New Splits - Common Gallinule question

Just yesterday the ABA (American Birding Association) came out with their new 'splits'.  Every so often ABA splits birds that were once considered one species and with studies they've done now believe to be 2 different species.

One that has been 'split' this time, and the only one that would effect my year list is Common Moorhen.  This bird, previously called Common Moorhen, which was considered the same species as the Moorhen in Europe is now considered a totally different species, the Common Gallinule.  I have already seen this "Common (now Gallinule, previously Moorhen)" in two different places, Florida and Ohio, both when this was still considered Common Moorhen.  Now that it has been split, if any of you followers of mine know the answer, please comment and let me know.  The question is: what does this do to my year list?  Do I simply re name it on my list even though when I saw it it was considered Moorhen not Gallinule?  Do I just keep it as Moorhen on my list, even if I see it again while it's called Gallinule because I first saw it while it was called Moorhen?  Do I keep it as Moorhen on my list for now but if I see it again then change the name on my list to Gallinule?  Do I delete it off my list for now but if I see it again, put it back on as Common Gallinule but if I don't see it again don't count it at all?  Do I keep it as Moorhen now and if I see it again count it as Gallinule as well so then I'm counting it twice but one time with the name C. Moorhen and onetime with the name C. Gallinule?  Do I do something I haven't thought of?

To read more about the splits, go to this link: http://blog.aba.org/2011/05/bulletin-new-splits.html

Thanks in advance for help with what do with my list,

KestrelSwan

Chat attempt failed and got my gulls in order

Just a quick update because things have been quiet on the Junior Big Year front lately..

This morning I drove over an hour to an area that is known to be good for Yellow-breasted Chats but after lengthy searching I got skunked.  Beautiful Indigo Buntings there though but not a year bird, very special none the less.  I'll get chat another day.

I've been feeling a little bit sick the last couple of days but within the last 5 hours I've been feeling much better (!!), so I thought about something to do.  "gulls" came into my mind.  I had no clue what gulls I still needed for my year and where I'd get them.  So I pulled out my bird books and looked up the gulls and went through them one by one.  "Great Black-backed - check" "Lesser Black-backed - check" "Herring - check" "Ring-billed - check" "California - check" "Western - check" "Mew - check" "Glaucous-winged - check" "Thayer's - check" among others.  So then I went into "in the areas I'm still going to be, what do I need?" "Glaucous - yes, need it" "Black-legged Kittiwake - yes, need it" "Iceland - yes, need it".  It turns out that I'd really need luck to pull an Iceland or Glaucous but BL Kittiwake is likely in Alaska.  That settles that.  Unless a rare Iceland or Glaucous shows up in Virginia which I'd learn of via the Va-Bird listserv, the only gull I'll still get is Black-legged Kittiwake.  Not great for the number of gulls but it's easy to keep track of!

While I was writing this I heard my papa yell "nighthawks..nighthawks!!" and they're very special so I was all excited and ran outside, there they were, flying fast!!  Second time of the year for Common Nighthawks!

My next 'expected' year bird Chuck Will's Widow on this coming Tuesday.

Until later

KestrelSwan

A goatsucker adventure

This morning, first thing, check the news on the Va-Bird listserv.  Has the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher been seen this morning?  No news.  I checked every hour or so.  I kept drawing blanks, no news on the flycatcher.  It had been a 'one day wonder' that I missed.  Had it been one day sooner or one day later I probably would have got it but there was nothing to do but let that bird slip.  Oh well.

This evening, Ken Hinkle was leading a trip for the Rockingham Bird Club which I'm part of to go looking and listening for Whip-Poor-Wills and other goatsuckers (nighthawks and nightjars).  I already had whip on my year list but I wanted to go on the adventure and also hopefully pick up Chuck-Will's-Widdow as that would be a lifer for me.  We headed off and at one of our first stops somebody said "oh look!" and was looking up at the sky.  I looked up.  There was a flock of 8-10 Common Nighthawks circling over head!  I love nighthawks.  It was so special and amazing to watch them for 5 or more minutes.  They're just beautiful.  And it's a year bird!  #302.  We continued on and Ken had a nice pickup truck so for a lot of the way since it was very almost none-used, gravel mountain roads I got to ride in the back of the pickup truck and go "birding from the back".  Soon we began to hear Whip-Poor-Wills and I got a brief look at one.  I love their song!  And we stopped at a Chuck-Will's-Widdow location but no luck in the time we were there.  Thanks to the Shanks who own the land that the chucks are on, we can go back and get the bird another day.  It was a really fun, fun outing and I came back with one more bird on my list.  Just awesome!

Willow Flycatcher, eyes on a Scissor and Dismal Swamp no

Lots of news.

One of my highly wanted birds was Willow Flycatcher.  The Augusta Bird Club that I'm part of has an active facebook group and I asked where to find Willow Flycatcher in the county.  A nice birder from the area, Andrew Clem said that they were fairly common along Bells Lane, a location just 20 minutes from where I live.  I went there this afternoon and after not much time I heard it, "Fitz Bew" "Fitz Bew".  After another couple of minutes I spotted it.  Willow Flycatcher on the board -- a life bird for me and year bird 301!

Another piece of news is I got my "eyes on a Scissor".  A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, rare for the east coast (other than Florida in the winter, but I missed it there) was seen by several birders about 2 hours away from here today.  First spotted at 8:30 am it was still there at 6 pm.  If it's around tomorrow, I'm Scissor-tailed bound!  Also tomorrow is a trip for Whip-poor-will's and a good chance for Chuck-will's-widdows in the evening.  Chuck is a lifer I still need!  All so exciting!

Also, Dismal Swamp is a no.  My mom just got back from Canada and she's getting a book off to the printer and it's taking all too much time to yet fit a 3 day trip into the Dismal Swamp and Piney Grove Preserve for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.  So I'm giving up Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  There's still a chance I can get Swainson's Warbler in southwestern Virginia, or more likely West Virginia.  Oh well.  I can't do everything and it's not worth busting to the full endless possibilities while home this week to go on the weekend.

KestrelSwan

Slowing Down after 300

You all may notice that I'm not posting as much as I used to.  My new birds aren't coming in as easy as they were before.

The first half of the year, even without the "big trips" I was still getting big numbers of new birds migrating into my home area and now that the migration is slowing down, I've basically picked up all of the eastern warblers and most of the other birds.  And this shows, I got 300 in less than half a year, and now 75 more is what I expect in the rest of the year.  That's part of the fun though!  It makes every new bird so much more exciting!

I'm down to four "easy" non warbler visitors in my home area: Summer Tanager, Common Nighthawk, Chuck-Will's-Widdow, and Willow Flycatcher.  They will take some work, especially the first and forth on the list, but I will get them.  Other birds too, but those are the most easy.  I'm also down to only seven eastern warblers that I don't have: Golden-winged, Blue-winged, Kirtland's, Swainson's, Connecticut, Mourning, and Yellow-breasted Chat.  Kirtland's is out of the picture.  There's nearly no chance I'm making it to Michigan and where else am I going to see a Kirtland's?  If I were going to see a Kirtland's this year, it would have been at Magee and none have been seen there this year.  Swainson's, not too tough.  Somewhat, but I'm likely going to make it to the Great Dismal Swamp where I'll be able to fairly easily pick up Swainson's.  Golden-winged and Chat, they're the easiest, it's very likely I'll be able to pick both of them up around home without a problem.  Blue-winged, Mourning, and Connecticut, they're purely hit or miss.  If one shows up in the area, I'll try to chase it.  But it's pure luck.  More than Blue-wing was at someplace just an hour away a couple of days ago but has not since been reported.  A Mourning was at a park just 40 minutes away about a week ago and spent a couple of days but by the time I could get out it was gone.  Connecticuts are the hardest and are PURELY hit or miss.  My biggest numbers will come on the big trips by far.  Ontario, Alaska, and Arizona as well as smaller trips will bring me the big numbers and that's what will get me to 375!

Just an update.

KestrelSwan

300 and Matt Stenger!

My oh my, the last few days have been very great!

First of all, on Wednesday the 18th I hit a major milestone for my big year..300 birds!  I went to Shenandoah National Park, in hopes of finding birds and bears.  First thing of note that day was coming upon one of my favorite deer..an old buck that my friend and I call Ol' Rutter.  Last winter after the rut (mating season for deer), Ol' Rutter wasn't looking too good, thinned out, limping and had a punctured eye.  He made a rebound though and became the strong, healthy buck he usually is.  But this one day (Wednesday May 18th) Ol' Rutter wasn't looking good, he was pretty thinned out, limping and couldn't keep up with his companion buck.  Poor Ol' Rutter.  But then we went on to Pocosin Cabin, one of the very best birding places in Shenandoah National Park.  I heard that Least Flycatchers can sometimes be seen at the parking lot there and that was a lifer that I still needed.  I did the walk and checked the parking lot before I headed on the walk, but no Least Flycatchers.  After the walk which yielded Blackpoll and other warblers, I thought I heard a Least at the parking lot.  It did it again.  I followed the sound to the bird. There it was, a LEAST FLYCATCHER!!!!!!!!  So exciting.  I reached 300 birds for 2011.  What a thing!  Only 75 more to go and I would reach my goal..   Just amazing.  And what a beautiful flycatcher and it has an interesting call.  So special.

The following day my mom received an email from Matt Stenger, who is doing a big year this year.  Matt said that he was going to be traveling through Virginia on his way to the Dismal Swamp to look for Swainson's Warbler.  We offered Matt to stay Thursday night.  He took us up on that offer, came on Thursday night, we had dinner on our porch and hung out together before going to sleep.  The next day (yesterday) we took Matt exploring the mountains of western Virginia in hopes of finding Red Crossbill which would be a lifer for Matt.  Unfortunately and surprisingly even though we tried 3 spots we missed Red Crossbill.  We got a verity of warblers including Blackburnian, and had a great flyover adult Bald Eagle.  What fun to bird and hang out with Matt!  This morning Matt headed off to the Dismal Swamp and I wished him a fun time and good luck finding the warbler and he went on his way.  It was totally great to have him here!  Check out Matt's big year blog: http://716birds.com/

Me (left) birding with Matt Stenger!

On another note, I may be going to the Dismal Swamp for Swainson's Warbler this weekend and also getting Red-cockaded Woodpecker!   The VSO (Virginia Society of Ornithology) is leading a trip to Piney Grove Preserve and will get Red-cockaded Woodpecker on Saturday, the 28th.  After that trip we would go on to the swamp.  My mom says 50-65 percent she can do it for me so not for sure but very likely!  Thanks mama!

What a great few days.

KestrelSwan

Edging up to 300

My oh my, only 76 more to go for my total number of species goal at year's end!  My goal is 375 and right now I'm at 299!

So what was my 299th?  Yesterday morning when checking my emails I got notified of an important, hard-to get year bird: Dickcissel.  A male Dickcissel had been reported in southern Albemarle County, about 90 minutes from my home.  Only 90 minutes away was this midwestern rascal!  I headed out to the location within a few hours, with high hopes of finding the Dickcissel.  I arrived at the location, searched around and found some good birds..Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrows, among others.  Then my mom pointed out a bird down the way.  I got my spotting scope on it and heard it sing.  Dickcissel!   My second one ever and a year bird..# 299!

My year is shaping up greatly!

KestrelSwan