The favorable birding in August got me back on target, well for my Big Year, but the Photo Big Year challenge was a different story. I added 6 year-birds in August. There were Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris
melanotos), Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis), which was my first
lifer for the year, Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), and a Least Tern (Sternula
antillarum). This helped me to
finish the month with 91 species, 19 behind my target of 110 species.
My Photographic Big Year effort took a big hit when my Canon
5D Mark 2 stopped working and with no repair centers on the island, it maybe more feasible
to get a new camera than shipping it off to be repair. My heart is set on
the birder's dream, a Canon 7D Mark 2. I am hoping to find a reasonable used one, and would
like to pair it with the budget Sigma 159-600 mm contemporary lens which I am hoping to get new. The camera I am using now, a point and shoot Canon SX30IS, is not the best for birding, especially when the bird is moving. Despite my camera issues,
I was able to add 6 new images in August, bringing my tally to 54 images. My goal to get me back on track is 20 images in September,
this maybe too large of a task but will see at the end of the month.
Here are the new images that were added:
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| 54. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) |
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| 53. Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) |
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| 52. Willet (Tringa semipalmata) |
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| 51. Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica) |
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| 50. Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensi) |
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| 49. Common Ground Dove(Columbina passerina) |