110/10 Big Year Update – Mid April

17. Snowy Egret the last Photo Big Year Image entered 

There was a big jump in one of the year’s challenges while only a measly increase in the other.   For most of the year thus far, I must admit I was focusing more on the 110/10 Big Year List than on the Photo Big Year’s images.   That is for a number of reasons, one of which is the lens I am using, the Canon EF-s55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II.  While this is a fair quality lens, at best, the 250mm, which is 400mm on cropped sensor Canon 7D (250x1.6) max focal length is less than satisfactory for most situations.  Despite that, over 7 images were added to the Photo Big Year page. (See them here)

Only one bird was added to the 110/10 Big Year checklist.  That bird was a shorebird, a Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) and one of the suggested target birds ebird.org said to look out for in April.

Goals for the remainder of April

A Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) was photographed at Folkestone Park on the 13^th.  This is kind of a nemesis bird for me because  I’ve seen it twice and both times I did not have my camera to get a photograph.  I would love to see this bird this year and get a few quality images of it, for it is just one stunning bird.   Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is another species that should be possible this month.  I will also continue adding as many images as I can, with the hope of finishing the month with at least 25 images. Let's see how it goes.