Reflections on 2017

This Hooded Warbler is me 70% of the time

(taken in September at Tanners Spring)

I haven't posted here in a while, so here's the rundown on what happened in 2017

1. I saw a total of 171 species in New York County this year (my last was Red-Shouldered Hawk on 12/12).
2. I participated in the Central Park Christmas Bird Count this year, finding American Woodcock for the count. I was also able to add Northern Waterthrush at the pond the next day, a very late count week addition!
3. I went to ABA's Camp Colorado, finding over 130 species, including specialties such as White-Tailed Ptarmigan, American Dipper, Clark's Nutcracker, Chestnut-Collared Longspur, Burrowing Owl, and many more.
4. I led a birdwalk in Central Park for the New York State Young Birders Club on 9/17, finding a amazingly high variety of birds on what was a slow day for many others, including Red-Headed Woodpecker and Yellow-Billed Cuckoo.
5. There was a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER in Central Park from late November to early December. This is a species normally found in the west, and has only been recorded in New York State twice before. I saw it a total of four times, and additionally was the last person to see it on 12/12.
6. I traveled a lot this summer in the northeast, mostly to look at colleges, so I added species for my Massachusetts (a LOT), Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (a LOT) lists.

I'll follow up on this shortly with a 2018 post.