In 2010, my wife and I drove with our two youngest children to South Dakota so our adoptive daughter could visit her biological mother. As you might imagine, I did quite a bit of birding on that trip and I was able to check off one of my target birds —the black-backed woodpecker.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t using eBird back then to record my bird sightings, so I have no record of seeing the black-backed woodpecker. I am really disappointed in myself that I didn’t keep a record somewhere (or maybe I did and I just can’t find it!) The same can be said for my birding trips to South Africa in 2009 and to Brazil in 2011. I saw over 600 bird species on those two trips, and I don’t have any of them documented in eBird.
Nowadays I use eBird religiously, and I really like it! My only regret is that I didn’t start using it when it became available back in 2002. This past week, I was exploring birding hotspots in eBird to help plan our upcoming trip back to South Dakota. Our adopted son, Kory, lives there, and I am planning to squeeze in some birding as time permits.
Several years ago, I came up with a bucket list birding idea—to see every state bird in the respective state in which it is the state bird. It is not enough to see a greater roadrunner in Arizona—which I have done many times. In order to accomplish my goal, I need to see it in New Mexico, where it is the state bird.
We traveled to Utah a few days ago to spend time with some of our children and grandchildren, and I’ve managed to go birding several times. The Utah state bird is the California gull, and I have seen it in Utah. As we drive from here to South Dakota, we will be passing through Wyoming, which affords me the opportunity to see that state bird—the western meadowlark.
The state bird for South Dakota is a ring-necked pheasant. I saw one earlier this week in Utah, but I can’t count this for South Dakota, so I’m going to be on “the lookout” for pheasants once we get into South Dakota. On our return trip we’ll be driving through Colorado and I am hoping to see a lark bunting, the Colorado state bird. Wish me luck!
It is fun to review my eBird history, as it is like a journal of my travels—to Costa Rica, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago.
This is equally true for data by state. At some point in my life, I have traveled to almost all fifty states—unfortunately, I don’t have a record of the birds I’ve observed in each state. As I was preparing for our Wyoming trip, I noticed that I have only documented one bird species in Wyoming—a trumpeter swan I saw at Yellowstone several years ago.
I am happy to say that I am committed to keeping much better records. Usually when I return home (or to the store) after a bird walk, I immediately sit down and create a checklist for the outing. If you are not yet using eBird, I strongly encourage you to start now! It is easy to create an account at eBird.org.
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Vortex and Swarovski optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
