Birding 2012
It felt like 2012 was a really slow year for me birding-wise: too much work and not enough time to get out. But looking back I realized that while many of the totals were lower, it wasn’t a BAD year.
Long-Eared Owl – Peace Valley Park / Doylestown, PA
I only had a handful of birding trips, and even the majority of those were close by, and that resulted in my lowest lifer totals for a year since I started keeping track (5). My annual totals:
| Year | Species | Lifers | Total | NJ Species | New NJ | Total NJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 176 | 5 | 455 | 150 | 5 | 237 |
| 2011 | 192 | 11 | 451 | 134 | 6 | 232 |
| 2010 | 170 | 17 | 440 | 127 | 4 | 226 |
| 2009 | 197 | 76 | 423 | 130 | 12 | 222 |
| 2008 | 155 | 9 | 347 | – | – | 210 |
| 2007 | 205 | 57 | 338 | – | – | – |
| <2007 | – | – | 281 | – | – | – |
My overall total was slightly lower than average (176 species), but I actually had a better year than average for NJ (150 species). But I did get some interesting new birds in that list of lifers: Pink-footed Goose (ABA Code 4), Blackburnian Warbler, Long-eared Owl (above), Yellow-throated Vireo and Black Tern.
Not bad – but 2013 is starting out much better…
