The Year in Birding, 2010

For 2010, Sarah and I decided to tally the number of bird species we found in our travels this year. We did not go out of our way to maximize the number, as some do in a “big year,” but we wanted to determine the number found in each state during a typical year. Here are the results:

The first species of the year was Cackling Goose, observed in a flock over our old apartment on New Year’s Day. The last species we added to the list was White-throated Sparrow, seen at Sarah’s grandparents’ house on Christmas Day.

I found a total of 214 species in five states, while Sarah found 208 in three states.

Between the two of us, we found 190 species in Oregon.

There were 16 species, such as American White Pelican and Golden Eagle, which we saw only in Montana or Washington.

I found one species in Texas, a Great-tailed Grackle at the DFW Airport.

I added 11 species to my list, including Carolina Wren, while attending a conference in Pennsylvania.

Our life birds for the year were Trumpeter Swan, Ancient Murrelet and Cassin’s Auklet.

We saw the swans during a beautiful day of birding in Montana’s Mission Valley.

The murrelets and auklets were swimming in Boiler Bay on the Oregon Coast.

For this year’s project, we are compiling bird lists for each county that we visit in Oregon. This way, we will document which and how many species we find in different parts of the state. Stay tuned for results!