I have seen other birders summarize their “most important” birds of the last decade (John aka Dendroica turned me on to the idea, his list is here: http://dendroica.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-birds-of-2000-2009.html )
My list tends to be centered around experiences with other people; none of the birds from my most exciting birding moments made the list. (See “Heron Vs. Fish” “Osprey with Lunch” “Hawk vs. Turtle” “Hawking up a Loogie”, etc.)
1. Burrowing Owl (2000) – Carly and I were married December 31st, 2000 in Fort Myers, Florida. One night during the week we spent there before the wedding we were walking back to the house when we saw a small owl perched on a fire hydrant on a corner downtown. We stopped and looked at him, and he turned his head away. We took a few steps toward the hydrant. The owl looked back at us and we stopped. He looked the other way, and we took a few more steps. This continued until we were within five feet of him. Then another group of people came walking down the sidewalk toward us. They spooked the owl and he flew off.
2. Mute Swan (2001) – Yes, they are an invasive, exotic species devastating part of my regional ecosystem, but they played an important and personal role in my family’s life. My sister Ella has lived in London for fifteen years. She used to ride her bike to work past one of the UK’s many canals and became charmed by the geese, swans, pelicans, and other (mostly) waterfowl she encountered along the way. Her experiences sparked in me a renewed interest in birding and wildlife. In the week before her wedding we went on a side trip to a place called The Swannery in Abbotsbury, Dorset. The Swannery is pretty much a park where the visitors can wander around amongst wild swans. We spent a few hours there watching allegedly graceful creatures hiss, bite, and get into all sorts of punch-ups over nesting areas.
3. Bald Eagle (2002) – The Washington Post ran an article about the Tundra Swans which winter at the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge on the Chesapeake Bay. Recalling how much fun the Mute Swans had been, Carly and I headed out to have a look. We may have seen a flock of them about a mile off shore, but that was it. As we hiked around the refuge, though, a Bald Eagle flew across a filed in front of us and into the trees. It was the first time that either of us had seen on in the wild.
4. Red-Bellied Woodpecker (2003) – In the late winter and early spring of ’03 we had an RBW who liked to forage and roost right outside my shop window. Being a woodworker, I felt a natural affinity with the bird and even considered working it into my logo. I kept a peanut-heavy mix in the feeder below the shop window and the RBW soon became an “office-mate”. The last time I saw him that May, he had found a friend. They perched outside my window once, and then were gone.
5. Red-masked Parakeets (2004) – Or cherry-headed conures, or just wild parrots, or what ever. My father-in-law lived in San Francisco for about a year. He flew us out to visit once; they had a nice place overlooking a square near the Ferry Building. The first morning there we woke up to an awful racket. It was a raucous chorus that we could not identify; it kept coming back all through the morning. We eventually figured out that we were hearing birds and then proceeded to debate what kind of birds they were. Carly insisted that they were parrots, something that did not seem right to me. A trip to a bookstore to look it up settled the matter in her favor.
6. Turkey Vulture (2000-09) – Our nemesis. “Hey! Look! It’s a haw- nope. Turkey Vulture.” “Ooh! There’s an eag- nope. Turkey Vulture.” I developed an appreciation for them, though. The first time I hiked to the top of the Bull Run Mountains in Virginia I looked up to see one gliding silently past a dozen feet above my head. It had a singular elegance and grace which I never expected to see.
7. Cedar Waxwing (2005) – We spent four vacations at Heart Lake in the Adirondacks. Every day there I can sit in a chair or on a bench at the edge of the lake and wile away the last few hours of daylight watching and listening to the waxwings. They rest on dead trees between playful flights over the lake chasing down dinner as well as each other. They charmed Carly, as well; one day while she was on a retreat in Connecticut last summer I received an excited one-word text from her – “Waxwings!”
8. Anhinga (2008) – I spent two days exploring Everglades NP. The first stop was Royal Palm where I was able to get within macro range of the cormorants and anhingas. I had such a good time that I stopped at Royal palm that evening as well as the following morning and evening just to take even more pictures of the anhingas. Cooperative wildlife is always a bonus.
9. Chestnut-sided Warbler (2009) – I added the CSW to my list after one or two visits to Monticello Park in Alexandria, Virginia, a migrant trap I had not heard of before this year. An informal group of birders had coagulated there and I started following them around after wandering the park myself for a while. Somebody spotted a CS. A man about ten feet ahead of me saw it right away and then turned to me very excitedly, “Doyouseeit? Righttherebythecreek!” It was that moment of sharing a simple joy that will stick with me.
10. Avocet (2009) – Another sharing moment. I had managed to haul myself out to Jamaica Bay WR for the August shorebird migration. I was feeling a bit lost and frustrated after stomping through the scrub around the east pond for a hour I headed back to the visitor’s center. There I ran into Marge who was thrilled to discover in the logbook that the avocet was still in the east pond. She insisted that I come along with her and Rob Jett, aka citybirder. http://citybirder.blogspot.com/ The avocet and the (successful) quest for it turned a crappy day into a good one spent with a couple of really great birders.
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