2016 Recap

Better late than never, right? Sure.

2016 provided some incredible birding memories, and some pretty decent numbers. It was my third year in a row of seeing more than 400 species in the ABA area (2014: 511, 2015: 441), and I think I want to make 400 a benchmark goal from here on out. I also saw over 300 in Oregon, which was my second time doing that in a state—though it was quite a bit less effort than doing so in Illinois.

This is a quick collection of the main highlights. To keep from clogging this post with pics, most of the photos below are links to albums showing more photos of a given trip/experience.

A February trip to Texas with my dad netted me 9 ABA lifers, a group including a few RGV I still needed, and highlighted by goodies like Northern Jacana, White-throated Thrush, and Crimson-collared Grosbeak. The trip was also loaded with tons of awesome photo ops.

An April weekend in Bend got me back into the birding swing of things, highlighted by a pair of Spotted Owls, a Great-gray Owl, and Greater Sage Grouse.

One of the two blogs I wrote last year detailed an awesome early May weekend that I extended all the way from the Klamath basin to the Lane Coast.

Later in May, while Jen was out of town, I took an intense trip that included, in order, the following elements (to give you an idea of the skeletal structure of the adventure): worked 4 10s and getting off work on Thursday with enough time to make it to Klamath NWR by dusk, where the trip began with a Yellow Rail chorus and a Common Poorwill; camping nearby; waking up the next morning to take in and photograph the sunrise at Crater Lake NP; driving from there to Portland to pick up Khanh Tran, then east to meet up with my dad for a weekend of birding; Great-gray Owls at Spring Creek (the same day I woke up in Klamath, mind you); staying Friday night in Enterprise; displaying Spruce Grouse at McCully Creek the next morning; Great-gray and Flammulated Owl that evening in Union County (flat tire included!); staying Saturday night in the thriving metropolis that is Ukiah; displaying Dusky Grouse the next morning, then driving all the way back to Eugene on a donut tire by Sunday evening. By the end of that trip, I was starting to gain an appreciation for the incredible diversity of my new home state.

Jen and I travelled to Chicago to see friends and go to a wedding at the end of May. Andrew and I got a day of birding in that was incredibly productive. We put a lot of effort in to hitting the 300 number for our buddy list before I left Chicagoland in the Summer of 2015, but our last couple trips just didn't pan out, and we fell short of the mark by a couple birds. Well, that shortcoming was rectified on May 31 when we snagged Laughing Gull, White-rumped Sandpiper, Piping Plover, and Hudsonian Godwits (a state lifer for me even!) in a single morning! It was with great satisfaction that we finally met our goal, but aside from the numbers, it was great just to be birding together again!

Later in June I took another camping trip in which I covered an absurd amount of ground, this time seeing almost all new-to-me sites: Summer Lake, tons of Lake and Klamath Counties, Jedediah Redwoods in northern California, then up through Curry and Coos Counties. I picked up a handful of state and a bunch of county birds, and my lifer Allen's Hummingbirds!

I logged a lot of miles on Oregon's pristine and picturesque trails, but no hike was as grueling and rewarding as South Sister. I did it on a whim, which is a mistake I won't make again. I don't think I've ever been quite so physically worn out, but I can't wait to get back up there again this Summer! The stunning view from the top is even accompanied by Gray-crowned Rosy Finches on both sides of the Lane/Deschutes County line!

In August, I joined my dad in Ocean Shores and Westport for a couple days of birding, the highlight being my lifer Bar-tailed Godwit! The Elegant Tern photo ops in Astoria on the way home were pretty great, too!

Baird's Sandpipers showed up in ridiculous numbers in the Fall, and we were treated to a couple lovely Buff-breasted Sandpipers at Fern Ridge. Two of my favorite shorebirds.

I did my first Oregon pelagic in September, highlighted by my lifer South Polar Skuas and Buller's Shearwater, plus the jaeger slam! The trip dipped into Lane County, so it was fun to pick up some pelagic species for the home county. It was a bizarre day though, as we missed fulmar and only saw a lone Black-footed Albatross.

This was my lifer Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, which arrived at Fern Ridge in October, and put on quite the show one perfect morning.

November storms dumped a ton of Red Phalaropes across the entire western portion of the state, which made for some fun photo ops. Tropical Kingbird, White-winged Dove, and Chestnut-sided Warbler were great state lifers. But that all paled in comparison to the ABA's 2nd Common Scoter, which showed up and stayed in Siletz Bay for a few weeks. My parents made the trip out from Spokane and our first view of the bird actually came from their hotel balcony! Later in the day we got to spend some quality time with the bird while we watched it feeding at close range. Amazing.

The now long-staying Harris's Sparrow on Bond Road showed up way back in December, my last state lifer of the year. At Christmas, my dad and I had some fun with Long-eared and Northern Saw-whet Owls in eastern Washington.

Mammal highlights abounded in 2016 as well. I had a confiding Mink at the Skagit Wildlife Area in Washington. Oregon provided a Mountain Goat, a Badger, a Long-tailed Weasel, and by far the most exciting—a pair of my lifer Pine Martens at Benson Lake!

By the numbers, here's how things looked at the end of 2016.

Year lists:

ABA: 433

Oregon: 308
Washington: 190
Texas: 190
Illinois: 102

Lane, OR: 232

Life lists:

ABA life: 626 (added 15)

Oregon: 329 (added 40!)
Washington: 324 (added 2)
Illinois: 324 (added 1)
Texas: 305 (added 40!)

Lane, OR: 247 (added 45)