17 April 2008

And Number 100 is . .

. . The Orchard Oriole. A pair of them, to be exact. I walked the Nature Trail here in Moss Creek this afternoon and saw a really good variety of birds. The one and only new bird, however, for my Big Year list is this pair of Orchard Orioles I came across on my way back. They were chittering around in a small shrub near a new bridge on the trail, the black-and-chestnut male preferring to stay a little more hidden than the mostly-yellow female. The Orchard Oriole is also a "Lifer" for me, meaning I can also add it to my Life List. You can figure out what that is, can't you?

So, 108 days into the year I've positively ID'ed 100 birds. My original goal for the Big Year was 150, and I truly think I can eclipse that with no real struggles. Keep in mind that I still have trips to New York and Florida planned for later in the summer, as well as Hilton Head for Thanksmas. Sorry I don't have a photo of the orioles, the big lens is out of commission currently, so I haven't been taking the camera with me when I go birding. If you want some photos, go back and look at the baby ducks. They're really cute.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you were able to go there. If you could only fit a trip to the Hill Country in TX I'm sure you'd make the goal

Unknown said...

Those baby ducks make me smile :)

Wendy said...

Congratulations! I'm far from that number. But all the bird sightings from other bloggers gets me energized to keep my eyes open. And that's worth it to me.

Mary said...

I wish I were more organized, as you are. I've ID's ? number birds in the year I've been watching closely and never made a list! I could, though, if I leafed through my Stokes' guide. No Orchard Orioles yet. I'd love to see a Baltimore Oriole (my home town). Don't get out much...and my back yard isn't on a migration path, unfortunately. But I did see a male Grosbeak last year. Sigh...

I really need to get away more often :o) Heading to MD soon where I see Ospreys every day.