Tag Archives: Raptors

Savoring Sedona: Guest Post by Roger Kohn

We are delighted this week to present only our second ever guest post, by long-time reader of FatherSonBirding, Roger Kohn. Roger and I met at UC Berkeley and roomed together for a time at Cloyne Court Co-op. Since retiring from a distinguished career with the EPA, he and his wife Claudia have settled in Bend and have pursued birding with a passion. Recently, they embarked on their first Arizona birding adventure, kicking it off with a place Braden and I have never birded, Sedona. I asked if he would give FatherSonBirding readers a taste of what it’s like to bird one of the world’s most beautiful places!

Inspired by Sneed and Braden’s adventures in southeastern Arizona last year, and eager to see more bird species and beautiful southwestern landscapes, my wife Claudia and I hopped a flight to Phoenix this past April to start a two-week birding vacation. Our plan was to focus on southeast Arizona. Before heading south, however, we visited Sedona to revel in its awe-inspiring landscapes. Although not known as a birding destination, I was confident we would see some good birds. After all, it was spring in Arizona.

Rising early on our first day, I stepped out onto our deck, which faced a large yard with bird feeders and had more green space beyond. I quickly spotted nine species, including two Lifers: an Inca Dove and a Northern Cardinal (a male, in all its bright red glory), a species I had wanted to see for a long time. Welcome to Arizona! The trip was off to a fine start.

After breakfast we drove a short distance to the location we selected for Day 1 birding: Red Rock State Park, known for its stunning vistas. At the Visitor Center viewing platform, we saw a Turkey Vulture, followed by two dark raptors with white bands on their tails circling above us. “Hawks!,” I exclaimed. I wasn’t sure what species they were, but I knew it was one we hadn’t seen before. The answer came quickly from a park ranger who was standing nearby: Common Black Hawk. Lifer! And who doesn’t love raptors? What a great way to begin our park visit.

**A Lifer Common Black Hawk soars above Red Rock State Park.**

After getting looks at another Northern Cardinal, as well as Lesser Goldfinches, House Finches, Red-wing Blackbirds, and White-crowned Sparrows, we followed the Bunkhouse Trail a short distance downhill to Kingfisher Bridge, which spans Oak Creek. The creek was wide and gushed with fast-moving water. This would prove to be a surprising theme of the trip: plenty of water and lush landscapes–not what one thinks of in a state known for its desert landscapes! Tall, bare trees grew right out of the creek, giving a bizarre, otherworldly quality to this striking scene.

We didn’t see any kingfishers at their namesake bridge, but we did see a couple of Black Phoebes (a flycatcher species) perched on branches above the creek between breakfast-gathering forays. Crossing the bridge, we headed west on the Kisva Trail into riparian habitat next to the creek. It was very birdy here, although not always easy to see the birds. Violet-green Swallows zipped back and forth, and a couple even were cooperative enough to perch and allow me to photograph them. We could hear the harsh calls of Gila Woodpeckers reverberating all around us. The Audubon app describes their calls as “a rolling churrr.” To me, the calls had a bizarre, almost electronic, quality. We were not able to see the woodpeckers, but they are very common in Arizona and we would see them many times in a variety of different habitats on the rest of the trip. A little further on, we could see a lot of bird activity in the treetops. Benefitting from Merlin Sound ID, we knew we were looking at Lucy’s Warblers, another Lifer!

**A Lifer Lucy’s Warbler in the treetops along Oak Creek in Red Rock State Park.**

The Kisva Trail took us to the Eagle’s Nest Trail, which gradually ascends to a summit with a commanding 180-degree view of the surrounding red-rock country. The scenery in and around Sedona is absolutely jaw-dropping, with layers of colorful rock rising into towering formations that lend an epic, cinematic quality to the landscape. This is why we came to Sedona!

We didn’t see many birds on our way up, or as we descended on a loop trail that took us back to Oak Creek. Walking along the creek, we got good looks at a Townsend’s Solitaire and a House Wren, perched and singing a sweet and enchanting aria for all to enjoy. Later I saw a black and white bird darting back and forth among the trees. I wondered if it could be a species that I was really looking forward to seeing based on my pre-trip bird study. Could it be… yes it was… a Bridled Titmouse! Lifer! With what eBird calls a “crested head with striking black-and-white pattern unlike any other bird,” the Bridled Titmouse makes up for its lack of color with a combination of elegant form and bold contrast that give the species a big WOW factor. We loved these guys and saw them on several other occasions in the next two weeks.

A House Wren sings its heart out next to Oak Creek in Red Rock State Park.

Relaxing back at our rental with a fine locally produced beverage made with barley and hops (and love), we snagged two more Lifers: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay and Canyon Towhee. As the sun sunk toward the horizon, we reflected on the excellent first day of our Arizona birding adventure.

**A Lifer Canyon Towhee says hi at our rental.**

We awoke to another gorgeous early spring morning on Day 2 of the trip. Our plan was to bird the West Fork Trail, which follows Oak Creek in the Coconino National Forest. After a pretty 30-minute drive through rugged country north of Sedona, we arrived. A pair of bright blue Steller’s Jays and a group of cackling Acorn Woodpeckers greeted us in the parking lot. As we gathered our gear to get ready to walk, a few black and red birds flew over us and landed in the trees above us. This had to be something good. Focusing our binoculars in high branches where the birds landed, we were delighted to discover that they were Painted Redstarts, a Lifer for both of us! We got great looks and absolutely loved this warbler species, with its gorgeous black, red, and white plumage. Although we would get glimpses of this species again later in the trip, this was by far our best sighting.

**A show-stopping Lifer Painted Redstart in the West Fork Trail parking lot.**

Starting our walk, we enjoyed views of three other warbler species near a footbridge that spanned the creek. Lucy’s Warblers were present, although hard to see as they flitted around in the treetops. We got good looks at Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a beautiful Yellow Warbler foraging in the trees.

Continuing, we passed the ruins of an old cabin and were delighted by the beauty of this place, with cliffs in hues of pink, white, and gray rising to dizzying heights above the canyon floor. We saw Ruby-crowned Kinglets, House Wrens, American Robins, and many Acorn Woodpeckers (which live in family groups), with their colorful and clownish face patterns. Soon we reached a waist-high creek crossing that we didn’t want to attempt, so we turned around. On the way back, we enjoyed views of a pair of Common Black Hawks harassing a Peregrine Falcon. The raptors flew gracefully and at high speeds, making sharp turns as the hawks pursued the falcon, all set against a dramatic background of colorful canyon walls.

We loved the beauty of the landscapes in Sedona and would love to return. As our two-day stay wrapped up, we had seen 38 species, including eight Lifers. Now southeast Arizona, which Tucson Audubon calls “one of the most fascinating areas for birding in the United States,” with over 400 bird species seen annually and approximately 500 recorded, beckoned. Early the next morning, we eagerly pointed our car south toward Tucson.

**The author in his natural habitat, a brewery in Tucson!**

eBird Checklist – 12 Apr 2023 – Red Rock SP – 18 species (+1 other taxa)

eBird Checklist – 12 Apr 2023 – Coconino National Forest, Sedona US-AZ 34.83181, -111.80798 – 4 species

eBird Checklist – 13 Apr 2023 – Oak Creek Canyon–West Fork – 12 species

Birding Japan: Kyoto

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Since we published them, our birding posts about Japan have been read in dozens of countries. If you are planning your own trip to Japan, you’re in luck! Sneed’s book, FIRST-TIME JAPAN: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR THE INDEPENDENT TRAVELER, tells you everything you need to know about how to plan your trip to this remarkable, yet sometimes daunting, country. Order now by clicking here.

Welcome to Part 3 of Sneed’s recent Japan adventure. If you missed the first couple of Japan posts, start here. As always, we appreciate your interest, and please share these with anyone you think will enjoy them.

Our journey to Kyoto gave us one last chance to ride the Enoshima Electric Railway, the adorable little train Tessa and I both fell in love with during our long, rainy weekend in Kamakura. In fact, Japan’s train system is so well thought-out that we simply rode the EER to the end of the line in Fujisowa to catch the Tokaido train to Odawara. There, we boarded the shinkansen (bullet train) for the two-hour ride to Kyoto. Easy peasy. I have to say, however, that Kyoto Station was quite a bit more confusing than Tokyo or any of the other stations we’d visited, but fortunately I knew which subway to catch to our accommodation, a rather modern version of a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan. As far as I can tell, there’s no perfect location to stay in Kyoto, but our place was only an 8-10 minute walk to two different subway stations. Even better, it was close to what turned out to be a wonderful birding spot, the Kamo River—a place that Tessa and I would return to several times.

Our first look at Kyoto’s Kamo River convinced us to return as often as possible. Kyoto’s birds felt the same way!

Our first full day in Kyoto, I planned for us to visit Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine famous for its hundreds (thousands?) of red “torii” gates straddling the paths leading up the mountain. Conveniently, to catch the train to the shrine, we got to walk along the Kamo River. It was a glorious day and many others were out enjoying the sunshine and blooming sakura trees. For my part, I also couldn’t help noticing a lot of birds enjoying the relatively unkempt river bed—including a real surprise, Common Merganser, a duck that we often see in our rivers in Montana!

A pair of Common Mergansers greatly surprised me in Kyoto.

We finished Fushimi Inari Taisha early enough that we decided to go ahead and visit Kyoto’s Imperial Palace and the surrounding Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. The palace was impressively, well, palatial and I was hoping for some excellent birding in the gardens. The over-manicured park, however, once again limited its attractiveness to only the hardiest of species. I did run into a nice little mixed flock that contained a Warbling White-eye, Long-tailed Tit, and my lifer Japanese Bush Warbler, but have to say that I was disappointed overall. Nothing that a big bowl of steaming hot ramen at Ichiran Ramen didn’t cure!

As Kyoto’s Imperial Palace demonstrates, Japanese architects knew what they were doing. If only the places hadn’t burned down every 20 or 30 years!

The next morning, after hitting Kyoto Station to reserve shinkansen tickets for the upcoming legs of our trip, we rode a JR local train out to Arashiyama. Tessa had especially been wanting to visit a bamboo grove, and a large, famous one grew here. We also visited Kameyama Park, located at the mouth of the Katsura River gorge. The sakura were especially wonderful here and, well, the birds turned out to be pretty great, too! As we strolled the gorgeous grounds, I saw a Warbling White-eye and the complete triumvirate of tits: Japanese, Varied, and Long-tailed. Just saying the word “tit” provokes giggles but these birds are essentially the Old World version of chickadees. They look like chickadees. They behave like chickadees. Just as in the States, if you see a tit, chances are other interesting birds are lurking nearby, so I am always happy to spot one.

Kameyama Park is the only place I managed to convince Tessa to give the peace sign for a photo—something almost mandatory for the Japanese!

Following the trails down to the river, we encountered a nice collection of ducks and my first-ever Japanese Wagtail and House Swift! By this time, large crowds had gathered to enjoy the sunshine and sights, so after a quick bite at a local food stand, we high-tailed it back to our ryokan. Our birding in Kyoto was not quite finished, however. I managed two more sessions at Kamo River, the final one the evening before our departure. Tessa was chilling in our room after a busy day of seeing Nijo Castle and the Manga Museum, and doing some gift shopping in Teramachi-dori, one of the expansive covered street malls that seem to be popular in Japan. I had some extra energy so decided on taking one last visit to the river.

My lifer Japanese Wagtail at Kameyama Park. I actually had probably seen one at the Kamo River earlier, but it took me a while to tease out the differences in markings with White Wagtails.

It was a lovely afternoon, and hundreds of Kyoto residents were out taking advantage of it. I walked downstream, enjoying the Black Kites flying overhead and Gray Herons, Great and Little Egrets, Great Cormorants, ducks, and Japanese and White Wagtails along the river. One thing I’d sorely missed on the trip were any kind of shorebirds, but suddenly I saw a suspicious bird standing on a rock across the river. From eBird quizzes I’d taken, I immediately guessed that my shorebird drought might be at an end and that this could be a Common Sandpiper. I was too far away to get a good look at the bill, though, and it seemed too short. That was good because it forced me to call up the Merlin app and dive deeper into the Common Sandpiper’s ID features. Two things stuck out: COSAs had a prominent white “spur” at the shoulder and they often bobbed their tails like wagtails. I again focused my binoculars. “Yep,” I said out loud. “That’s a Common Sandpiper!” Just a few minutes later I saw yet another bird sitting on a rock in the river—this one a Gray Wagtail, completing the “Wagtail Trilogy” for the trip. Neither the Common Sandpiper nor Gray Wagtail were lifers for me, but they brought my Japan bird list up to 47 species. More important, they were an awesome way to finish up our time in Kyoto.

Throughout Japan, I enjoyed Black Kites, but they put on a special show along the Kamo River.

More, much more, lay in store.

Sneed’s Kameyama Park eBird checklist.

Sneed’s final Kamo River eBird checklist.

March Madness Birding in Missouri

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Congratulations to our loyal follower Roger Kohn for notching his 300th Life Bird this week—and a Golden Eagle no less! Way to go, Rog, and may it be just a prelude to a great spring birding season!

I can’t believe we didn’t post the entire month of February. Nonetheless, we appreciate your loyalty and devotion, and believe it or not, we picked up our 100^th subscriber in the last few weeks. We should have more than that, but Russian hackers led to a subscriber catastrophe some years back. No matter, we are glad to have you with us.

But back to the lack of posts, we’ve had solid excuses. Braden has been studying hard for a tough group of science and math classes this semester while I’ve been laboring to complete two new books and get them turned in. Mission accomplished! I celebrated by heading off to the Children’s Literature Festival in Warrensburg, Missouri. It was my “dozenth” or so time there, and this one proved particularly delightful, with more than twenty authors speaking to thousands of kiddos over the course of two days. This trip was made even more delightful by the fact that I roped several of those authors into joining me for a birding excursion!

**The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg provided a friendly, intimate setting for 54th Children’s Literature Festival—the first full festival since Covid!**

My one complaint about the literature festival is that it always happens before spring migration hits Missouri. Undaunted, I led authors Padma Venkatraman and Samantha Edwards, and Samantha’s husband, Jason Tucker, to Cave Hollow Park this past Sunday morning. Braden and I had birded the park many years back, but before we really knew what we were doing. We’d seen only a handful of species and had left disappointed. This time, I hoped for a better result—and was richly rewarded!

Working the woods that lined the large grassy areas, our intrepid crew saw—and heard—Northern Cardinals and Eastern Phoebes. Then, an American Kestrel flew over, not to be outdone by Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a Northern Flicker, and one of our biggest surprises, a Pileated woodpecker. Of the three woodpeckers, I discovered that the Red-bellied is definitely the most common in the Show Me State. That seemed wonderfully strange for a guy accustomed to Downy Woodpeckers holding down the top spot!

The trip to Missouri was my first opportunity to test my new Panasonic “travel camera” and as you can see from this Northern Cardinal, I didn’t really know what I was doing. Am hoping I’ll get to share better photos with you soon!

We continued our excursion, venturing into the park’s wooded trail system. This is where Braden and I had pretty much struck out before, but today our group was pleased to encounter Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and a surprise White-breasted Nuthatch. For the first time, I also recognized the “Fee-bee” call of an Eastern Phoebe. “Ah,” I told my companions, “that’s how they got their name.” To my satisfaction, my companions loved our outing, as did I. While we didn’t see anything rare, I don’t often get a chance to enjoy the birds of the East, so it was a special treat to get out there on this sunny, crisp morning. It was also great to have such enthusiastic company!

**My intrepid fellow birders and I were excited to discover some of the “hollows” for which Cave Hollow Park is named (Left to right: Padma Venkatraman, Samantha Edwards, and her husband, Jason).**

I was so pumped that I woke early the next morning and birded the woods right next to our hotel. I had barely set out when I saw eight or ten sparrows close by. The yellow above the eye made me at first think “Savanna Sparrows.” Then I realized with excitement that they were White-throated Sparrows—a species that wasn’t even on my radar! More surprises followed with a look at a Song Sparrow and Turkey Vulture. Then, I heard an even bigger surprise—a Carolina Wren. That afternoon, I bumped my Missouri Life List to 31 species when a Red-shouldered Hawk landed on a lamp post next to the hotel as I and my friend and fellow author, Roland Smith, returned back from work. I ended the trip more than happy with my March Missouri birding . . . but that doesn’t keep me from dreaming they’ll one day move the festival to April when the full flush of spring songbirds will be moving through!

I’m not sure why, but White-throated Sparrows just make me happy. I hope you’re getting to see some wherever you are! Fun fact: President Teddy Roosevelt especially enjoyed listening to White-throated Sparrows on the grounds of the White House!

Advance Warning: You will most likely have to endure another lengthy delay before our next post as I (Sneed) is about to embark on a major trip. The good news is that I will be traveling to a country I have never been, and I can almost guarantee that your patience will be rewarded!

Starting 2023 in the Dumps

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If you’ve been following our posts the past five years, you’ve probably learned that Braden and I like to kick off a new year with a big day of birding. Last year on January 1, we enjoyed an exceptional day, chalking up almost 50 species including Snowy, Short-eared, and Great Horned Owls. This year, we didn’t get out until January 3—and following a much colder snap of weather—and weren’t sure what we might find. I predicted we’d see 45 species while Braden opted for a more conservative 40. We both agreed, though, that we might be a bit optimistic.

We backed out of our driveway in total darkness and an hour later, as dawn spread over the horizon, were greeted by the sheer majesty of the snow-covered Mission Mountains, surely one of the most stunning mountain ranges in the Lower 48. Our first destination? Duck Road at Ninepipe, perhaps our most reliable spot for Short-eared Owls. Alas, these owls are not to be trusted. They had obviously received advanced intel about our arrival and skedaddled to some other part of the refuge. As we crept along in the early light, though, we spotted a flock of about sixty small birds suddenly rising up from the snow-covered grass. “Waxwings?” I asked as Braden quickly got his binoculars on them. I parked the car as he answered, “No. Guess again.” “Snow Buntings?” I asked excitedly. “Yes!”

Can you find the buntings? Even with the spotting scope, the rascals proved challenging to observe.

We watched the birds whirl around before landing again, and quickly broke out the spotting scope. Often, Snow Buntings travel with Lapland Longspurs, but as we scanned the birds feeding hungrily about a hundred yards away, we saw that this flock was pure buntings. Remarkably, these were the first Snow Buntings we’d ever seen on the west side of the mountains and it kicked off the day in fine fashion.

We left Ninepipe with only about ten species, but felt optimistic heading north, and sure enough, found a pair of gorgeous Long-eared Owls at a well-known spot near Polson, Montana. At a nearby bakery, we also happened to snag two donuts and a cinnamon roll for our Year List. Yum!

**Bird of the Day: Even concealed in this thicket, this Long-eared Owl and its companion gave us our best-ever look at these animals in the wild.**

We weren’t sure what we were going to do next, but decided to retrace last year’s route and continue on to Kalispell in hopes of finding a Snowy Owl. Last year, we had happened into an amazing group of waterfowl at the north end of the lake, but this year we ran into a much smaller group about halfway up the west side of Flathead at Dayton Bay. Here we found Trumpeter Swans and six kinds of ducks, and it was a good thing as we discovered that the north end of the lake was almost completely frozen.

After an unsuccessful search for Snowy Owls, we stopped at Panera’s for lunch and contemplated our next move. “We could go to the Kalispell dump,” Braden suggested. I cringed at the idea since we’d been yelled at a couple of years before when trying to go there to find gulls and Gray-crowned Rosy-finches. The trick was to arrive with some trash to throw away, but we’d forgotten to bring any. As we munched away on our Kitchen Sink cookies, however, we formulated a plan. After leaving Panera’s I drove behind some of the big box stores nearby and, sure enough, found some wasted cardboard sitting there. I tossed it into our trusty minivan and we were all set!

Alas, we found nothing truly extraordinary at the landfill. We did pick up Herring Gulls, which can be a bit tricky to locate in Montana, but the real surprise was a group of about ten turkeys feeding on garbage. Hm. “I didn’t know they could do that,” Braden said, but it made sense. After all, the amount of food Americans throw away could easily feed several other countries. Though we failed to find anything really rare, we had completed our covert mission and headed south again feeling like we’d done our best. Click here for our dump checklist!

Who knew that Wild Turkeys liked to forage in landfills? We didn’t get any photos of this happening since we had to get in and out of the dump quickly, but thought you’d enjoy this “non-landfill” turkey—a different subspecies than the Landfill Turkey.

As the day again drifted toward darkness, we again hit Ninepipe on our way back to Missoula, picking up American Kestrels, a Northern Harrier, and a couple of large groups of pheasants, but no Short-eared Owls. As a consolation prize, though, as soon as we got home, Braden heard Great Horned Owls hooting from our front porch and called me out to listen. We ended the day with 35 species, undershooting even Braden’s smaller target, but felt good about the day. It was still a respectable number to start the new year, and with Braden heading back to college soon, we both cherished another day getting to bird together. How can you do better than that?

The Good ‘Ole College Try: As our first 2023 day of birding wound down, Braden trudged off across this field to determine if perhaps any Short-eared Owls were just laying low. They weren’t. Still, we felt pleased by our first day of birding, 2023.

Counting Down Braden’s and Sneed’s Top 2022 Birds

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A tradition Braden and I have formed over the years is to make top birds lists after any big trip or, as this year, for our entire year of birding. This probably stems from the many hours I listened to Casey Kasem counting down the American Top 40 every weekend as a youth. Our own “Top 40” lists have diverged a bit since Braden is now on the East Coast for most of the year—but this year we still managed to have a lot of birding adventures together, and so have a lot of common birds on our list. It’s funny, though, how some birds we might have been super excited about when we first saw them often drift lower on the list. I suppose it’s like being super excited about Barry Manilow when you first heard him—and then realizing you could be listening to the likes of the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and John Lee Hooker. Anyway, we thought you might enjoy our Top 10 birds of 2022—and hope you might share some of your own!

# 10

Coming in at Number 10 for Braden was the Florida Scrub-Jay, which is remarkably vulnerable in Florida, but Braden got to see with his birding buddy Nick Ramsey on their epic Spring Break Florida adventure. Read about it here. Sneed’s #10 was an unlikely Cape May Warbler—his Lifer—that he spotted in front of the house of his good friends Mollie and Craig Bloomsmith in Atlanta this fall.

**Florida Scrub-Jays are the only bird species entirely restricted to Florida.**

Braden had excellent adventures with Northern Saw-whet Owls while out in California, running into some adorable juveniles while thrashing through the woods during his job with the Institute for Bird Populations. Elegant Trogon finished #9 on Sneed’s list—an exotic bird if there ever was one! And yet, both Braden and Sneed wondered why this bird didn’t finish higher on either of their lists. Probably just too much on the beaten birding path. (Photo at top of the blog.)

**Non-stop birding for his job throughout the summer led Braden to a remarkable encounter with these juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owls.**

Braden’s night car camping (literally) in the Everglades landed Chuck-will’s-widow on his Top 10 while Zone-tailed Hawk swooped out of a flock of Turkey Vultures at Madera Canyon to nab Sneed’s Number 8.

**Zone-tailed Hawks are well-known mimics of Turkey Vultures and often hang out with them—which is where we spotted this one at Madera Canyon, Arizona; only our second ZTHA ever.**

Ah, who doesn’t love a Swallow-tailed Kite—especially one that swoops right over your head? Braden obviously DOES, as yet another bird from his Florida trip snagged a Top Ten spot. Sneed, meanwhile, went with the shockingly beautiful Scott’s Oriole for Lucky Number 7. He and Braden both fell in love with these birds, and were lucky enough to see them several times on their Arizona adventures. In fact . . .

**Braden never tired of seeing Swallow-tailed Kites on his and Nick’s epic Florida adventure.**

Scott’s Oriole grabbed Braden’s Number 6 while Sneed went with Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, also in Arizona, in a case that he couldn’t quite explain. “There was just something mysterious and intriguing about that bird,” he was quoted as telling a New York Times reporter.

**Though relatively widespread in the Southwest, Scott’s Oriole is a bird Braden and I wondered if we’d ever really get to see—or even if it really existed. It does!**

Unfortunately, the same New York Times reporter caught Sneed cheating for Number 5, as he listed THREE birds tied for #5: Mexican Whip-poor-will, Whiskered Screech-Owl, and Elf Owl. “How can you possibly justify this?” demanded the reporter. “Well, I only ever heard these three birds, but we listened to them on a magical night in Portal, walking down a darkened road. It’s just a night that Braden and I won’t ever forget.” Meanwhile Braden went with his many amazing experiences with Prairie Warblers this year for his #5 spot, seeing them throughout Florida, including the Everglades, in Maine, and during the Collard Family’s epic New York City trip in May.

**It blew Braden’s mind to learn that Prairie Warblers breed in the mangroves of Florida.**

The night walk in Portal also left a big impression on Braden, giving him his Number 4 in the form of Mexican Whip-poor-will. Sneed, meanwhile, went with Red-faced Warbler, spotted just a few miles and a couple thousand feet away—the first, and still only, RFWA the father-son duo has ever seen.

**Another fairly common Southwest bird that had eluded us until this trip, the Red-faced Warbler immediately captured our hearts. This is still the only we have ever seen.**

Number 3 is getting into some Serious Birds, and Braden selected Spotted Owl for his. Not only did Sneed and Braden both see them for the first time in the Chiricahuas, Braden got to see the California subspecies several times during his summer job. Sneed went with his recently self-found Long-tailed Duck—the first male he had ever seen—and one he discovered pretty much in his backyard near Missoula.

**When you find a bird by yourself, it naturally ranks higher in a Year List. Such was the case with this male Long-tailed Duck Sneed found near Frenchtown last fall.**

Braden paid for his Number 2 bird, Long-tailed Jaeger (a second cousin to former lead singer for the Rolling Stones) with repeated upchucking over the side of the boat during his summer pelagic boat trip out of Half Moon Bay. After cavorting with a bunch of Sabine’s Gulls, however, this bird took flight and then passed only ten feet above Braden’s head. He celebrated by once again barfing into the sea. Sneed opted for White-tailed Ptarmigan, just one of the coolest birds on the planet, seen during his and Braden’s stunning hike up to Piegan Pass in Glacier National Park in August.

**Blurry photo notwithstanding (or puking as was the case), this Long-tailed Jaeger flew into Braden’s #2 spot for the year.**

Drum Roll . . . And their Number 1s are . . .

The adventure and thrill of seeking out and finally finding a LeConte’s Thrasher on the east side of the Sierras stayed with Braden strongly enough to make it his Number 1 Bird of 2022! Remarkably, Spotted Owl, which had been only #4 on Sneed’s Arizona Trip list mounted an epic comeback to grab his Number 1 spot!

Braden’s #1 for 2022: LeConte’s Thrasher!

Thanks for tuning in as we’ve relived our top birds. Be sure to click on the links to get the full accounts, and may 2023 generate a memorable list for you, too!