74 replies to this topic

[guy_incognito]

Thought it might be fun to share some of your milestone birds, whether it be a lifetime, state, county, or even a backyard milestone.

I'll start it off with two state milestones.

 

#100 in CA, White-headed Woodpecker, 9/25/10

 

 

#200 in CA, Scott's Oriole, 4/17/11

 

[guy_incognito]

ABA #300 - Ruddy Turnstone. This was actually lifer #280, but was first seen in Portugal.

[guy_incognito]

lifer #300 - Tricolored Blackbird

 

[Bird Brain]

My #1 milestone bird has to be this Horned Lark. For years I wondered why I could never see one when I was in soooo many areas where they were!! Finally, one day I was out and..BINGO!!.... there it was, right in front of me. I also saw some Snowy Plovers that day, but the Horned Lark was more exciting to see (to me, at least) than the S. Plovers!

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[ginspin16]

what's a milestone?  an even number?  i'm guessing cause you only put hundreds. 

 i keep my list in alphabetical order so i don't remember the chronological order.  but i saw a WH woodpecker a couple weeks ago in the mountains and your picture puts mine to shame....:b

[guy_incognito]

Maybe there is some strict definition, but I'd just consider any point that you think is significant.  People usually go by 'round' numbers.  But perhaps a milestone could be a first, such as first seen on a trip, first with a new camera, or whatever means something to you.

[Bird Brain]

guy_incognito:

Maybe there is some strict definition, but I'd just consider any point that you think is significant.  People usually go by 'round' numbers.  But perhaps a milestone could be a first, such as first seen on a trip, first with a new camera, or whatever means something to you.

I didn't even notice that you had yours numbered 100, 200, and 300, guy. The first thing that popped into my head was as I stated above...the one that meant the most to me as far as seeing and IDing. Sorry for the confusion.

[Rudi Nuissl]

It's not my best photo, or a "round-number" milestone, but this nesting YCNH made species #241 on my life list and this shot made the news in Denver:

 

Total Lifers at this point = 248;  Hoping to get to 250 by the end of this weekend.

[zoutedrop]

Great thread.  The YCNH story was awesome.  I actually "stopped" birding at 299 to get a good #300.  It ended up being a Common Black-Hawk. 

My biggest milestone was not a number but a bird experience.  My  avatar is a BCNH that jumped out of a tree that I was studying under.  I never recovered from that experience.  I now spend nights on a bird forum and weekends chasing birds.

[guy_incognito]

Nice ones, both.

Cool YCNH story; it can be your first published photo milestone!

Matt, that is too funny.  I was also hoping for ABA 300 to be a more unique bird.  Thought it would come during a pelagic trip.  At first I thought #300 was a Sanderling (yes, it did take that long).

[paulkienitz]

I think I have to count #100 as being this brown-headed cowbird that I found in an old picture that I never paid any attention to at the time I took it.

 

That's the 100th species photographed, not the 100th IDed, which is not something I can reconstruct.

[Platypus]

I'll get back to you in a couple of weeks!  I'm at 78 right now.

[lyceel]

World #300:  Burrowing Owl (also a birthday present!)

[lyceel]

Florida #200:  Nanday Parakeet

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[lyceel]

Brevard, FL #100:  Stilt Sandpiper (or Semipalmated Sandpiper)...

 

[zoutedrop]

I saw lyceel's response and thought about my birding again.  Guess this one will always be on my list, home page of the ABA for about a week....  Check out the Peeps Blog ;-)

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[lyceel]

Matt:

I saw lyceel's response and thought about my birding again.  Guess this one will always be on my list, home page of the ABA for about a week....  Check out the Peeps Blog ;-)

Yeah, that's a good one at any number.  

[Jenny81]

Number 100 on my list, it stuck around the next door pond for a week or two.

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[cairnstone]

 

I had been living with and caring for my elderly father for the last two years. At the beginning of July this year I was able to get him out to sit in the back garden which was getting more difficult and infrequent because of his mobility issues. His eyes and brain were as sharp as young man, but everything else was failing badly. We had a visit from a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that day. It was a lifer for the both of us. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of it, but we talked about it for the next two weeks. I am glad we were able to share it.

My awesome father died on July 27 at home, which is what he wanted. The morning after his death I rose and looked out the bedroom window to see a Northern Waterthrush in the garden. A lifer for me and it would have been for him too. I so wished he was there. It hurt. It turns out a family of Northern Waterthrush started visiting the garden almost daily since that point. I opened the door some days later and there was one on the step. Fearing I had no time to get my DSLR I grabbed my point-and-shoot and was stunned to get this close photo.

 

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[lyceel]

Really nice photo and a touching story.  Very sorry to hear about your father.