110/10 Big Year Update – October

A Black-and-white Warbler one of the lifers

Nine year-birds for October got me back on target. After a poor showing in September, the birds turned up in October for my 110/10 Big Year challenge.  Not only did I see 9 new birds for the year, but 2 of them were lifers. The Photographic side of the challenge continues to lag behind, with only 4 images added.

Summer Tanager lifer number two

The month started encouragingly with year-birds on the first and second, namely a rare White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) and Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) respectively. An amazing birding weekend at Harrison's Point, St. Lucy on the 15 and 16th landed five more, including two lifers.  The lifers were Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) and a Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia). 

Blackpoll Warblers

The other birds were - Yellow-billed Cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus), Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), and Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata).  The other two sightings for October were ducks, a femaleNorthern Pintail (Anas acuta) among a large flock of Blue-winged Teals (Spatula discors) at the WSR on the 24th, and four Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) on the 30th, completed my new sightings for October.

Grassland Yellow-Finch, one of the four images

The four new images were that of Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica), Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon),  Grassland Yellow-Finch (Sicalis luteola), and Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis). See all the images here.

Goals for November

With just two species more needed to reach the target of 110, the hope is to get them both in November.  This is a month that is synonymous with rare birds, especially those from across the Atlantic.  I will definitely be keeping an eye out for them.  The website ebird.org suggested that there is a high probability of seeing a Ruff (Calidris pugnax), Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), and Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia).  Both Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala) and Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis), two local species, are still no-shows for the year thus far, I hope they're not extirpated, but that is something I can spend some time with next year.

Two more months for 2022 and two more birds to go, It may seem that the odds are with me but not necessarily so, this is birding and it is not over until the fat bird sings. Let's see if it will be singing for me in the month of November.