john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (07/30/89)
Don't you hate it when you hear that some amazing bird was
seen somewhere the day after you were there?
Well, I just saw a copy of some field notes that made me cry
and wail and gnash my teeth. My neighbor Phil and I are
trying to see as many New Mexico state birds as possible,
and apparently our spring migration trip to the eastern side
of the state was just a day or two early.
The list of great birds presented below is from the field
notes of one Mitch Heindel, some Texan who came through
here for a month and saw TWELVE BIRDS that aren't on
my state list. These are all things you can't ever
reliably just go out and see---you have to luck out.
White-rumped Sandpiper: Bitter Lake NWR, May 8. We were
there on the 7th; we were even looking for this
species, and tried to make a Baird's into one, but
its rump was disappointingly dark when it flew.
Short-billed Dowitcher: Bitter Lake, May 8.
Red-necked Phalarope: Holloman Lakes, May 10. I've
been to this spot many times.
Common Tern: Holloman Lakes, May 10.
Chimney Swift: Clovis, Apr. 28 to May 3. Last year
we looked for these in Carlsbad about this time, where
they are supposed to be reliable. No luck.
Hammond's Flycatcher: Oasis State Park, Apr. 29, and
Boone's Draw, May 6. We camped at Boone's Draw the
night of May 4/5.
Eastern Kingbird: Oasis State Park, May 6--7. We were
there on the 5th on a special trip looking for this
particular species.
Yellow-throated Vireo: Hillcrest Park, Clovis, Apr. 28.
We never work Clovis; it's not known as a good spot.
Golden-winged Warbler: Boone's Draw, May 7.
Black-throated Blue Warbler: Clovis, May 1--5, 1 male;
Boone's Draw, May 6, 1 female.
Black-throated Green Warbler: Boone's Draw, May 6.
Bay-breasted Warbler: Boone's Draw, May 6.
This list does not include some local (-: trash birds :-)
like Philadelphia Vireo (we've seen it once), Black-bellied
Plover (Phil and I have one record each), Semipalmated,
Baird's, and Stilt sandpipers, California Gull, Blue Jay,
Lucy's, Chestnut-sided (saw my state bird May 6),
Townsend's, and Black-and-White warblers, Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, and Clay-colored Sparrow.
There's an obvious solution to this timing problem.
{-| GO BIRDING EVERY DAY, ALL DAY. |-}
--
John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico
USENET: ucbvax!unmvax!nmtsun!john CSNET: john@nmtsun.nmt.edu ``A lesson from
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