Monday, August 13, 2018

Sunday Summary: August 6-August 12, 2018

This week was really challenging to bird every day. I had drill for the Marine Corps Reserve and we went to Nebraska where it turns out I do not get signal and therefore was not able to submit any eBird checklists until I got home. That being said, I was able to nab Nebraska off of the list of states left to bird in. 42 states to go and almost through the midwest.

I only observed 10 species in Nebraska with the highlight being a Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) that was hanging out on a fence post. I was not able to add any new species to my Riley County list this week. At 89 species, I am again realizing how hard it can be to reach 100 species in a county, but the challenge makes it a lot more fun and exciting when a new species is observed.

I observed a total of 37 species this week, with the most observed species being the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) at 400 individuals. All 400 individuals were observed at one time during an outing at Fancy Creek State Park.

I unfortunately didn't get any new photos this week due to being at drill.

My highlight of the week was my entire outing on August 6, where I observed 27 species including those 400 American White Pelicans. To see one species gathered in such large numbers is quite amazing. I also observed more Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris) and found a second male at Fancy Creek State Park.

The feedback and experiences that I have heard about from the readers of this blog have made me feel very glad that I began it. I wasn't sure if there was going to be much of a target audience when first brainstorming the idea, but have since been invited to join in Christmas Bird Counts and there is now a link to Birding Big Life on the home page of the Northern Flint Hills Audubon Society homepage. So, thank you to my readers and please continue to send me feedback and your birding highlights.

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