114th CBC Texas Regional Summary

By Brent Ortego

NOTE:  This is an abbreviated version of the 114th CBC Regional Summary for Texas.  For a pdf of the long version, please click here.

Painted Restart at Aransas N.W.R. and Guadalupe River Delta, Brown Booby at Corpus Christi, Red-throated Loon at Balmorhea and Lake Tawakoni, and Red-necked Grebe at Balmorhea were the headliners in a landscape that has undergone serious droughts during 2009, and 2011 – 2013.  Long-tailed Duck was the most talked about species of the season.  It was reported from many parts of Texas prior to the Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs).  So much so, that many compilers were drooling at the thought of getting at least one on their CBC.  I was in a similar situation, being a compiler of three CBCs with large amounts of coastal waters that are only accessed during the CBC.  I was dreaming of not just one at each, but multiple birds.  Surely with the great coastal habitat and a couple hundred birders we would get our share, especially since each of these CBCs has had the species in the past.  At Matagorda County I spent most of the day surveying East Matagorda Bay in a boat without seeing one, but went to the count down banquet thinking with 12 other sections to report surely there would be at least one; no Long-tailed Duck.  I was somewhat disappointed, but I was moving forward enthusiastically looking forward to the Guadalupe River Delta count in three days.  I spent most of the day at that CBC scanning the bay and abundant tidal marshes without seeing a Long-tailed Duck.  As sundown approached, I anxiously contacted the leaders of the two countdowns for this CBC and the team leaders for three groups that do not go to one of the countdowns – no Long-tailed Duck.  Now, I am really nervous.  During the last week of CBC season, on the Kennedy County-Wind Turbines count, I boated 25 miles down the Laguna Madre watching for Long-tails as we approached the CBC boundary and an additional 30 miles within the CBC – no Long-tailed Duck.  A bit frustrated, we boated back 25 miles to the boat dock, and enjoyed a great boat ride during a gorgeous day on the Laguna Madre flushing tens of thousands of Redheads.  This was a very enjoyable CBC season even though it did not meet all of my expectations!

I congratulate the compilers and birders of the seven CBCs in Texas who did get Long-tailed Duck and establish a new Texas CBC season high of seven individuals. 

This was a minor year for irruptive species.  Steller’s Jays were in above average numbers in the Trans Pecos and Townsend’s Solitaires in western Texas.  Other nomadic species like Cedar Waxwing, American Robin, and blackbirds occurred in relatively low numbers.  Many regular occurring species were reported at below average numbers as species densities adjusted to continuing drought in Texas.

A total of 3081 birders (0.6% decrease from last year) spent 7837 party-hours (1% increase) at 109 CBCs (no change) to produce 375 species, 14 infraspecific forms and seven exotics. The species total was six over last year’s record low tally.  The Red-billed Pigeon was found only during Count Week.  Eight species were deleted because of absent or unconvincing documentation and 117 species were missed that were reported during the last 10 CBC seasons.    Three traditional CBCs were not conducted this season.  We welcome new CBC Love Creek which is located in the southern Edwards Plateau, and they have the distinction of being the best documented CBC this season.  They submitted details on over 25% of their species as they work through the process of trying to figure out what is unique about the bird populations in this diverse portion of The Texas Hill Country. 

The Rufous Hummingbird was the most documented species (10 CBCs) this season because of its relatively common occurrence and the great difficulty in separating it from the expected Allen’s Hummingbird.  It also had the distinction of the species most lacking in details (8 CBCs) because too many compilers don’t realize their area might contain Allen’s.

Matagorda County was Number One in the Nation for the 7^th year in a row with 228 species and Guadalupe River Delta was 3rd with 217 species.  Freeport had 209 species, San Bernard NWR 186, Port Aransas 180, Weslaco 176, Corpus Christi-Flour Bluff 173, Corpus Christi 172, Attwater Prairie Chicken N.W.R. 171, Galveston 165, Anzalduas-Bentsen S.P. and Galveston 163, Bolivar Peninsula and Rockport 162, Houston 158, Harlingen and Aransas N.W.R. 156, Kingsville and Old River 153, Santa Ana N.W.R. 150, and all other Texas CBCs less than 150 species.

Reporting sightings is getting easier with the development of numerous educational materials which can be used in the office and field, and production of better optical equipment and lighter cameras to take birding.  Texas birders submitted documentation on 224 of the 375 species reported and provided photographs of 167 of these species.  A total of 403 sets of details were submitted and this was 76% of those desired.

The Pine Warbler likely provides the greatest identification problem for woodland birders when you consider the high variability of its appearance  and overall abundance.  Every documented warbler and vireo is compared to this species in the editing process, and an occasional correct identification is likely deleted or questioned when the observer did not take the time to describe their bird sufficiently to eliminate this and other similar species.

BEST BIRDS

Painted Redstart created much birding excitement during fall 2013.  Multiple birds were reported in South Texas with the ones at Falfurias and Aransas N.W.R. staying most of the winter.  The Painted Redstart is an uncommon breeder in the mountains of West Texas and is rarely seen elsewhere in the state.  With only one winter record for Texas, birders watched to see if their birds would stay.  David True found the Aransas N.W.R. bird on 8 December and it lingered until 26 January making it the 1^st Texas CBC record with hundreds of birders having the opportunity to view this very active and visible bird.  The day after the Aransas CBC, Bob Friedrichs photographed one on private property on the Guadalupe River Delta-McFaddin Family Ranches CBC making it the 2^nd Texas CBC record.  The amusing aspect of these two CBC records being in consecutive days was there were ZERO American Redstarts reported this season in Texas.

The Brown Booby is a very rare visitor to Texas offshore waters.  Spotting one inland from the Gulf is a major stroke of luck.  Can you imagine the excitement when Dave Grise and Abbie Johnson spotted an adult booby flying over the Corpus Christi ship channel during the CBC on 14 December?  The bird was later observed by multiple observers through 28 December.

A similar excitement must have been had by David Sarkozi, Dave Dolen, and Clayton Bownds when a Little Gull flew within 100 feet of them on the Quintana Jetty at the Freeport CBC on 15 December.  The Little Gull is a rare winter resident of North-Central Texas that seems to be becoming more regular.  The species is very rare elsewhere.  Additional records of this species were deleted this season because of lack of documentation.

Sheridan Coffey got the excitement started for the Balmorhea CBC with the discovery of a Red-necked Grebe at Balmorhea Lake on 10 December.  The bird was found during the CBC and last reported by Susan Heath on 23 January.  This species is a very rare winter visitor to any parts of Texas.  Another Red-necked Grebe was photographed during Count Week by Gretchen Peterson for the Dallas CBC.

Adding to the excitement at Balmorhea was a Red-throated Loon found by David and Linda Hedges.  This bird was present from 15-16 December, and another one was reported at Lake Tawakoni CBC from 28 November through 10 January which is a more regular site for this species which is a rare visitor to lakes in northeastern Texas.

A Greater Pewee was reported to winter in the same area as it did last winter in Houston.  It was not found during count day, but was reported for Count Week.  However, this record was deleted because no documentation was submitted from the Buffalo Bayou CBC.

EXCLUSIVES

One exiting aspect of participating in CBCs is finding the only species for a count and maybe for Texas.  There were many “exclusives” this season.  Texas had 37 instances where a species was found at only one CBC and 24 of these instances only involved one individual of a species.  This is amazing when you realize birders spent 3081 days in the field and they only found one individual of each of those species or they were found only at one CBC.  Production of exclusives varied from three at Davis Mountains, El Paso, Freeport, and Matagorda County, two at Guadalupe River Delta and Santa Ana N.W.R. to one at 20 CBCs.  Rarities ranged from the expected Attwater’s Greater Prairie-Chicken at Attwater N.W.R., Ring-necked Pheasant at White River, Least Tern at Coastal Tip, Western Screech-Owl at Davis Mountains, Lewis’s Woodpecker at El Paso, Northern Shrike at Lake Meredith-East, Juniper Titmouse at Guadalupe Mountains N.P., Tropical Parula at Santa Ana N.W.R., White-collared Seedeater at Laredo, and Smith’s Longspur at Lake Tawakoni to the surprise of somebody’s season like  the Brown Booby found by Dave Grise and Abbie Johnson  at the Corpus Christi ship channel or the Little Gull reported by David Sarkozi, Dave Dolon and Clayton Bownds at the Quintana Jetty.

The Wood Stork flying over Charlie and Olivia Brower and alertly photographed on Matagorda County CBC was a special trill.  The Purple Gallinule photographed by Mark Scheuerman on the same CBC was the product of diligent working of wetlands as were Clay Taylor’s photographs of Parasitic Jaeger off of the jetty during the Port Aransas CBC and the Tundra Swan photographed by Phillip Kite on the Lubbock County CBC.

Birding woodlands proved productive as well.  Anzalduas-Bentsen CBC reported the only Hook-billed Kite.  The Caprimulgus sp. flushed by Brad Lirette at the Freeport CBC was the only one documented in Texas this season.  The Wood Thrush well described by Steve Mayes and Christine Sliva at Sea Rim S.P. CBC was a Texas exclusive as was the Chestnut-sided Warbler reported by Karen McBride and Nancy Henderson on the Georgetown CBC, the Hooded Warbler reported by Ed Craven on the Armand Bayou CBC, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak described by Nan Dietert and Nancy Arnold on the Guadalupe River Delta CBC.

MISSED SPECIES

With only one individual found for each of 23 species with over 3000 birding days of effort, it is likely there were several more species present that were not found during the CBCs. Looking at the data for Texas during the last decade, there were 10 species which were reported on 70% of the CBCs that were missed or not adequately documented.  They were Muscovy Duck, White-winged Scoter, Red-bellied Pigeon, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Plumbeous Vireo, Bank Swallow, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, and Black-headed Grosbeak.

POPULATION TRENDS

I review population trends of species reported each season by comparing the results of the season for each species to the average number reported for the previous 10 years.  I view a population as changed if it varies from the 10-year average of a species by greater than one standard deviation; i.e., Northern Bobwhite 10-year avg = 1701, std dev = 842;  a total of 737 during 113^th = population decrease.

Many factors affect the number of birds available to be counted with habitat conditions believed to have the greatest influence.  Short term localized events like hurricanes/wild fires, and season long rainfall patterns can have dramatic effects on habitat conditions and the availability of food which in turn affects bird reproduction, migration patterns and winter densities.  Another factor to consider is the timing of the CBC.  David Wolf mentioned in his Special Accounts that he felt his CBC was mostly monitoring late fall migration. He scheduled his count on the 1^st weekend to maximize the CBC’s opportunity to tally migrants.  Late dates are also popular with some CBCs if they happen to be in migrant traps or southern latitudes to maximize the number of migrants that will arrive to winter. The most popular day this season was as expected the first Saturday with 21 CBCs.  The 2^nd most popular was the last Saturday with 13 CBCs and 12 on the 28^th which was also a Saturday.  December 24 and 25, and 2 January were the only dates not used for a Texas CBC.

Count Day weather can have significant impacts on birder production and willingness to stay in the field.  Even though compilers and birders cannot do anything about the weather, they definitely start watching weather forecasts within 10-days of THEIR CBC.  I know I do.  I don’t have a special dance I perform for good weather, but I watch multiple weather forecasts daily with considerable anxiety and sometimes frustration.

Rain was present on about 10% of the CBCs with only two reporting heavy rain which can greatly hamper results.  Wind was a bigger issue.  As winds approach 20 mph it really hampers the ability of people to detect birds.  Half of the CBCs reported winds of 20 mph or greater during part of the day with Guadalupe Mountains N.P. having the unfortunate experience of winds up to 75 mph. 

However, the impact of drought was the biggest issue discussed by compilers in their Special Aspects section of their CBC report.  Each compiler has an opportunity to discuss Special Aspects about their counts and they can be quite informative.  About 50% of the compilers take advantage of this section, and their comments are provided near the end of this report. 

Texas has experienced severe droughts during the years 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013.  Much of the central United States experienced one in 2012 and drought persisted into the western portions of the region through the 2013 breeding season.

Countering these very dry conditions in the States, there was an abundance of water in the major waterfowl production areas during the breeding season in Canada.  According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 2013 estimate of breeding ducks in the traditional survey area was 45.6 million birds which was 33% higher than the long-term average. 

With droughts in the central United States and abundant wetlands in Canada which serve as major production areas for Texas wintering species, I examined how the birds responded to conditions in Texas as reported by birders.  This season was the second time in six years where a greater percentage of species decreased than increased with 49 species increasing and 79 decreasing below their 10-year average.   In “normal” years there are more species increasing in populations than those declining, and the results are fairly typical in the seasons from the 109^th through the 112^th.  The 113^th and 114^th CBC seasons had higher birder participation, but greater percent of species declining.

The species increasing and decreasing are partitioned by commonality of habitats or taxonomic groups.  As expected, the residents/breeders are being impacted greater by the droughts and other events which are more localized in Texas and the southern Great Plains.

Birds depending on wetlands had mixed responses.  Again many natural shallow water sites in Texas were dry except for those that were filled by fall rains, and rice production and its availability after the growing season were very limited near the Coast.  The Lower Colorado River Authority delivered little water to rice growers in the vicinity of two major CBCs, Attwater N.W.R. and Matagorda County.  In other areas of the Texas rice belt (Coastal Prairie), rice production was suppressed due to a poor rice market.  Production of rice and availability of irrigation water in the fall for waterfowl impoundments have significant effects on waterbirds along the Coast.  Waste grain is a major food supply for wintering waterfowl, cranes, blackbirds, and their predators.  Flocks of 20,000+ Snow Geese along the Coast used to be common.  Today, if a flock of 2000 geese occurs along the highway, this is a must stop for birders. 

Changing migration habits of the geese, lower food availability in Texas because of rice production trends, extensive goose hunting guide services and the drought all have taken their toll.  Snow Goose numbers appear to be declining in Texas.  This is good news for conservation organizations that have been trying to reduce Snow Goose numbers because of negative impacts this species’ nesting areas has been having on the arctic tundra.

Deep lakes and tidal areas still had water.   Many tidal wetlands which were normally fresh had some salinity and this affected their suitability to species.  Shallow sea grass beds which grow in low salinities appeared to have poor production this season.  Deep water birds generally did OK under these conditions with several species showing noticeable above average densities. 

Several species of puddle ducks had populations lower than average which is expected when the marshes dried up.  

The Mottled Duck is a species we know is declining since 1997 based on aerial surveys during the winter and breeding seasons and banding studies conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department targeted for that species.  The number of Mottled Ducks reported in Texas on CBCs represents about 10% of the estimated population.

The one year decline in wintering Brown Pelicans from a 10-year average of 6492 to 4136 this season is puzzling. This was the lowest number of wintering birds Texas counted in seven years. Texas supports record numbers of breeding Brown Pelicans and we have experienced population increases annually for over a decade.  There is much not known about the origin of wintering Brown Pelicans; i.e., during late April 2013 when most Texas pelican colonies were occupied with nesting birds, over 4000 were counted flying north along Padre Island presumably out of Mexico.

Raptors as a group show seven species increasing and six species decreasing.  Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Crested Caracara increased for the 2^nd year in a row, and Sharp-shinned Hawk and Harris’s Hawk decreased for the 2^nd year in a row. 

The 237 Harris’s Hawks represent the lowest tally in the last 26 years in Texas.  The species occurs at such low numbers that the standard CBC party-hour scale shows very small changes annually.

Bald Eagles on the other hand have been increasing.  The 273 reported this season is the record Texas CBC tally, and the nest reported in the Amarillo Special Aspects was the first nest in that area in 108 years.  The 74 reported at Matagorda County is partly the result of a high density of nesting eagles in riparian areas along the Colorado River, large waterbird concentrations near the bay, and the ability of local catfish farms to support wintering eagles with most being immature.  Conversations with catfish producers indicate they enjoyed the eagles and were not concerned with them since most appeared to be scavenging food rather than feeding on live fish.

Crested Caracaras are also scavengers and they have shown a major increase in Texas over the last four years with the 2544 reported this year being the record.  The species appears to be increasing at a faster rate in areas outside of the traditional South Texas thornscrub communities.  About 9% of the reported Texas CBC population occurs in Matagorda County where they are also regular visitors to catfish farms.  This CBC typically competes for national highest tally honors for that species.

One shorebird species increased and five species declined compared with nine species increasing to two declining last season.  The major species of concern is the Red Knot.  The tally this season was the lowest since the 60^th CBC season in Texas.

Both Eurasian Collared-Doves and White-winged Doves had record tallies this season.  The rapid increase of collared-doves is displayed by birds per party-hour and the population has made major increases every year since the 101^st CBC season shortly after it invaded Texas.  The White-winged Dove population expansion is tracked well by CBCs after the species was forced to leave their major breeding area in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in record numbers when freezes destroyed the bulk of the citurs trees which was the major nesting substrate for the species.  The species pioneered  urban areas to the north and its population has been increasing ever since.

The Great Horned and Barred Owls both had record tally years.  Not much effort is put into surveying owls and high number years usually coincide with increased effort and conditions suitable for owls to be heard calling. 

All three species of kingfishers had their lowest tallies since the 102^nd CBC season.  I suspect the results are drought related.

Woodpeckers did very well with five species increasing and one decreasing.  All increasers recorded their highest tally for the last 10 years.  Are woodpeckers responding to increased tree mortality during the drought that likely has increased their food supply in the short term?  Nobody is monitoring their food, but droughts stress and kill trees.  [The Texas Forest Service estimated that 301 million trees in Texas died due to the 2011 drought.]  Stressed and dead trees are very susceptible to wood boring insects which woodpeckers eat.

The drought has likely negatively impacted insectivorous birds and passerines in general.  Winter insect numbers continue to be low.  A “country rule-of-thumb” is that if you have mosquitoes you are likely going to have many other insects, and if you lack mosquitoes there is a good chance other insect numbers will also be low.  I attended 10 CBCs last year in Texas with most being in coastal wetlands and only used insect repellant once.

Last season, seven flycatcher species showed declines.  This season three appear to have declined with the 2^nd year in a row for the Ash-throated.  Two species increased.  The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher has showed remarkable increases on CBCs since the early 90’s.  Large early winter concentrations have been found in urban areas and also at the Choke Canyon Reservoir.  Is this increase the result of birds over-wintering or is it just that more Scissor-tails are migrating later?

Hutton’s Vireo and Steller’s Jay both established record tallies this season.  The increase in Hutton’s was partly the result of one new CBC.  The Steller’s is a species which displays periodic irruptions. 

Both Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Cave Swallow numbers declined this season.  Cave Swallow numbers show major shifts in birds per party-hour each season.  This species’ numbers are tallied by relatively few people each year and this species is not a good species to track with effort.  Most individuals are likely tallied at roost sites in old swallow nests at night with the total tallied having little to do with the effort of the CBC.  Despite this situation, it has shown a steady increase over the years as more inland CBCs figured out how to monitor the species.  However, this season was the lowest tally in many years.  Availability of food during winter cold snaps has been shown to be associated with mortality of this species.

Last season seven species of wrens showed declines.  This season two species continue to decline.  The only species showing increases in the group above is the Black-crested Titmouse.  Those increases happened despite placing all titmice from the known north-south zone of hybridization with the Tufted Titmouse along Interstate-35 as hybrids.  Until there is evidence that all of the titmice in a CBC in this zone do not hybridize the practice will continue.

The Townsend’s Solitaire had an irruptive year where sizeable numbers moved south.  This was the highest CBC tally since the 103^rd season.  Clay-colored Thrushes tied its highest every tally.  Three species of thrasher tallies declined.

American Pipit, Sprague’s Pipit, and Phainopepla populations appear to have declined.  The Sprague’s has declined for the 2^nd year in a row.  This is not a species which responds very well to tracking density based on party-hours of effort.  It is a challenging species to monitor and many birders do not have the skills to identify it.

Twenty species of warblers were identified this season.  Two increased and five decreased.  Most warbler species are hard to track during the CBC since most occur in very small numbers.  The Black-and-White Warbler is the only warbler species of those reported to have changed that regularly has at least 100 individuals.  This species has had low numbers during the last three years which all occurred during this on-going drought.  Some of the low numbers might also be related to weather events.  A major cold front blew through Texas during the first week of December and the number of insectivorous birds decreased from what was observed just a week before the passage.

The Spotted Towhee and Rufous-crowned Sparrow tallies increased while 12 other sparrow-like birds decreased.  This pattern was similar to last year with many species of sparrows showing evidence of declines during this period of drought.

The Rusty Blackbird tally was the highest since the 69^th CBC season.  It made many birders happy as they pursued “life” and “year” lists and CBC tallies for their area.  Most other blackbirds recovered from low numbers last season with only Western Meadowlark and Common Grackle reporting below average tallies. 

Hooded and Audubon’s Orioles had below average numbers.  Habitat conditions in the South Texas brush country have been pretty bleak during the drought and these two species along with many of the sparrows above may have suffered in this region.

The Lesser Goldfinch increased again this season.  It has been progressively increased during the last five seasons.  It appears that most of its winter numbers are related to its accessibility to bird feeders in residential areas.

SELECT SPECIES STATUS FROM LAST SEASON

During the last three seasons, I focused on Red-tailed Hawk, White-eyed Vireo, Tree Swallow, Green-tailed Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Harris’s Sparrow to highlight species that were either having good or poor years in the State. A brief snapshot is provided below to indicate if those major movements or declines for these select species were continued into this season, or to show that they had one year wonders.

Red-tailed Hawk – Texas reported 3813 during the 111^th season which was close to the 10-year average of 3419.  It reported 4511 during the 112^th, 4257 in the 113^th and 3703 in the 114^th season which is still above the 10-year average.  Short-term droughts don’t appear to reduce Red-tailed Hawk numbers in Texas, and some might speculate that they increased their abundance since the three highest tallies during the past 10 years occurred during the driest years.

White-eyed Vireo – Texas reported 759 during the 111^th season which was one of the highest on record.  It only reported 240 during the drought of the 112^th season and this tally was 50% lower than the previous lowest report for the decade.  With continuing drought 383 were reported in the 113^th and 482 in 114^th.  These tallies are collectively below the average for the decade and indicative of a declining winter population. 

Tree Swallow – Texas reported 5263 during the 111^th season which was average for the decade, and only reported 1555 for the 112^th which was the 2^nd lowest.  The 2717 during the 113^th season and the 3135 during the 114^th fell within the normal variation

Green-tailed Towhee – One of the largest movements eastward of Green-tailed Towhees occurred during the 112^th season with 151 being reported in Texas and many being reported in states to the East.  I was curious to learn if these birds survived the winter, and would they return to their abnormal more eastern wintering sites?  None were reported east of Texas during the 113^th season and the 52 reported in Texas was normal.  Brazos Bend and Freeport were the only eastern CBCs in Texas that adequately documented the species during that season.  The lowest total of the decade at 27 was reported during this season and none were in unexpected areas.

Spotted Towhee – The two highest tallies of this species in Texas occurred during dry years and the 1401 reported during the 112th season was the 2^nd highest.  Only 880 were reported during the drought of the 113th and this number was near normal for the species.  The 1117 tallied on 114^th was considered above average.

Lincoln’s Sparrow – The 1178 reported during the 112th season in Texas was the lowest tally since the 70’s when there were many fewer birders.  The 2715 reported in the 113th season is close to average for the decade and it is not known what caused the major dip in numbers from the previous season.  There were 3142 this season.

Harris’s Sparrow – The 5409 Harris’s Sparrows during the 112th season was very entertaining as it produced a tally twice as high as the previous record in the decade.  The 1650 reported in the 113th season and the 2536 of this season fell within the normal variation of annual tallies.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these brief snapshots of population changes for select species.  It is easy to jump to premature conclusions with population changes occurring at the same time of major events like droughts, wet years, lack of irrigation water, hurricanes and fires.  Longer studies usually show that continental responses by avian populations are much more complex and can be very difficult to predict.

PHOTOGRAPH ACCEPTANCE

Submission of photographs on 167 species made reviewing reports much easier, and I thank all of the birders for this effort.  However, submission of photos through the CBC website for review does not currently quickly provide access by regional editors or enable immediate viewing on the CBC photo gallery pages.  Please send CBC photographs directly to me as well as uploading them for eventual display on the CBC photo gallery.  There were several very good photos of quality birds which I was not able to view during my review because of lack timely access to the images.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank Eric Carpenter, Brush Freeman and Mark Lockwood for sharing their expert opinions on the validity of several reports.

In closing, there were many more stories of Great Birds found through careful scouting and planning, many birds found by surprise when conducting good surveys, and frustratingly many misses that occurred after much planning and scouting that will go untold because of time constraints on my part.  I would like to thank all of the compilers, birders, conservation organizations, land managers, and sponsors who make the results reported here possible.