2012 was a great birding year for me due to some unexpected travel to Arizona and North Carolina. A family reunion at the Oregon Coast also was a boon to my birding lists. I was able to add 40 life birds this year! I saw 306 bird species which is the biggest year I've personally had so far.

Rufous-capped Warbler

Sandwich Tern

Prothonotary Warbler

Wilson's Plover

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

At one point, a male Red Crossbill flew into the tree we were standing under, within a couple feet of our faces. I snapped this photo with my iPhone, but the light was behind it.

Here are the Top 10 most viewed posts at BirdingIsFun.com in 2012:

1. Bird Comparison Photos, by Kimberly Kaufman

For the past ten years or so I have made an effort to participate in as many area Christmas Bird Counts as possible. Many counts happen on the same day so it is difficult to pick and choose which ones will work, especially when distance, work, and family are all factored into the mix.

This year, though, I was able to do all three of the Rockford, Illinois area CBCs: Rockford, Kishwaukee, and the one I coordinate, Rock Cut State Park.

This is a recap of these counts.


The Rockford count is the longest running one in my neck of the woods and one that gets much more counters than the other two. I was able to go with my dad and sister and we met up with another birder who was highly familiar with the area.

Unfortunately, it rained almost the entire time we counted and we were perpetually soaked and cold.

We did manage a few highlights including a calling and flying Pileated Woodpecker as well as a beautiful just-turned adult Bald Eagle.

We didn't count for as long as we anticipated as the weather just wouldn't give us a break.

For the Kishwaukee count I also went with my dad and sister plus my niece. This time we had an area all to ourselves so it was fun to explore and find new spots that we hoped to find birds.

The weather was much nicer and felt warmer with the sunshine (despite starting out around 11 degrees).

We didn't find tons of birds but managed to pick up two American Kestrels, a few Red-tailed Hawks, and a handful of other common species. We didn't see anything rare or unusual.

For my count we covered a large area that included three nice forest preserves/conservation areas.

I counted with my other sister, dad, nephew, and both nieces.


It was cold and windy but we managed to find more than 1,300 birds (many of which were Canada Geese) consisting of 25 species. The highlights included a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Northern Harrier and a beautiful reddish Barred Owl that my nephew spotted.

We also found some interesting areas with large houses and feeders with a variety of birds.

Overall it was a fun and successful Christmas Bird Count season.

I highly recommend every birder to do at least one count each year. It makes for a great time outdoors even in ugly weather and is a wonderful citizen science project.

As each year comes to a close, I like to remember back on my favorite bird sightings of the year.  OK, 2012 isn't officially over, so here's hoping that another couple of good birds show up to play havoc with this list :-)  In the meantime, here are my personal best birds seen or heard in 2012.

White Wagtail, San Pedro, CA 12-9-2012

1)  White Wagtail.  I was fortunate enough to be out in Orange County, California when this bird show up on a beach in San Pedro south of LA earlier this month.  I chased it the next day and it was a new ABA Area bird for me, and I was happy to see it with an old birding friend Rob Bates from Austin that I ran into unexpectedly on the beach.We watched it fly up and down the beach and wag its tail a bunch of times, and I managed a couple of digiscoped shots.

2) Barolo Shearwater.  A life bird for me this year, I was fortunate enough to be able to accompany my Montana birding buddy Mike Schwitters on the Brookline Bird Club pelagic trip out of Massachusetts that netted us a sighting of this bird.  It was a great new bird for me, and ABA area bird #800 for my buddy Mike.  Sweet! (Post about this trip here, and checklists from this trip here).

3) White-faced Storm Petrel.  Another new ABA Area bird for me this year on the Brookline Bird Club pelagic trip.  I was able to see hundreds of these little cuties down in New Zealand last year, but it was great to see them off the Atlantic coast of North America.

4) Red-billed Tropicbird.  A new bird for my ABA and life list, see on that Brookline Bird Club trip--Even though my seasickness patches ultimately didn't keep me from getting sick on that trip, I'm really glad I was able to be on that trip and see these cool birds.

5) Dovekie.  This one was seen on a pelagic trip out of Cape May, NJ last February.  This was a new ABA area and life bird for me, and the Razorbills on that trip were also new ABA area birds for me.  It was a long cold trip, but no seasickness, so that was a super plus.

Eared Grebe (left) with Horned Grebes, Spruce Run, 3-31-2012

6) Eared Grebe.  I spent a lot of time this year getting to know the birding locations and birds in my new county after moving to Hunterdon County, NJ last fall.  This bird is a state-wide rarity in New Jersey, and the first rare bird that I found in the county this year.  It appears to have been the only Eared Grebe found in New Jersey in 2012.  So, sorry for the crappy digiscoped photos, but it was a very foggy day and blah, blah, blah.  Best thing that came out of this sighting was my decision to finally get a better spotting scope--and I've enjoyed my Kowa 883 ever since!

Black Skimmer, Spruce Run Reservoir, 5-23-2012

7) Black Skimmer.  Another county rarity that I found, apparently only a second county record, and the first one of the eBird era :-)  Even though these birds every day of the year only an hour from here, they don't usually show up inland.  It stuck around for a couple of days and all the county listers were able to get good looks as it hung out near a boat launch at the local reservoir.  Sometimes you get credit for finding tough to ID rarities, but this one is as easy to ID as they come.

8) Royal Tern.  When Hurricane Sandy blew through, we had a great day at the local reservoirs.  This was my contribution--two birds that I found at Round Valley Reservoir after the storm.  Apparently a first Hunterdon County record.  Here's an eBird checklist with my friend Michael Rehman's photo of one of the birds.  Other great local rarities that I was able to see that day were a Leach's Storm Petrel (county first), American Oystercatchers (county first), Pomarine Jaeger, and Red Phalarope.

9) Whimbrel.  This is a controversial bird that I heard and recorded flying over my house in May.  They are never seen in the county, though they must be migrating overhead.  Local listers didn't like my including it in my year totals for the county on eBird since I heard them with the aid of a digital microphone, so it (and similarly heard Short-billed Dowitchers) aren't on my 2012 eBird totals.  Without these birds I am currently ranked third in the county on eBird.  If I include these heard birds, then I would be ranked second for 2012.  Ah the joys of competitive bird listing :-)

10) Common Chaffinch.  Another controversial bird.  Ultimately rejected as a possible escapee by the New Jersey Bird Records Committee, this bird entertained hundreds of birders at my friend Michael Rehman's feeders just five minutes from my house.  It was a great way to start off the year seeing this bird and all my friends who came over to see it (blog post and fuzzy photos here).

Runners Up:  
Local county rarities Pink-footed Goose (2nd NJ and 1st Hunterdon County record, how does this not make the top 10?!?), Ross's Goose, Cave Swallow, Little Gull, Clay-colored Sparrow in the yard (I could do a whole best yard birds of the year post!  Update:  Here it is!), Evening Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, Red Crossbill, and White-winged Crossbill.  New ABA bird (if it is ever accepted on the official list)--Nutmeg Mannakin on my Orange County trip.

Thanks to everyone who I was able to bird with or who helped me find birds this past year!  It was a lot of fun.  Sticking mostly to my own county, I still managed to see 371 bird species in 12 states this year.  Closer to home, unless the snow stops and I can get lucky with a last minute rarity or a Long-eared Owl, looks like I will end up with 254 (or 252, see above) species for Hunterdon County this year.  It was a great year of birding in the county, with the previous county year record of 257 broken and 3 birders finishing with 250+ county birds for the year and 6 local birders with 220+ species.

Before we look forward to a great year of birding in 2013, what were your own best birds of 2012?

Black Skimmer

The last couple times I've visited Ponce Inlet near Daytona Beach, FL, I've been greeted by upwards of 100 Black Skimmers.  These wonderful creatures are unique in the bird world--check out their bills.  They're the only American bird where the lower mandible is longer than the upper mandible.  Look at the bird from the side, and the bill seems rather thick, but from the front the bill is razor thin.

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmers

Even more fun is their unique feeding style.  They fly low over the water and skim the water with their bills in search of small fish. The lower mandible slices through the water, and when it gets a fish, the upper mandible closes down on the fish to capture it.

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

I like to see them when they're resting.  They rest their heads on the sand, and it looks like they've tuckered themselves out so much they can't hold up their bills anymore.

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmers are related to Gulls and Terns. They average about 18 inches in length and have a wingspan of about 44 inches. I love capturing images of them in flight.

Black Skimmers

We've been invaded again. Starting with two or three birds, as December advanced we began to get more and more Common Redpolls in the yard. By the middle of the month they were at all the feeders, in the all the trees, and feeding on the ground with over-wintering Mourning Doves.

My yard has been part of the local Christmas Bird Count for several years. In preparation for the day, I spent a great deal of time practicing an accurate count of these flighty little finches.  With feeders in both the front and back yards, I did a lot of laps through the house.

Common Redpolls are tiny birds in constant motion. Even when eating, there is always movement with birds flitting in and out, squabbling over food and the best locations. Add in the fact they travel in mixed flocks with House Finches and it's enough to make your eyes go crossed.






Suddenly in the midst of all the counting, all my senses went on alert. Is that....? Could it be...?

YES!  The holy grail of redpoll counts! I had a Hoary Redpoll in the yard! At least I thought I did.

Even the most experienced birders have a great deal of trouble doing a positive identification of a Hoary (Arctic) Redpoll. Checking the bird guides is only marginally helpful, as here's what Sibley has to say:

In general Hoary Redpoll appears less brown than Common, as if dredged in flour; it is also slightly larger and has a shorter bill. Specific field marks to look for include the Hoary’s unstreaked white rump; undertail coverts either unstreaked or with a single fine streak; and streaking on the sides less extensive and finer than on Common. Adult males are lightly flushed pale pink on the breast, as opposed to the uniform deep-rose breast coloration of Common. However, characteristics of the two species overlap, and not all redpolls can be safely separated in the field. Distinguishing Common and Hoary Redpolls is extremely challenging, as the differences are small and subjective, and debate continues over whether the two should be considered separate species.

It's bird identification on a sliding scale with no reference to indicate when the scale has tipped. Fortunately the tentatively-identified Hoary in my yard sat still long enough for a few photos, and fellow birders confirmed my identification.

Hoary Redpoll foreground, Common Redpoll background

It's very likely I have seen Hoarys before, as flocks of redpolls are common winter birds in this province. However, without the photograph and fellow birder confirmation, I've always been hesitant to add them to my life list. At long last I can finally put a tick mark beside their name. With a pen.