Like many people on this forum, I tend to not think of posting a life list (for obvious reasons). But I have changed my mind and decided to post my life list since last July (the unofficial start of the hobby). There's a big gap from July to February of this year (February 2004 is the official start of the hobby). Since last July, I have listed 76 birds, over 50 of them here in Stormville, NY or surrounding towns.
Using a format similar to Fulmar's, I will chronologically describe my bird sightings, and list the new birds after each description.
The unofficial start was when my family and I took an annual trip to Florida to visit my grandmother. Our first stop was in New Bern, North Carolina to visit my aunt and uncle. During our stay at their house, my uncle took us out on his boat. While enjoying the breeze through my hair, I happened to spot an Osprey sitting on a channel marker.
01. Osprey
After leaving North Carolina, we continued south to southern Florida. After a couple of days going around town to see the attractions, we decided to embark on a wildlife tour. So we headed to unknown parks near water, and added 11 more birds to my life list.
02. White Ibis
03. Roseate Spoonbill
04. Wood Stork
05. Laughing Gull
06. Sandhill Crane
07. Brown Pelican
08. Cattle Egret
09. Great Egret
10. Snowy Egret
11. Magnificent Frigatebird
12. Common Moorhen
13. Red-Shouldered Hawk (B. l. extimus subspecies)
After after a week of being in Florida, we headed home to New York. The next record occured in February, at our feeders. For the next two months, all the new lifers had been seen on the feeders.
14. American Goldfinch
15. White-Breasted Nuthatch
16. Tufted Titmouse
17. Black-Capped Chickadee
18. Dark-Eyed Junco
19. House Finch
20. Red-Bellied Woodpecker
21. Carolina Wren
22. American Crow
23. Downy Woodpecker
24. Northern Cardinal
25. Song Sparrow
26. American Tree Sparrow
27. Pine Siskin
28. Mourning Dove
29. House Sparrow
30. Fox Sparrow
31. Hairy Woodpecker
32. Common Grackle
33. Blue Jay
34. European Starling
35. American Robin
36. Eastern Phoebe
37. Turkey Vulture
38. Brown-Headed Cowbird
39. Purple Finch
40. Red-Winged Blackbird
41. Chipping Sparrow
42. White-Throated Sparrow
43. Northern Flicker
44. Canada Goose
45. Mallard
46. Red-Tailed Hawk
The Red-Tailed Hawk was seen on April 23rd. The next day, I decided to start traveling to further increase my life list. So a trip to Bashakill Marsh State Wildlife Management Area was in order. After coming home from Bashakill, I took a walk to the neighborhood pond, where I got two new birds.
47. Ring-Necked Duck
48. Yellow-Rumped Warbler
49. Great Blue Heron
On the 25th of April, my father wanted to see Bashakill Marsh up close. So he and I took a trip there. Besides encountering our first NY resident Great Egret, we were also over-joyed to hear reports of resident Ospreys nesting on the shores of Bashakill. Unfortunately, there were no Osprey in the air that day.
50. Bald Eagle
It's now May, and the first May bird was encountered on the 5th, in the form of a female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. That very same day, I also took notice of an American Robin look-a-like, which I IDed as a Veery.
51. Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
52. Veery
On the 10th, my first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird showed up unexpectedly while I was out doing yard work. I quickly set up a nectar dispenser, but the hummer never returned for a week.
53. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
After a severe decline in feeder visitors, I decided to make daily trips to the pond. My decision has paid off, as I saw 7 new birds in just 6 days (one day I had seen 4 new birds!).
54. Gray Catbird
55. Solitary Sandpiper
56. Green Heron
57. Wood Duck
58. Common Yellowthroat
13. Red-Shouldered Hawk (B. l. lineatus subspecies)
59. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
After seeing the pond being worked on with construction equipment, I had not seen a single new bird there since the 13th of May. On the 17th, I saw my first Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, but that was it. So my next move was to visit the other area ponds and lakes. Again, my decision has paid off, as on the 19th, I had listed a total of 5 new birds; followed by 1 on the 20th, 1 on the 21st, and 1 on the 24th.
60. Barn Swallow
61. Graylag Goose
62. Eastern Kingbird
63. Mute Swan
64. Savannah Sparrow
65. Broad-Winged Hawk
66. Tree Swallow
67. Baltimore Oriole
Other birds I've seen include
68. Wild Turkey
69. Boat-Tailed Grackle
70. House Wren
71. Ring-Billed Gill
This is my list up to this point. Will surely be adding more.
Yeah, about that, I had neglected to change the numbers to relfect the subspecies.