End of 2024: notes

 Some notes for the end of the year - I saw 10 life birds this past year - got photos of 9 of them - I wasn't able to get a focus or great look what I'm confident enough were Bahama Woodstars in Turks and Caicos.  Although I would have liked to seen more birds, I'm happy with the types of birds I saw - some were rare for New York such as the Flamingo (first in NYS?)  Some had been on my wish list such as the Smooth Billed Ani.  Some were hard to find such as the Bullock's Oriole but my patience and persistence did finally pay off.  I would have liked to go birding more and chased some more of the sightings that other birders reported but I did the best I could with the time I spent and some of the quick trips out of the house that I made.  I would have liked to have seen Manx Shearwaters  - I might have seen one but was too far distant off Robert Moses to call it - I would have also liked to have seen the Common Shelduck that was reported out by Montauk but I simply can't just drop everything I'm doing and go that far because of family obligations/ work.  I added some of the photos below that I didn't include in my posts.  It's hard for me to come up with the spare time to make a "complete" post sometimes.  Looking forward to whatever birds I might see in 2025 - hopefully a trip to another region/ country will happen.  I've been thinking recently that it would be cool to go to Europe/ England to see a European Gull and Robin?  - birds that are considered common there that would be life birds for me.  We'll see what happens in the coming year - I'm feeling positive about what new birds I might see - just never know what might pop up.  Happy New Year!

 

White Tailed Tropicbird

White Tailed Tropicbird

Thick Billed Vireo

Swainson's Warbler

Smooth Billed Ani

Sage Thrasher

Sage Thrasher

Sage Thrasher

Sage Thrasher

Red Headed Woodpecker

Lazuli Bunting

Bullock's Oriole

Nashville Warbler (random from Massapequa)

Bullock's Oriole

Antillean Nighthawk

FLAMINGO!