Rough December 2021 Plans

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 

???