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U.S.A. - COLORADO:

Big Day (Bird Race)

30 January 1999

by Brandon K. Percival

Big Day Statistics:

Comments:

"We were hoping to break the previous January Big Day record, and somehow we did.  With about a hour and a half of birding light left, we still needed four more species to tie the record and five to beat it (we were at 92 species).  Things did not look to great.  We decided to go look for blackbirds and grackles at the feedlot at Lake Meredith, on the way there, I spotted a shrike.  We turned around and the bird turned out to be a Loggerhead Shrike and while looking at that bird a Ring-necked Pheasant flew up beside us.  Two new day birds right together, things were looking a little better.  Then on to the feed lot.  We had hoped for Great-tailed Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird, and did manage to get the grackle (#95).  Then back we went to Rocky Ford, hoping to find something we missed earlier and on the way there a Golden Eagle was found (#96).  We added Ross's Goose and Virginia Rail before dark to end at 98 species, a new record.  We made it, somehow, someway.  It was another fun big day, with a bunch of unusual birds that were stake outs.  I like when stake outs cooperate, like most of them did on this big day."

1. PACIFIC LOON
2. Common Loon
3. YELLOW-BILLED LOON
4. Pied-billed Grebe
5. Horned Grebe
6. Western Grebe
7. Great Blue Heron
8. TRUMPETER SWAN
9. Snow Goose
10. Ross's Goose
11. Canada Goose
12. Wood Duck
13. Green-winged Teal
14. Mallard
15. Northern Pintail
16. Northern Shoveler
17. Gadwall
18. American Wigeon
19. Redhead
20. Ring-necked Duck
21. GREATER SCAUP
22. Lesser Scaup
23. Common Goldeneye
24. Bufflehead
25. Hooded Merganser
26. Common Merganser
27. Bald Eagle
28. Northern Harrier
29. Sharp-shinned Hawk
30. Cooper's Hawk
31. Red-tailed Hawk
32. Ferruginous Hawk
33. Rough-legged Hawk
34. Golden Eagle
35. American Kestrel
36. Prairie Falcon
37. Ring-necked Pheasant
38. Scaled Quail
39. Virginia Rail
40. American Coot
41. Killdeer
42. Ring-billed Gull
43. Herring Gull
44. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
45. Rock Dove
46. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
47. Mourning Dove
48. Great Horned Owl
49. Long-eared Owl
50. Belted Kingfisher
51. Lewis's Woodpecker
52. Downy Woodpecker
53. Hairy Woodpecker
54. Northern Flicker
55. Horned Lark
56. Steller's Jay
57. Blue Jay
58. Western Scrub-Jay
59. Black-billed Magpie
60. American Crow
61. Chihuahuan Raven
62. Common Raven
63. Black-capped Chickadee
64. Mountain Chickadee
65. Red-breasted Nuthatch
66. White-breasted Nuthatch
67. Pygmy Nuthatch
68. Brown Creeper
69. Bewick's Wren
70. Marsh Wren
71. American Dipper
72. Golden-crowned Kinglet
73. Mountain Bluebird
74. Townsend's Solitaire
75. American Robin
76. Curve-billed Thrasher
77. Cedar Waxwing
78. Loggerhead Shrike
79. European Starling
80. Yellow-rumped Warbler
81. Spotted Towhee
82. Canyon Towhee
83. American Tree Sparrow
84. Song Sparrow
85. White-crowned Sparrow
86. Dark-eyed Junco
87. Lapland Longspur
88. Red-winged Blackbird
89. Western Meadowlark
90. Brewer's Blackbird
91. Great-tailed Grackle
92. COMMON GRACKLE
93. Pine Grosbeak
94. House Finch
95. Pine Siskin
96. American Goldfinch
97. Evening Grosbeak
98. House Sparrow

Good birding,

Brandon K. Percival
Pueblo West, CO
flammowl@juno.com
 

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