"Wild With Gabriel" blog

Now that my Junior Big Year is done, I'll continue blogging on my new blog "Wild With Gabriel": www.wildwithgabriel.blogspot.com

Enjoy my new blog!

Painted Bunting! Total is 437, not 436!

When I was in the Florida Everglades in January of 2011, just days into my Junior Big Year I took a photo of a bird I could not identify.  Especially since I did not know I was doing a Junior Big Year at the time, every bird's ID didn't matter and I didn't ever really think much more about that bird.

It wasn't until now, over a year later while gathering photos for my Junior Big Year presentation that I came across that photo.  Female Painted Bunting jumped at me!  I grabbed the bird book.  I opened to the Painted Bunting page and low and behold, that bird that was "just another bird" was my only Painted Bunting of the year!  This means my total is not 436, it's 437.

Wow!  A very nice surprise.

Good birding everyone!

Junior Big Year talks

Hello everybody,

wanted to let everyone know that I'm scheduled as of now to give a presentation about my Junior Big Year at at least 2 local bird clubs.  Augusta Bird Club on April 9, 2012 and Monticello Bird Club on October 11, 2012.  It would be great if anyone would like to come out and hear me talk about my J. Big Year.

Also, if anyone has a group or anything that you'd like me to speak at, if it's in my area (basically all of Virginia other than some southern parts) I'd be happy to come.

On another note, my 2012 birding has got off to a great start.  Right now my year total is 71 species.  This past Monday I did an Augusta County Big Day getting a total of 62 species.  Quite an excitement in this first half of the new month has been a Lark Sparrow, a rare visitor to Virginia that's been hanging out just 30 minutes from where I live for the last 11 days and is still being seen.

Good birding!

Gabriel KestrelSwan