Top Birding Experiences

Here is a list of my Top 10 birding experiences - not in any particular order (except #1):

• • 1. September 2002 – Pine Mountain near Whitesburg, KY.  Michelle and I were at our first hawk watch ever.  It was late in the morning and the sun was starting to stir up some thermals.  The watchers were all facing the valley when one of them turned around while having his morning coffee and donut.  He started trying to yell with a mouthful of donut and we all turned to watch 102 Broad-winged Hawks rise out of trees just behind us and come circling over the point we were standing on.  We were inside a kettle of hawks as they swirled all around us.  We all just stood there in the moment.  There were so many hawks that I got the sense that I was the one turning.  Everyone there said is was the most amazing thing they had ever seen at a hawk watch and some had been birding for over 25 years.

    2. July 2004 – Pharr, Texas - Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush and Blue Mockingbird on same day and in the ABA area.  Here are two species you probably would have a hard time to get on your ABA list but to find both in the same day was something special. Here is the video link to the Nightingale-Thrush.

    3. Berylline Hummingbird – Ramsey Canyon, Arizona - Michelle and I found and ID’d this rarity without any help (it was up in the canyon and not at feeders at entrance to canyon). This bird later was found to be nesting nearby and became a sensation on the trail for several weeks after we were the first to find and ID it.

    4. Lawrence’s Warbler – Caney Island Branch (found by Michelle) - this was the first record for Buchanan County and it put on a show for many birders for at least a week.  Here is a link to some photographs of this rarity.

    5. White-tailed Kites hunting in field with herd of Elk – Redwoods National Park, California. 

    6. Red-billed Tropicbird – Cape Hatteras, North Carolina - Michelle and I were on a pelagic trip and not expecting this bird to come sailing over the boat - but we'll take it.

    7. Golden Eagles on Beartown Mountain - Russell County, VA - there were a pair of juvenile Golden Eagles kiting over a ridge and dropping a rabbit they had caught.  They would let if fall for a couple seconds then swoop down to see which one could catch it before it hit the ground. Then they would return to kiting and the whole process would start over again.

    8. Kingfisher using feeding Mallards to stir up small fish – Levisa River, Buchanan County, Virginia.  I watched a Kingfisher follow a group of feeding Mallards drifting down the river.  The Kingfisher would take a perch about 5 feet above the ducks and then swoop down to snag any small minnows or crayfish they disturbed.

    9. Eastern Screech Owl – It was Christmas and we came upon a little Screech Owl sitting in road on a very cold night.  I thought it might have been hit so we stopped to make sure it was OK.  After it did not try to fly but seeing it did not try to fly we decided to bring it into the truck to let is warm up.  Michelle was holding it in her lap and after a few minutes it seems to recover and even nibbled on her finger until it finally clamped down and brought some blood.  It then somehow got under the dash and I had to get work gloves to pick it up.  We released it and it flew off into the night.

    10. Roseate Spoonbill – 115 at one time – life look.  Michelle and I were driving through Louisiana on a Gulf birding trip and were looking for our first ever Roseate Spoonbill.  What we didn't expect was to find 115 Spoonbills in a large pond just beside the road.  That was a nice way to get a life bird.