I've been getting lots of questions from everyone about my remaining needs, and upon what level acquiring the record is attainable! Here is the list of the regularly occurring Lower 48 birds that I'm needing - winter birds that I missed in January & February because I didn't decide to do a big year until February 10th, while I was driving west to Arizona and California!
Dec 3 I'll be flying to Portland, Oregon, for an Oregon Pelagic on December 4th! Here I'm hoping for Ancient Murrelet, Laysan Albatross, a shot at Short-tailed Albatross, a distant possibility of Mottled Petrel and Parakeet Auklet. Just picking up the first two would be great - anything else on that list would be a bonus!
From there, I'll be heading to check out a Gyrfalcon location in Oregon, if the bird is still being seen, and then up to Eastern Washington for the wintering Slaty-backed Gull on the Columbia River. There should be Iceland Gulls in the vicinity as well, and nearby there have been sightings of Rusty Blackbirds, so I might be able to check that one off too.
From there, I'm not quite sure what I'll do yet. If there's a rarity to be chased, I'll be doing that, and if not, I may spend a week at home and give a bit more time for the winter New England birds to settle in, as well as for Northern Hawk Owls to establish their winter territories. I need to drive around and find or chase a Mountain Plover somewhere. Eventually, I'll need to do a New England / Minnesota / Oklahoma circuit, and it looks like I'll be finishing my year in Hatteras, North Carolina, on a pelagic trip, hoping for Great Skua, on December 29th or 30th.
I'm at 708. Twelve of these thirteen species, plus five rarities would cinch the record!
Regularly Occurring:
Ancient Murrelet
Gyrfalcon
Iceland Gull
Rusty Blackbird
Glaucous Gull
Black-headed Gull
Thick-billed Murre
Dovekie
King Eider
Purple Sandpiper
Mountain Plover
Smith's Longspur
Northern Hawk Owl
Rarity Hopes:
Laysan Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
Slaty-backed Gull
Barnacle Goose
Pink-footed Goose
Great Skua
???
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