Latest Bird: Hutton's Vireo and Pacific-slope Flycatcher on Pittock Drive on 7/3/2009
After so many years of ribbing birders for their strange hobby, and at the same time sitting countless hours perched next to my tripod, I slowly began to try to learn the names of that one animal order you can see anywhere, at any time. And I also felt myself asking more and more questions of these people with the everpresent binoculars.
A few months ago, I was on a trail with my wife, and a very old couple (birders so often are) with binoculars (dead giveaway) excitedly came up to us and told us a ruby-throated hummingbird was displaying aggressive behavior atop a perch above us.
It indeed was exciting to see this brightly colored hummingbird whizzing past our heads, defending its territory with an energy that seems impossible for such a small thing. But the whole time, I was thinking...that's not a ruby-throated hummingbird, that's a rufous hummingbird. Ruby-throated hummingbirds don't live anywhere close to here. And then I realized just how far away from normalcy I had gone. I was counting birds.
Of all the species you could collect, birds attract the most people because they are the only animals that can be found anywhere in the world, any time of year.
Keeping tabs of all the new species of birds you have seen is a wonderful way to complement a life of travel. I record the species, the date and place for each new species. I also keep a list for fishes, reptiles, mammals, orchids, cactuses and wildflowers - but those lists come slowly: collecting bird species is the only species identification you can do from your window, your car, in the city and on the trail.
Serious birders, who enjoy learning the intricacies of plumage and distribution, often find list-makers crass. On the other hand, many of my readers are birders, and are curious to keep tabs on what I may find along the way.
Acadian Flycatcher
Acorn Woodpecker
Aleutian Tern
Amazon Kingfisher
American Avocet
American Bittern
American Coot
American Crow
American Dipper
American Golden Plover
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Pipit
American Redstart
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
American Wigeon
Anhinga
Anna's Hummingbird
Antillean Palm Swift
Arctic Loon
Arctic Tern
Ash Throated Flycatcher
Bahama Mockingbird
Bahama Swallow
Baird's Sandpiper
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Bananaquit
Band-rumped Swift
Band-Tailed Pigeon
Bank Swallow
Bare-Throated Tiger Heron
Barn Swallow
Barred Antshrike
Barred Owl
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bat Falcon
Bell's Vireo
Belted Kingfisher
Bewick's Wren
Black and White Warbler
Black-crowned Tityra
Black Faced Grassquit
Black faced Grosbeak
Black Oystercatcher
Black Phoebe
Black Scoter
Black Swift
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Black Turnstone
Black Vulture
Black vultures have no syrinx, which is the organ that allows birds to make sound. So, in vulture fashion, they hiss and grunt. These vultures are framed against a container ship in the Panama canal. Black vultures are mentioned in the Mayan codexes; documents in paper that survived the Mayan empire and offer insight into the cultures of the New World.
Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Black-bellied Wren
Black-Billed Magpie
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-cheeked woodpecker
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Black-cowled oriole
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-Headed Grosbeak
Black-Hooded Parakeet
Black-necked Stilt
The Black-necked stilt is my favorite North American bird. To some people, this may sound strange. But when you see one for yourself, you will understand it to be a form of pure avian aesthetics - a perfect shape, like a cheetah or a manta ray.
Black-striped Woodcreeper
Black-tailed Flycatcher
Black-tailed Trogan
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated green warbler
Black-throated saltator
Black-throated shrike tanager
Black-throated Sparrow
Blue Dacnis
Blue Grosbeak
Blue Jay
Blue-Black Grosbeak
Blue-chested Hummingbird
Blue-crowned Manakin
Blue-crowned Motmot
Blue-Footed Booby
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Tanager
Blue Ground Dove
Blue-headed Parrot
Blue-winged Teal
Boat-billed Heron
Boat-tailed Grackle
Bonaparte's Gull
Brandt's Cormorant
Brant
Brewer's Blackbird
Brewer's Sparrow
Bright-rumped Attila
Bristle-Thighed Curlew
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Broad-winged Hawk
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown Booby
Brown Creeper
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Brown Jay
Brown Pelican
The once endangered brown pelicans are among the most intriguing animals in North America. I wrote about them when I visited the islands of the Sea of Cortez.
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Brown-hooded Parrot
Brown Thrasher
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
I was testing a new telephoto lens at Tualatin NWR and had no idea that I was looking at one of the rarest shorebirds of Oregon.
About Home The Notes from the Road story, about Erik Gauger, his equipment and approach.
Along the Way Photos I took along the way, and just had to show you.
Worthwhile Sites A list of travel websites, science websites, outdoor websites, adventure websites, art and photography websites that have maintained an independent and unique spirit.
Reviews
Reviews, press clippings, criticism and more of Notes from the Road.
Birds
A collection of birds I have identified while on the road. I always keep an eye out for new birds and this is one of the greatest pleasures of travel.
Count: 544
Fishes A collection of fish species I've counted in the wild over the course of my life.
Count: 143
Mammals
A collection of every mammal I have positively identified over the course of my life.
Count: 66
Reptiles & Amphibians A collection of reptiles and amphibians I have managed to identify positively.
Count: 49
Butterflies A collection of butterflies I have managed to identify positively.
Count: 15
Seashore Creatures Tidepooling and snorkeling is one of the greatest joys of independent travel. This is my collection of seashore creatures I have identified during my Notes from the Road years.
Count: 65
