Conservation Big Year target species, from American Bird Conservancy’s Watch List 2007. I’m modifying it to add a handful of species that seem to me to be in trouble. This list may change, and one by one I’ll be adding hyperlinks to each species to send you to a page with a lot of information about it.
Red List: Highest Continental Concern
✓ 1. Mottled Duck (Seen in Florida January 24)
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| Mottled Ducks photographed in Viera Wetlands this year on January 24) |
2. Steller’s Eider (Threatened) LIFER
3. Spectacled Eider (Threatened) LIFER
✓ 4. Gunnison Sage-Grouse LIFER (Colorado April 15)
5. Sooty Grouse
✓ 6. Greater Prairie-Chicken (Kansas April 28)
(“Attwater’s” ssp. Endangered) Subspecies lifer
✓ 7. Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Colorado April 20)
8. Bermuda Petrel (Endangered) LIFER
9. Black-capped Petrel
10. Pink-footed Shearwater LIFER
11. Black-vented Shearwater LIFER
12. Ashy Storm-Petrel LIFER
13. Black Storm-Petrel LIFER
14. Least Storm-Petrel LIFER
15. Magnificent Frigatebird
✓ 16. Reddish Egret (Florida, January 19)
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| Reddish Egret |
17. California Condor (Endangered) LIFER (Nope–not a lifer! I saw one for my 60th birthday 11/11/11)
18. Yellow Rail
19. Black Rail LIFER
20. ✓ Whooping Crane (Endangered) (Texas, February 17)
✓ 21. Piping Plover (Endangered) (Florida, January 19)
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| Audubon’s painting of a Piping Plover |
✓ 22. Mountain Plover (Colorado, April 20)
23. Eskimo Curlew (Endangered) LIFER (But probably extinct)
24. Rock Sandpiper
25. Buff-breasted Sandpiper
26. Ivory Gull LIFER
✓ 27. Least Tern (Delaware, May 10)
(“California” and “Interior” ssp. Endangered)
28. Kittlitz’s Murrelet
29. Xantus’s Murrelet LIFER
30. Craveri’s Murrelet LIFER
31. White-crowned Pigeon
32.✓ Green Parakeet (Texas, February 19)
33. Thick-billed Parrot LIFER
34.✓ Red-crowned Parrot (Texas, February 19)
35. Spotted Owl (N., MX ssp.Threatened)
✓ 36. Lewis’s Woodpecker (Colorado, April 18)
37. Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Endangered)
38. Gilded Flicker
39. Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Endangered) LIFER (But probably extinct)
✓ 40. Bell’s Vireo (Oklahoma, April 26)
(“Least” ssp. Endangered) subspecies lifer
✓ 41. Black-capped Vireo (Endangered) (Oklahoma, April 29)
✓ 42. Florida Scrub-Jay (Threatened, but in my opinion should be designated as Endangered) (Florida, January 23)
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| Florida Scrub-Jay |
43. Bicknell’s Thrush LIFER
44. Bendire’s Thrasher
45. Bachman’s Warbler (Endangered) LIFER (but probably extinct)
✓ 46. Golden-winged Warbler (Wisconsin, May 24)
47. Golden-cheeked Warbler (Endangered) North American LIFER
48. Kirtland’s Warbler (Endangered)
✓ 49. Bachman’s Sparrow (Florida, January 23)
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| Audubon’s painting of a Bachman’s Sparrow |
50. Black-chinned Sparrow
51. Baird’s Sparrow
52. Henslow’s Sparrow
53. Saltmarsh Sparrow
✓ 54. Seaside Sparrow (Texas, February 17)
(“Cape Sable” ssp. Endangered) Subspecies Lifer
55. Tricolored Blackbird
Yellow List: Declining or Rare Continental Species
56. Emperor Goose LIFER
57. Trumpeter Swan
✓ 58. Greater Sage-Grouse (Colorado, April 16)
59. Mountain Quail
✓ 60. Scaled Quail (Colorado, April 18)
61. Montezuma Quail LIFER
62. Yellow-billed Loon
63. Clark’s Grebe
✓ 64. Cory’s Shearwater (Florida, January 28)
65. Great Shearwater
66. Buller’s Shearwater LIFER
67. Sooty Shearwater
68. Manx Shearwater LIFER
69. Audubon’s Shearwater
70. Masked Booby
71. Red-faced Cormorant
72. Swallow-tailed Kite
✓ 73. Swainson’s Hawk (Colorado, April 20)
✓ 74.Clapper Rail (Texas, February 16)
75.✓ King Rail (Florida, January 27)
76. American Golden-Plover
✓ 77. Snowy Plover (Texas, February 16)
(“Western” ssp. Threatened)
✓ 78. Wilson’s Plover (Florida, January 19)
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| Audubon’s painting of a Wilson’s Plover |
79. Wandering Tattler
80. Bristle-thighed Curlew LIFER
81.✓ Long-billed Curlew (Texas, February 16)
82. Hudsonian Godwit
83. Bar-tailed Godwit LIFER
84.✓ Marbled Godwit (Texas, February 16)
85. Black Turnstone
86. Surfbird
✓ 87. Red Knot (Florida, January 19)
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| Red Knot this year at Merritt Island, January 19 |
✓ 88. Sanderling (Florida, January 19)
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| Sanderling from Sarasota area, January 20 |
✓ 89. Semipalmated Sandpiper (Colorado, April 17)
✓ 90. Western Sandpiper (Florida, January 19)
91. White-rumped Sandpiper
✓ 92. Stilt Sandpiper (Delaware, May 10)
93. Heermann’s Gull
✓ 94. Thayer’s Gull (Minnesota, January 3)
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| Thayer’s Gull photographed this year in Duluth, January 5 |
✓ 95. Iceland Gull (Minnesota, January 5)
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| Iceland Gull (Kumlein’s) |
96. Yellow-footed Gull LIFER
97. Red-legged Kittiwake LIFER
98. Ross’s Gull
99.✓ Gull-billed Tern (Texas, February 17)
100. Elegant Tern
101. Roseate Tern (NE pops. Endangered, remainder Threatened)
102. Aleutian Tern LIFER
✓ 103. Bridled Tern (Florida, January 28)
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| Bridled Tern seen on this year’s pelagic trip, January 28) |
✓ 104. Black Skimmer (Florida, January 27)
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| Black Skimmer |
✓ 105. Razorbill (Florida, January 28)
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| Audubon’s painting of a Razorbill |
106. Marbled Murrelet (WA, OR, CA pops Threatened)
107. Ancient Murrelet
108. Whiskered Auklet LIFER
109. Mangrove Cuckoo
110.✓ Flammulated Owl (Texas, February 19)
111. Elf Owl
✓ 112. Short-eared Owl (Colorado, April 14)
113. Antillean Nighthawk LIFER
114. Black Swift
115. Blue-throated Hummingbird
116. Costa’s Hummingbird
117. Calliope Hummingbird
118. Allen’s Hummingbird
119. Elegant Trogon
✓ 120. Red-headed Woodpecker (Oklahoma, May 5)
✓ 121. Williamson’s Sapsucker (Colorado, April 21)
122. Nuttall’s Woodpecker
123. Arizona Woodpecker
124. White-headed Woodpecker
✓ 125. Olive-sided Flycatcher (Delaware, May 12)
✓ 126. Willow Flycatcher (SW ssp. Endangered) Subspecies lifer
127. Thick-billed Kingbird
128. Gray Vireo LIFER
129. Island Scrub-Jay
✓ 130. Pinyon Jay (Colorado, April 13)
131. Yellow-billed Magpie
132. Mexican Chickadee
133. Oak Titmouse
134. California Gnatcatcher (Threatened)
✓ 135. Wood Thrush (Oklahoma, May 6)
136. Varied Thrush
137. Wrentit
138. California Thrasher
139. Le Conte’s Thrasher LIFER
140. Sprague’s Pipit
✓141. Blue-winged Warbler (Delaware, May 9)
142. Virginia’s Warbler
143. Colima Warbler LIFER
144. Lucy’s Warbler
✓ 145. Bay-breasted Warbler
146. Hermit Warbler
147. Grace’s Warbler
✓ 148. Prairie Warbler (Oklahoma, May 3)
✓ 149. Cerulean Warbler (Delaware, May 12)
✓ 150. Prothonotary Warbler (Oklahoma, April 29)
✓ 151. Swainson’s Warbler North American Lifer (Oklahoma, May 3)
✓ 152. Kentucky Warbler (Oklahoma, May 3)
✓ 153. Canada Warbler
154. Red-faced Warbler
155. Abert’s Towhee
✓ 156. Rufous-winged Sparrow
157. Five-striped Sparrow
158. Brewer’s Sparrow
159. Sage Sparrow
160. Lark Bunting
161. Le Conte’s Sparrow
162. Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow
163. Smith’s Longspur
✓ 164. Chestnut-collared Longspur
165. McKay’s Bunting LIFER
166. Varied Bunting
✓ 167. Painted Bunting (Florida, January 24)
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| Painted Bunting taken this year on Merritt Island, January 25 |
168. Rusty Blackbird
✓ 169. Audubon’s Oriole (Texas, February 22)
✓ 170. Black Rosy-Finch LIFER (Colorado, April 14)
✓ 171. Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Colorado, April 14)
172. Lawrence’s Goldfinch LIFER
Laura’s List: Declining Species Not Included Above
173.✓ Northern Bobwhite (Texas, February 22)
✓ 174. Wood Stork (Florida, January 18)
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| Wood Stork taken this year at Lake Kissimmee State Park, January 23 |
✓ 175. Northern Gannet (Florida, January 27)
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| Northern Gannet photo taken from pelagic trip, January 28 |
✓ 176. Brown Pelican (Florida, January 19)
177. Common Nighthawk
✓ 178. Loggerhead Shrike (Florida, January 23)
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| Loggerhead Shrike |
✓179. Purple Martin (Texas, February 20)
✓ 180. Evening Grosbeak (Minnesota, January 2)
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| Evening Grosbeak |
It’s amazing how many of the non-lifer birds on this list I’ve seen on Kim Eckert’s trips.
Hello there! Looks wonderful. Hope you have a great time and see all of your target birds!
Do you know a location for Cerulean Warbler and Golden-winged Warbler? Near where I live in Virginia, I know of reliable breeding locations for both Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers. If you’d like to come here to see them, please let me know and I’d be happy to guide you to them.
Gabriel Mapel
12 year old birder
Shenandoah Valley, Va
http://www.juniorbigyear.blogspot.com
That would be wonderful! I’m planning to see Golden-wings in Wisconsin, too, but do want to see them and Ceruleans in your area, which is at the very heart of their range. Plus I’d love to meet you!
Do you have any idea what has happened to the Evening Grosbeak?? In the 70ties here in Western Pennsylvania we had some very severe winters, and with them came flocks and flocks and hoardes of the beautiful grosbeaks. I didn’t even mind that they ate voraciously and had to fill the feeders often. There were SO MANY OF THEM!!!! We had a lot of ice and snow in those winters especially ice and frigid temps. Now for I’d say the last 20 years or so I have not seen even ONE OF THOSE BIRDS!! I really miss them and have been thinking about how long it’s been without seeing even one. Where are they now and is it that they don’t move around or have they been wiped out?? Hopefully not.
I wrote a blogpost about Evening Grosbeaks last month–more about what’s happening to them here in the Midwest, but the same thing has happened throughout the eastern half of the continent. http://lauraerickson.blogspot.com/2012/01/evening-grosbeaks-what-is-happening.html
I sure hope you find that Eskimo Curlew. If you do, make sure you get infallible proof. Good luck!
Well, I pulled the list from various conservation lists–it’s a list of birds of conservation interest, but I certainly won’t see many of them. I of course hope there are Eskimo Curlews out there, but have absolutely no expectation, or even hope, that I’ll ever see one.
Excellent concept Laura. Good luck with the pursuit.