept over at this farm the night before. We didn't see it, but knowing my "birding instincts" lead me to where it should have been and had previously been felt like an accomplishment none the less. It was nice moral victory despite the dip.
Throughout the winter, I spent a lot of time in Mass. I got some lifers such as White Winged Crossbill, Long Eared Owl, Townsend's Warbler, and Yellow Throated Warbler. I also saw the Pine Grosbeaks (the first post on this blog). My friend Laurie and I did a trip an overnight trip to Plum Island and Salisbury Beach. Also during the winter, Sue Palmer and I, after a Covid test, drove up to Maine to see the Redwing.
It was easy to fall back in love with birding as I was adding lifers like it was my job. When I wasn't on some preplanned adventure, I spent a lot of time birding with other people. This was exactly what I hoped for. Since I only get two Saturday's off a month, it was nice to join the group. Even though I wasn't taking crazy drives three days a week after work, I was still birding a lot. Any day that I had off I still birded all day long.
Another advantage of not chasing reports is finding your own birds. Despite some weird misses this year (Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian, among others) I found a lot of birds on my own. Some of my favorites are Meadowlarks in summer and Acadian Flycatcher. In other states I found Black Backed Woodpecker, Leach's Storm Petel, Ruffed Grouse, and all my lifers n Florida. Finding birds is so much more rewarding than chasing reports. Not that I am against that. Thanks to reports I saw the Black Bellied Whistling Duck and on New Year's Eve the Western Tanager with fantastic looks at it.
I did have a lot of daytrips planned that had nothing to do with birds. But since I wasn't keeping a year list, it didn't matter. When I was in a museum Philadelphia, Buff Breasted Sandpipers showed up at the turf fields. I just smiled.
To finally bring this long winded post somewhere near the end of the tunnel, I have no regrets. When I told Jess Bishop I wasn't keeping a list in 2021 she said I'd go back at the end of the year and try to count the birds I've seen or missed. I don't have any desire to do so. As we move into the new year, I suspect I'll care even less and less.
As for photos, that couldn't have worked out any better. I ended up getting photo upgrades of 47 species (see the blogpost about my fun never ending project). This was far more than I could have hoped for. There were some amazing birds such as Hudsonian Godwit and Rusty Blackbirds that put on a show for us. I ended up with 26 life birds from six different states (3 in RI). Of the 26 lifers, I got photos of 24.
Everyone I know was out birding today. Right now as I write this they are ebirding and listing their finds. As usual I had to work. However, like them, I will be anxious to see new birds for the year. So the question becomes, will I keep a year list this year? Um.. hell no!