2020 sucked. Pandemics, horrible wildfires, the political scene, the Kardashians. And my workload was so heavy that I rarely had time to do much, let alone go birding. I was lucky enough to get out a dozen times all year – including 3 times in December to finish the year with 205 species.
I turned 50, and my plan was to spend my 50th year doing a Big Year … or at least a Big(ish) Year based on the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to do a lot of explicitly birding trips. But then COVID happened and I’m adjusting again. I’m still doing it, but we’ll see what I can achieve without flying to many places. But I’m going for it.
Trip List
- Day 1 at Home – January 1st (33 species)
- Cape May, NJ – January 2nd (85 species, 1 lifer)
- Manasquan Inlet, NJ – January 9th (20 species)
- Barnegat Light, NJ – January 16th (35 species)
- Kelly Drive + John Heinz NWR – January 31st (34 species, 1 lifer)
- Forsythe NWR – February 6th (47 species)
- Featherbed Lane WMA – February 12th (21 species)
- Featherbed Lane WMA, Red Bank Battlefield – February 15th (61 species)
- Forsythe NWR – March 11th (42 species)
Year List
This page will be for my full tally, against my goal of hitting 400 species for the year. Life birds will be in bold; NJ lifers will be in italics. Rarities will be noted with an * and an ABA Code in parentheses (if applicable)
| # | Date | Bird |
| 1 | 1/1 | Canada Goose |
| 2 | 1/1 | Blue Jay |
| 3 | 1/1 | House Finch |
| 4 | 1/1 | House Sparrow |
| 5 | 1/1 | Mourning Dove |
| 6 | 1/1 | European Starling |
| 7 | 1/1 | Downy Woodpecker |
| 8 | 1/1 | Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) |
| 9 | 1/1 | American Robin |
| 10 | 1/1 | Carolina Wren |
| 11 | 1/1 | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| 12 | 1/1 | Tufted Titmouse |
| 13 | 1/1 | White-throated Sparrow |
| 14 | 1/1 | Carolina Chickadee |
| 15 | 1/1 | Ring-billed Gull |
| 16 | 1/1 | Mallard |
| 16a | 1/1 | Domestic Mallard |
| 17 | 1/1 | Song Sparrow |
| 18 | 1/1 | American Crow |
| 19 | 1/1 | Northern Cardinal |
| 20 | 1/1 | Northern Mockingbird |
| 21 | 1/1 | Double-crested Cormorant |
| 22 | 1/1 | Red-bellied Woodpecker |
| 23 | 1/1 | Great Blue Heron |
| 24 | 1/1 | Great Black-backed Gull |
| 25 | 1/1 | Herring Gull |
| 26 | 1/1 | Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| 27 | 1/1 | Pigeon |
| 28 | 1/1 | Belted Kingfisher |
| 29 | 1/1 | Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) |
| 30 | 1/1 | Pine Siskin |
| 31 | 1/1 | Red-winged Blackbird |
| 32 | 1/1 | Common Grackle |
| 33 | 1/2 | Eastern Towhee |
| 34 | 1/2 | Hermit Thrush |
| 35 | 1/2 | Brown Thrasher |
| 36 | 1/2 | Black Scoter |
| 37 | 1/2 | Red-breasted Merganser |
| 38 | 1/2 | Sanderling |
| 39 | 1/2 | Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) |
| 40 | 1/2 | Great Egret |
| 41 | 1/2 | Mute Swan |
| 42 | 1/2 | Gadwall |
| 43 | 1/2 | Northern Shoveler |
| 44 | 1/2 | American Black Duck |
| 45 | 1/2 | Northern Pintail |
| 46 | 1/2 | Green-winged Teal |
| 47 | 1/2 | Blue-winged Teal |
| 48 | 1/2 | Ring-necked Duck |
| 49 | 1/2 | Greater Yellowlegs |
| 50 | 1/2 | Hooded Merganser |
| 51 | 1/2 | American Coot |
| 52 | 1/2 | Bufflehead |
| 53 | 1/2 | American Wigeon |
| 54 | 1/2 | Red-throated Loon |
| 55 | 1/2 | Nothern Gannet |
| 56 | 1/2 | Purple Finch |
| 57 | 1/2 | Fox Sparrow |
| 58 | 1/2 | Red Crossbill* |
| 59 | 1/2 | Turkey Vulture |
| 60 | 1/2 | Evening Grosbeak* |
| 61 | 1/2 | Snow Goose |
| 62 | 1/2 | Rusty Blackbird |
| 63 | 1/2 | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| 64 | 1/2 | Cooper’s Hawk |
| 65 | 1/2 | Brown-headed Cowbird |
| 66 | 1/2 | American Goldfinch |
| 67 | 1/2 | Red-tailed Hawk |
| 68 | 1/2 | Tundra Swan |
| 69 | 1/2 | Pied-billed Grebe |
| 70 | 1/2 | Lesser Scaup |
| 71 | 1/2 | Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
| 72 | 1/2 | Killdeer |
| 73 | 1/2 | Red-shouldered Hawk |
| 74 | 1/2 | Black Vulture |
| 75 | 1/2 | Hairy Woodpecker |
| 76 | 1/2 | Eastern Phoebe |
| 77 | 1/2 | Gray Catbird |
| 78 | 1/2 | Eastern Bluebird |
| 79 | 1/2 | Field Sparrow |
| 80 | 1/2 | Palm Warbler |
| 81 | 1/2 | Long-tailed Duck |
| 82 | 1/2 | Common Eider |
| 83 | 1/2 | Purple Sandpiper |
| 84 | 1/2 | Brant |
| 85 | 1/2 | Common Loon |
| 86 | 1/2 | Wild Turkey |
| 87 | 1/7 | Winter Wren |
| 88 | 1/9 | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| 89 | 1/9 | King Eider* |
| 90 | 1/9 | Black-bellied Plover |
| 91 | 1/10 | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
| 92 | 1/13 | Great Horned Owl |
| 93 | 1/16 | Harlequin Duck |
| 94 | 1/16 | White-winged Scoter |
| 95 | 1/16 | Ruddy Turnstone |
| 96 | 1/16 | Dovekie |
| 97 | 1/16 | Razorbill |
| 98 | 1/16 | Great Cormorant |
| 99 | 1/16 | Peregrine Falcon |
| 100 | 1/18 | Common Merganser |
| 101 | 1/24 | Fish Crow |
| 102 | 1/31 | Tundra Bean Goose* (4) |
| 103 | 1/31 | Brown Creeper |
| 104 | 1/31 | Bald Eagle |
| 105 | 2/6 | Wood Duck |
| 106 | 2/6 | Clapper Rail |
| 107 | 2/6 | American White Pelican* |
| 108 | 2/6 | Northern Harrier |
| 109 | 2/6 | Short-billed Dowitcher |
| 110 | 2/6 | Long-billed Dowitcher |
| 111 | 2/12 | Rough-legged Hawk* |
| 112 | 2/12 | Short-eared Owl |
| 113 | 2/12 | Savannah Sparrow |
| 114 | 2/12 | White-crowned Sparrow |
| 115 | 2/12 | Eastern Meadowlark |
| 116 | 2/12 | Horned Lark |
| 117 | 2/15 | Common Raven |
| 118 | 2/15 | American Kestrel |
| 119 | 2/15 | Merlin |
| 120 | 2/15 | Sandhill Crane |
| 121 | 2/15 | Canvasback |
| 122 | 2/15 | Swamp Sparrow |
| 123 | 2/15 | Horned Grebe |
| 124 | 2/15 | Common Goldeneye |
| 125 | 2/23 | Black-capped Chickadee |
| 126 | 3/11 | Sharp-shinned Hawk |
| 127 | 3/11 | Eurasian Green-winged Teal* (3) |
| 128 | 3/11 | Cedar Waxwing |
| 129 | 3/11 | Dunlin |
Best Pictures of the Year
This page will be for my full tally, against my goal of hitting 400 species for the year. Life birds will be in bold; NJ lifers will be in italics. Rarities will be noted with an * and an ABA Code in parentheses (if applicable)