400 Birds in 2024

It took a trip to England over the Christmas holidays to hit my goal, but I did hit it. I went their to visit family, but got out for a few hikes that enabled me to pick up 25 more birds for the year and surprisingly 5 new lifer birds. In the realm of birding, 410 birds in a year as rather paltry, but its an achievement for me and I'm proud to have hit my goal.

A few days in the Phoenix, AZ area for work enabled me to pick up another 15 birds. My goal of 400 is now a bit more realistic. Its not just the number. This goal has afforded and at times forced me to get out and explore wherever I may be. Its taken me to places and environs I would of otherwise have misssed.

Snow Buntings gravitate to the beaches of Lake Michigan. The wide open expanse of the lake perhaps mirrors their tundra summer home in the arctic. They're few and far between but they can indeed be found even within the city limits of Milwaukee.

I only have 34 species left to go to get to my 400 species goal, but summer's diversity is gone. I can pick up a few more winter ducks, some winter finches, and then I have one short-trip to Phoenix, AZ planned. Its going to all come to down to what I can see in and around Phoenix!

After a few month draught, some life distractions, and some fun, I managed to get out birding again. Its Fall Migration time. I picked up two new bird for the year, a Hooded Merganser and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. The Buff-breasted Sandpiper was a lifer bird for me. Bird #856 for me!

I came to Yellowstone to fish, but picked up 5 new species for the year. My first ever picture of a Dusky Grouse. The Dusky Grouse was seen on Dunraven Pass past dusk. It was along side of the road. We pulled over and were able to get within a few feet of it. It likely was protecting a nest or a brood as it was almost stubborn in its behavior. I tried to get it off the road as I thought was in danger, but it kept circling back to road.

Going to Denver for work gave me a chance to pick up some prairie species. The moment I got to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWF I was greeted with the singing of Western Meadowlarks. They look just like their Eastern counterparts, but they do indeed sound quite different. I was able to get some blurry shots of the burrowing owls, picked up twelve new species. I was hoping to locate a Cassin's Sparrow which would be a new species for me. My Merlin App said it heard one but I didn't see or hear one.

I came to photograph Grizzly Bears and boy did I ever, but still managed to find some birds too. I picked up 15 new species on this trip to British Columbia, Canada. Not as many as I had hoped, but they were all a pleasure to find!

Went out for a brief walk before work. I only picked up one new bird, an Orchard Oriole, but it was enough to get me to 300. Only 100 more birds to go on my quest for 400 birds in 2024. I didn't get a decent picture of the Orchard Oriole, but did photography this lovely House Finch seemingly eating the buds off a crab apple tree.

Lake Michigan funnels migrating birds to its shores and the many of the parks along the shore host a large number of birds during migration season. In Milwaukee, Lake Park with its deep ravines acts as a welcome temporary shelter for migrating birds heading north in Spring.

I walked a few of the ravines this morning and added 4 more species to this year's list. A quick jump over to the Shorewood Nature preserve also added one more species, a Northern Parula.

I'm taking a long weekend in Mexico. Its technically work-related, but am going to have some fun and, of course, do a little birding. My first day at the resort near Playa del Carmen did not disappoint. Its the tropics. Birds are everywhere. I added 22 new species in the year just in a jet-lagged hour walk around the property.

I had the opportunity to travel down to Dallas for work and coordinate that trip with the solar eclipse. While I was excited to see the eclipse later that day, I was able to pick up a few new birds before heading in to the office. This is where travel really helps your bird count. None of these birds would be that hard to find back home in Wisconsin in the right time of year, but it was far easier down here!

There's quite a few missing ducks species to still be had around Milwaukee, but missing them is what I keep on doing. I did pick up a Greater Scaup and Double-crested Cormorants, but there was at least 5 target species I struck out on. Oh well, that's part of the game. If it wasn't a challenge, I wouldn't do it!

There's only probably 30 species or so that are year round residents in the area of my home. One of my favorites is the Tufted Titmouse. Its rather rare in the urban county of Milwaukee, but can be reliably found in a few parks.

In winter, Lake Michigan's shoreline is often host to migratory waterfowl who consider the icy waters of the Lake Michigan their "Florida".

After a few hours of roaming around the Wehr Nature Center and a quick trip to Milwaukee's Lakefront my year total now stands at 123.

Flying out at 10pm tonight for home, but still have a chance to spy a few more birds. Managed a two hour walk through some urban parks and picked up another 8 birds, 4 of which were lifers!

Patagonia is relatively sparse in birds in terms of number of species, but its environment is so expansive, its mountains so alluring, that I just don't care. Birding is just one passion of mine, but just being outdoors and being in a place this unspoiled and vast thrills me. I feel so alive as the crisp clean air hits my face as it hurtles off the Andean Ice Shelf or as I stare the Orion constellation at night upside down and swimming in a sea of unfamiliar stars.

As I get on the plane to head back to Buenos Aires, my life list is now 1/4 of the way toward my goal of 400 sitting at a nice even 100.

I came to Northern Patagonia to pursue one of my other passions, fly fishing. However, I carry my camera with me when possible and still try to observe the entire natural world around me. Patagonia is an amazing place. It's still largely unspoiled by man. It doesn't have the diversity of the tropics, but still has some very interesting and unique bird species and for me, they're almost all new species!

After a week here in Northern Patagonia my bird list for 2024 has grown to 76.

I actually don't cheat, but my birding benefit's greatly from my travels. I travel a lot for work and for pleasure. Travel is a passion of mine and my first excursion of 2024 was down to Patagonia. I went mostly to fly fish and hike, but I get out and try to do a bit of birding when I can. Fresh (actually quite jet lagged) off the plane from the States, I managed an hour of birding in an urban park in Buenos Aires. I ended my first day in Argentina with a total of 38 species for the year.

I always go out birding on New Year's Day. I stayed up past midnight, but was out the door by 7am. As I made coffee, I spied my first bird of the year, a Mourning Dove. Its usually a Dark-eyed Junco, but this year the doves won. With coffee in hand, I started my effort walking through the Milwaukee County Grounds near my house in Wauwatosa.

The Belted Kingfisher was a nice surprise along with a Barred Owl. I know exactly where to find a pair of Great Horned Owls, but the Barred Owl was a welcome treat. After a nice hike through the County Grounds, I headed down to Milwaukee's Lakefront. There's always a large number of wintering ducks along the lakefront including some species that you'll never any other time of the year. It was surprisingly quiet, but saw the usually Lesser Scaups (can anyone really tell the Greaters from the Lessers), Red-breasted Mergansers, and Common Goldeneye. After searching thorough an large flock of gulls for anything interesting and running out of coffee, I ended the day of birding. I closed out the day with 27 species.