Big Year 2013 – January
I decided that in 2013, I was going to do a “Big Year” – or rather a semi Big Year (I’m not going to be traveling all over the country to chase). My goal is to break my personal records for most species seen & most seen in NJ (205 & 150, respectively). And January is starting me off at a good pace.
January Tally
Year | Stats | |
---|---|---|
93 | Month | 93 |
Lifers | 5 | |
NJ Species | 93 | |
State List | 8 |
It’s been great – cold many times, but great birding. I was able to make 4 trips out: Cape May on the 5th, North Shore on the 13th, Central NJ on the 18th, Tom’s River on the 21st. I picked up at least one lifer on 3 of the 4 trips, which isn’t too shabby. My trip totals:
Date | Location | Species | Lifer | FOY |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 5 | Cape May | 66 | 1 | 54 |
Jan 13 | North Shore | 51 | 1 | 13 |
Jan 18 | Central NJ | 40 | 2 | 5 |
Jan 21 | Tom’s River | 29 | 0 | 1 |
Cape May started me off right with 66 species including a lifer Western Grebe…
I also picked up a lifer closer to home – Dave Magpiong let me know about Common Redpolls being seen right up the road. When I got there, I was able to see a few of them … although ironically, when I got home there was one in a tree in my front yard!
The North Shore was a frigid exercise in birding but netted 51 species including a lifer in my first east coast alcid, a pair of Razorbills seen at Manasquan Inlet…
Central NJ was a mixed bag. The frigid day started off with the mega rarity Northern Lapwings which were hanging out in a cow field only a few yards away from some Sandhill Cranes (a new state bird). Lake Assunpink was mostly a bust, but I got to see a Merlin while driving up the Garden State Expressway. Most of the rest of the trip was a bust but I ended my day closer to home, seeing a lifer Rufous Hummingbird (no photos, unfortunately)
My last trip to Tom’s River was to search for an up close and personal look at a Pink-Footed Goose. I didn’t get it at “Marshall’s Pond”, but I was lucky enough to get a good luck at a nearby soccer field. Not a lifer (I saw one last November) but a FOS bird for me.
Sadly, after January 21st my birding dwindled but I added a few more birds in my own yard to bring the monthly total to 93. Not a bad start and hopefully February will jump up the number by a bit.