Arkansas Birder

Big Year Extravaganza

2012-01-21T22:11:00.001-08:00

Big Year Extravaganza

As the summer of 2010 came to a close, when fall migration was almost upon us, I received an email from Jerry Butler saying that he would like to bird Craighead Forest Park to try and see some of the many warbler species the park boasts during migration. I asked my parents if I could show him around the park and they thought it would be a great idea.
So one afternoon, after school, I went out to Craighead to meet Jerry and have a wonderful afternoon of birding....yeah right. It was very windy and pretty hot too. We saw an unusually high number of blue jays, but that was about it. Despite the bad birding, the afternoon was full of interesting conversation about birds, nature, my future, and at one point a big year. He asked if I knew anyone who might want to do a big year within the boundaries of Arkansas so he could document their progress, I said that I did not. I knew that a big year was out of my range of doing and the conversation changed and that was that. There was no reason I wouldn't have been for a year full of birding, I just did not think the Department of War and Parenting Services would be for it, besides, I was only half way through my junior year in high school. A busy time for anyone. Later that evening I told my mom about his question and was shocked to find that she thought it would be wonderful for me to give it a try. She had just been reading an article about exceptional teens and what they had done, which I suppose motivated the both of us. I was definitely happy, but did she know what this would entail? As it turned out she didn't, but soon found out. When we first talked to my dad he was unresponsive. They mulled it over for about a week and had many a talk with Jerry, when finally it was said that I could try it out. I was ecstatic and overjoyed to be able to call Jerry and tell him the news: I was in. And so we go.....

January: Kickoff in the Cold
My big year in the beautiful state of Arkansas started like all others, on January first; a frigid day in most years and 2011 was no exception. My first day of the big year started at sunrise when I went outside and picked up species one: Northern Flicker. I was especially glad to see this bird because it had been probably two years since one had visited the yard. I also acquired several species that always hang out at our bird feeders and at the small pond down from our house. The Gadwall pair that had rested on the quiet pond for nearly a month did not fail me. After a sunrise walk around the neighborhood I ate breakfast at Jonesboro's Cracker Barrel and was happy to pick up some common-as-dirt species on the way to the restaurant.
Later that day, I said goodbye to my visiting family and headed for Lonoke with my mom. The next day would be the Lonoke Christmas Bird Count, the first I'd ever participated in and it won't be the last. On the way to Lonoke, I picked up some of the stereotypical wintertime Delta species like harrier, kestrel, and of course a couple species of blackbird. By the time we arrived at the hotel it was dark so the birding for day one was over.
The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the CBC's rendezvous point. I met too many new people to list all their names here, but all were great folks and I was happy to make their acquaintances. I was in a group with Karen Holliday, Jerry Butler, Cody Butler, and Cheyenne Butler. This was one of the greatest field days I've ever had not just because of the people I was with, but because it was the first time I really felt pride in my growing year list. I enjoyed the whole group, but especially Cody and Cheyenne. It's not everyday I get to bird with other high school kids. Nothing super rare popped up at the count, but American Wigeon, Great Horned Owl, and an out of season Lark Sparrow were all nice to see. I ended the day with 47 new species, putting my year list up to 75 species. This was by far the easiest field day of my big year and as it should be, it was the first!

I gained species at a steady pace throughout the month. A particularly notable bird was a Common Merganser on Craighead Forest Lake. It was found by Norman and Cheryl Lavers on the afternoon of January 13th and I rushed out to see it as soon as I got the call from them. It was a beautiful day, as beautiful as 19 degrees can get and this was THE winter fallout for Craighead. When I arrived for the merganser I noted the large flocks of waterfowl, probably 1000 birds all together.
The day after the Lavers' wonderful discovery, Dad and I left for Stuttgart, another favorite outing of the year. My first minor heart attack of the year took place on the way to Stuttgart Airport, from Wynne, when I spotted a Prairie Falcon sitting on a telephone line of all places. Needless to say, it didn't stay on the thin wire long and by the time we turned around it was flying fast across a rice field. This was quite a moment and by that I mean one of those pee-your-pants moments. In the week prior to the trip, I made arrangements to meet Dan Scheiman and Bill Shepherd at the airport and both were happy to help. The day started off slow as we trudged along the runways searching relentlessly for Smith's Longspur in the grass and what was left of the snow from the week before. We finally came across Lapland Longspurs flying up in their bee-like swarms, but that was about it on the north side of the airport. We broke for lunch and I was slightly discouraged by our morning's lack of birds. After eating we flushed two Short-eared Owls, a plus, that Dan so kindly announced in a startling bellow, but still had yet to find a single Smith's Longspur! That ended soon. Within moments of stepping alongside the south runway, Smith's were found! We tallied about 22 in that general area, a great number. A final highlight was the sighting of numerous Sprague's Pipit in the same area as the Smith's. There were two definite Sprague's and a possibility of six. Six was the unofficial number because I believe there was a bet going on...it charged by the individual bird. All this made for a very successful day. Dad, after waking from his nap, drove us back to our campsite at Village Creek State Park where I acquired four more species for the weekend.

The next weekend I was able to end a stressful week of school with an exciting trip to Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Dardanelle. I got a few gull species, including Lesser Black-backed Gull at the lake, and some miscellaneous waterfowl, but both trips to Dardanelle that day failed to produce the Barrow's Goldeneye seen for nearly a month, up to the day, before my trip. It was seen again the very next day, but I was long gone and nearly four hours away in Jonesboro. Towards the end of the day, Karen Holliday so kindly broke away from her field trip group to lead me down County Loop Road for it's specialties. We searched for an uncooperative Bewick's Wren and got birds like Western Meadowlark and Harris's Sparrow instead. I wasn't complaining though! Both were lifers. Overall I ended the day with 13 species including Merlin (lifer) and Common Merganser which was not a year bird, but the second I'd seen in Arkansas in just one week!
To bring January to a satisfying close, Mom and I headed to Little Rock for a "Central Arkansas Day". She went off shopping with my sister while Dan Scheiman and I headed to Lake Maumelle to meet with Karen Holliday and Jim Dixon. We started by making our rounds to the lake accesses finding mostly Common Loons and one Pacific Loon. Also at the lake I got the nuthatch trifecta for the year, Brown-headed being a lifer for me. After hitting Lake Maumelle Karen and Dan showed me around Two Rivers Park where we got the Virginia Rail that had taken up residence in the marsh and finally, heaven forbid, I got Wood Duck for the year. Later, with a threat of rain, Dan and I parted ways with Karen and headed for Donna Haynes neighborhood to see her famed Rufie. As we pulled onto her road, it started raining hard. We waited nearly an hour for the Rufous Hummingbird to show. Finally he did and was gone as quick as he came. I got to look at him for all of three seconds, but that's all it took to make him number 119 on my year list. I felt as though I was truly blessed to get to see the Rufous Hummer. It was absolutely amazing that it stayed from October 2010 to April 2011!

February: The Slow Month
February was a very busy month for me and I did not get to bird as much as I needed to. I didn't even get to bird until the second weekend of the month! Even so, I did get some good birds, I just didn't get the quantity. The first bird of the month and number 121 was a beautiful Barn Owl. Thanks to some close family friends for the tip on this bird right in downtown Jonesboro! I was also fortunate enough to snap a few good pictures of this bird from my vehicular vantage point. After the owl, it was almost two weeks before I got my next bird: Rusty Blackbird. The day I got the Rusty I got a call from Cheryl Lavers saying that she and Norman had seen a Rough-legged Hawk on a county road near Paragould. It was already too late in the day to go for it so I had to hope it would still be there the next day after I got out of school. After school, Mom and I followed the Lavers' directions and found the hawk just down from where they had seen it the day before! I got a few pictures of the beautiful raptor, but they were nothing compared to the photos taken of it the following day by Ron Howard. This bird was a lifer for me and landed itself on my favorites list right next to Prairie Falcon. At this point I was ecstatic because two of the hardest to get raptors of the year had been gotten.
The next day, I went to one of my favorite spots in Northeast Arkansas: Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge. It's not far from home, but it abounds with life, especially during the springtime. The end of February is still a little early for spring birds, but Wapanocca is good during the winter too. This was my first trip to Wap during my big year and it certainly wasn't my last! Highlights on this day were Marsh Wren, a lifer, and a woodcock. The woodcock flushed about five feet from me as I was sneaking along the tree line to try and get a picture of a light morph Red-tail and scared me to death. I can just imagine what others would have thought seeing some kid practically dancing a jig because he saw a woodcock. I fully expected to really have to scour certain areas for this bird and it snuck up on me!

March: Vacation
March is always an awkward month for birding, it's not yet time for spring migrants to arrive and while some winter species are still present, they are sporadic. I only acquired three new species during the month of March and was busy finishing up school work and getting ready for vacation before spring break. I did make it back to Wapanocca on the twelfth though, when I finally got my Vesper Sparrow and picked up two early Blue-winged Teal.
In the week after the twelfth I was in Orlando at Walt Disney World and did little birding. I even surprised myself with this. I guess it was just time for a much needed break. While in Florida, working on the tan, I got a call from Ron Howard saying there were not just one but TWO Red-necked Grebes on Craighead Forest Lake! AHHHHHHH!!!! I'm sure you can just imagine me in front of Cinderella's Castle holding my tongue in front of all the little girls in princess dresses and wanting to pull my hair out because of the miss. Thanks for the update Ron, even though it wasn't physically possible for me to return in a timely enough fashion. If I could've I would've. I ended March with 129 species.

April: Catchup, Power-birding, No Time for Resting
I hit the April ground running and started the month with a bang. The first trip was to Saul's Fish Farm and Treadway's Minnow Farm on my birthday, April 2nd. It was a beautiful day and Mom took me. The day started off by seeing three Red-breasted Mergansers and after scouring a pond twice, the Long-tailed Duck that obliged birders until April 10th. It was a lifer for me and a darn good one at that. I also got my FOY Snowy Egret and Semipalmated Sandpiper at Saul's. We then met up with Terry Butler and his crew and they showed me around the fish farms, something that this first timer really needed! Between the two farms I got Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Long-billed Dowitcher. The dowitcher flock was the largest I'd ever seen at about 300 individuals. We looked them over for about fifteen minutes and couldn't find even one that struck us as Short-billed.

My first migrant warbler of the year came on April 8th at Craighead Forest Park. It was a Black-throated Green Warbler. After that, the birds came slowly but surely. Early April was still kind of a dormant time because migrants just trickled through and there weren't many species coming in full force....except the gnatcatchers, they were everywhere! One of the highlights of the month was the American Bittern at Wapanocca NWR, seen a few times by Ron Howard. Dad waited for me in the truck while I checked the moist soils unit for the bittern, but it was a no show. As we drove away from the unit, Dad slammed on the brakes and said he saw something brown sticking its head above the reeds and when it disappeared he was unsure of seeing anything at all, but I knew it was a good sign and sure enough, it stood up 20 yards away within seconds of a playback.
The next weekend, April sixteenth, was also a weekend to remember. It was my first trip to Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge of the year and it was windy and cold! Fifty degrees was a shocker after the previous week's upper seventies! The reason for the trip was because there had been five Hudsonian Godwits there earlier in the week and one more just south in Des Arc. I was very disappointed in the lack of shorebirds that day, especially after an unsuccessful hour and a half searching for Bell's Vireo in the back of the refuge, but the bird that turned that day around was the single godwit in a flooded field. It was with about only thirty other birds, all yellowlegs, and to my surprise it was not a Hudsonian but a Marbled!!! For sure a great bird for the big year and a lifer. While I spent 30 minutes making sure it was Marbled (and consulting Dan Scheiman) Dad, not at all a birder, was preoccupied learning how to identify coots. When I got back in the truck he talked about how pretty he thought the Red-winged Blackbirds were. To me it seemed as though he was birding, but I'm not sure that's what he would call it.

As April got warmer, the birding got better. For most of the month there were not huge numbers of migrants, but there was quite a variety. The five days from the 22nd to the 27th were the best days of all spring migration. They bumped my year list up 40 species. I stayed in Northeast Arkansas for that time and most of the birds were gotten at Craighead Forest Park and the adjacent Crowley's Ridge Nature Center, both in Jonesboro. Among these species, the notables were: Prairie Warbler; Cape May Warbler, one that was troubling for the Arkansas Audubon Society conventiongoers a week later; all the spring thrushes; Mourning Warbler; and finally a Yellow-throated Vireo. The 24th was the best day. It was sloppy and wet, perfect for spring thrushes. On the main trail of the nature center, I heard one Gray-checked Thrush, heard and saw two Wood Thrush, heard and saw one Swainson's Thrush, heard and saw 3 Veery, and saw the Cape May. This is the classic northeast Arkansas bird foray.
I took a break on the 28th and was back at it again on the 29th with the start of the Arkansas Audubon Society Spring Convention. I was so excited when I found out the convention was coming to Jonesboro! I started the day by skipping school (oops), and birding at Craighead Forest with Dick and Sarah Baxter and Kenny and LaDonna Nichols. I was in good company with awesome people and great birders. That morning I picked up Cerulean Warbler, finally Pine Siskin, and had a great number of Palm Warblers, a species that was very prominent in the area during spring 2011. After parting ways with my morning group I had a quick lunch and headed to the Holiday Inn to meet up with my afternoon field trip group, led by Brandon Noel. This was another great group. We went to Punkin Center Road and picked up a few shorebirds that then got flushed by my FOY Peregrine Falcon. I left the group early to show Bre Furfey some of the springtime hotspots at Craighead for her field trip there the next morning. And for a last early leave of the day, I left Bre early after Dick Baxter called with a Glossy Ibis near Claypool's Reservoir. This is a difficult bird to get anywhere in the state, not to mention in Northeast Arkansas! Luckily Bre and I got our business done and she was okay with me leaving, but the downside was the fact that I had less than an hour before I had to be at the dinner and programs for the AAS conference. Being only 20 minutes out of town I figured I ought to risk it for a Glossy Ibis. Telling my parents it may be a once-in-a-big-year chance got me through. Within minutes, Dad and I were speeding towards Claypool's. It was a quick trip and I came out with the ibis under my belt. Before dinner I really needed a shower after all day outside, but a quick change in the car would have to do! After the excellent program I was ready to get home and quickly fell asleep.
The 30th was another early morning and I headed to Wapanocca with my very own conference field trip group of about 25 people. It was a pretty slow day for all the groups, but I know my group had lots of fun anyways. It was a good group of people. Despite the windy conditions I did pick up a few new birds though. A Painted Bunting, seen with a tip off from Jeff Wilson, and an Anhinga at Woody Pond were highlights of the day. Thanks to Carolyn Minson for allowing me to lead a trip and thanks to all in my group for making a good outing out of a windy spring day.
I really have to give the reason for spring songbird success to the horrible weather. Though there were major tornado issues some days, others turned out to be just mildly stormy and made for amazing birding opportunities.

May: Fun Times, Warm Weather
The final day of Spring Conference Weekend was on May first and it turned out to be a pretty stormy one. I did manage to get Bay-breasted and Wilson's Warblers and a Scarlet Tanager so orange it was practically a Baltimore Oriole!

The weekend after the convention was another go-go weekend. It was a trip that had been planned for a while to Grassy Lake and the area around Texarkana. On the morning of the 6th Charles Mills was near Foreman scouting for a Grasshopper Sparrow I needed for my year list, when he heard a call he didn't recognize. It turned out to be a Cassin's Sparrow, a first state record. When I read this report on my phone during my 6th period class I had mini heart attack number two for the year and almost, "ahem", had bladder troubles. Thank goodness I was leaving school after 6th period because I know I couldn't have sat through 7th period with a first state record on the loose! When I walked into my house I had an adrenaline rush like none other. I grabbed all my gear and was in the truck within 5 minutes. Dad finished loading and we were on the road by 2:45pm. We made it to Texarkana about four hours later where we interrupted Charles' dinner with the Scheimans (whose quickness I envy in getting to any real rarity) and headed for Foreman. We got to the Cassin's spot with little daylight left, but it was enough to see the bird. It didn't get much better than listening to a first state record sing as the lead with a background choir of coyotes as a brilliant red sun sunk below the horizon. A lifer for me and a jewel for my year list. I don't think anyone thought it would stick around for so long, acquire a few friends, and even do friendly things with those friends.
The next morning, Charles met us at our hotel and we headed for Grassy Lake, along the way picking up birds like Great-tailed Grackle and Western Kingbird. When we arrived at Grassy Lake we stopped at Yancey Reynolds' cabin to let him know of our arrival and heard nothing but the harsh electrical hum of the periodical cicadas. When we got down to the lake, Yancey was already there and had his boat ready to go. I kind of expected a wider boat and after the violent rocking when Dad and I sat in our spots I thought to myself, "What in the world have I gotten myself into?" Especially since the boat was as wide as Dad and I sitting side-by-side. After making some extremely narrow passes around cypress trees at full speed, I realized Yancey knew perfectly well what he was doing and we were in good hands. I was still a little nervous though. If we stopped suddenly or hit a stump, there was no way I would have still been in the skinny boat as tall as I am! I'd be floundering with the gators! But enough of the goofiness....when we got into the first actual rookery area I was in awe; we all were. There really are no words I can type here to relay how magnificent Grassy Lake is. It is just too great for words so I'm not even going to try. We were on the lake nearly three hours and it wasn't enough to tide me over. It was an experience I'll remember forever. Hopefully I can go back someday!
After our Grassy Lake experience we continued on to Grandview Prairie, one of Arkansas' beautiful and rare pieces of blackland prairie. Here we didn't get the quantity, but we sure got quality. That being a small flock of four Clay-colored Sparrows. This species is not often seen in multiples in the state.
After the grandeur of Grandview we moved on to an area called Bear Lake, which to me looked like a flooded field among other bean fields. It produced some good species though that really helped in boosting my big year. There were two Hudsonian Godwits here (which completed my godwit family) and also a single White-faced Ibis (which was the third and final ibis for my year). In a nearby field we finally heard the insect-mimicking call of the Grasshopper Sparrow after checking various spots on and off all day. This weekend trip ended with 19 new species. Thanks to Charles Mills who spent his whole weekend birding, without nap breaks.

The rest of spring migration went by too quickly, but I finally got Yellow-headed Blackbird on May 28th which is a little late, as well as Black-billed Cuckoo, both at Wapanocca NWR. This trip ended the month of May and left my list at 246 species.

June: Breeding Season, Here Comes the Sun....and Heat
I picked back up on the big year in June with a much needed trip to St. Francis National Forest, the most reliable spot in the state to get Swainson's Warbler. Here I met up with Amy Wynia and Cody Phillips, two grad students at Arkansas State University, who band and study at the national forest. My goals were of course the "Swainy" as they are so lovingly called at St. Francis, but also Hooded Warbler. Now here is what I like to call a brag and cancel: as an Eagle Scout I am normally well prepared for nearly every outdoor situation (brag)....but this day I didn't think that I would need long pants to go along with my knee-high boots (cancel). Needless to say, by the time we were done birding not only did I have chiggers in places I shouldn't, but I also had a horrible tan line between the boots and shorts. I did greatly appreciate the help that Amy and Cody gave me. Without them I would not as easily have found the targets and would not have gotten the chance to help band one of the dull-yet-beautiful "Swainies".

A week after my St. Francis shenanigans Dad and I loaded up and began what would come to be called Operation WestArk. We left on a Friday and stayed at Camp Rockefeller Scout Reservation to watch my scout troop's final campfire ceremony. It was a good stopover point, but made for a hot sleepless night in the military-style tents. It wasn't all bad though, not sleeping meant I got to lay and listen to night birds for eight hours....joy. I got my year's Whip-poor-will that night. I also laid in hot agony listening to too many nearby Chuck-will's-widows, a Barred Owl, and coyotes.
The next day we met Jerry Butler at Camp Robinson Special Use Area in Conway to search for Bachman's Sparrow. Despite the fact that the map Dan Scheiman gave me specifically had a pin on the RIGHT side of the road, I decided we'd look to the left. It was an hour of frustration that ended in success when I finally did a playback on the RIGHT side of the road. After lunch with Jerry we parted ways and headed for Fort Smith, but not without a detour to Mt. Magazine State Park. I went into the visitor center to meet Don Simons, who was unable to accompany us, but he gave great directions that led me right to beautiful scenery and a Rufous-crowned Sparrow.
Later in the day, after some power birding detours, we finally arrived in Fort Smith. We started by hitting up Sandy Berger's neighborhood for Inca Doves. As soon as we pulled onto the street, the Bergers were pulling into the driveway, returning from their trip out east. We talked for ten minutes about how difficult it may be to spot an Inca. During that time an individual complete with scales and chestnut underwings flew into the street! We thanked Sandy for her good luck and were off to the White-winged Dove's domain across town. Within seconds of exiting the truck we heard the Barred Owl-like call of the WWDO's, soon followed by one flying overhead. My Fort Smith birding couldn't have been easier, taking less than an hour. We hightailed it to Rogers for the night.
The next morning I desperately hoped the Neotropic Cormorants reported the day before, across the state, at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge were still there. This was a bird I really needed, but I couldn't leave Northwest Arkansas without meeting the infamous Joe Neal and getting a Swainson's Hawk! We met Joan Reynolds and Joe Neal the next morning and headed for the old Beatie Prairie. I had never seen the Arkansas prairie country before and was awestruck by its beauty. We found three Swainson's that morning, but my favorite was the one seen soaring high above a windy prairie with the lush Ozark Mountains in the background...an awesome sight. A few minutes later, I got an email that the Neotropic Cormorants were still at Bald Knob. It was on: get roadrunner, Bewick's Wren, and make the four hour haul to Bald Knob. Joan and Joe were both a great help. We searched most of the morning for a Bewick's and roadrunner, but neither showed. I wasn't all that worried about not finding the Bewick's, but was quite worried about the oncoming war to be waged with the apparently elusive-when-you-need-it Greater Roadrunner. We even looked for roadrunner at the Fayetteville Pen (not the local chicken-coop, the actual jail). It had ample habitat for them and Joan had seen them there before so why not...it was my last resort for the trip. After searching the nicely mowed grounds, we decided to take a look down a narrow road that might lead to more habitat. It was a very narrow road behind a police firing range that was inactive on this quiet Sunday. We continued down the road a little ways to a sharp turn where Joe announced that he didn't think we could make the turn without landing in the nearby cattails. Joan and I agreed, so he backed up and we read the sign in passing. It said: "No HIKING on TRAIL when firing range is hot." "Oh." Joe said. Oh was right. I guess the cop behind us should've been a tip we weren't doing something right! This moment put the icing on the cake for Operation WestArk and at least the range wasn't "hot" on that particular Sunday. Thanks to Joan and Joe for attending Birdside Baptist and making another awesome big year adventure for me
Later that same day, we finally arrived at Bald Knob NWR. Being so far away made for a nerve-wracking car trip, but the Neotropics were still there. I saw a cormorant noticeably smaller than a nearby Double-crested before I even put the scope on them. Upon scoping, the telltale white face line was seen. A few minutes later a second Neotropic joined the party. I was too happy that I had gotten this Arkansas rarity. Dad may not agree, but I say the birding bug is catching on. At BKNWR he monopolized my binoculars to look at the cormorants. What a fabulous end to birding in June!

July: Few Birds, Africa Hot
On July 1st, the family went west to Texas, but not without stopping at Bald Knob NWR on the way through. Here I got the much needed American Avocet. Twelve of them to be exact. Thanks to Terry Butler for his BKNWR updates.

On the return trip from Fort Worth, Texas my mom and sister kindly endured the heat at Millwood Lake State Park while I birded the Okay Levee with Charles Mills. Our goal was Tricolored Heron. It was too hot for Cave Swallows, so we spent our time on the levee. It was, as stated above, Africa hot. Charles and I walked a mile and a half down the levee and found no Tricolored. Temperature pushing 100, humidity probably more, I don't think either of us were happy to see that his truck blended into a luscious mirage in the distance, but that mirage held my ticket out of there so I didn't complain! We walked three miles round trip and I had pretty much given up on the Tricolored for the day, when up from lakeside our holy grail bird flew. It landed in a marshy channel on the other side of the levee where it gave us great looks...a beautiful adult. The only non-beautiful part of it was that the bird landed 300 yards from the truck, nearly 18 times less than the three miles we had just walked. Awesome. As Charles stated, this might be the hardest I had to work for a bird all year. It had to happen sometime. I knew that at this point in my year I was not done with Charles' help. From Cassin's Sparrow to a three-mile Tricolored Heron and no nap breaks, I do not know how much I owe him at this point. My tab is not yet closed and already I foresee a life as his personal butler.

On July 22nd, my family left for a short trip to Branson. All the way there, I scanned passing yards in northern Arkansas for Greater Roadrunner, one of the greater enemies during my big year. The trip there did not produce, but the return trip did. As we passed through Salem, there was a particularly unkept yard that looked good for a roadrunner. Lo an behold, as we passed there it stood.....a roadrunner. Silhouetted on a hillside, standing tall like a luxury car hood ornament. This bird ended July as number 263 on my year list.

August: The Fish Farm Month, Flying Kites
During the warm month of August, my big year travels caused me to spend much of my time at the always productive fish farms of Prairie County, Arkansas. They were well reported on this year by their usual birder haunts (Kenny Nichols and Terry Butler) and didn't fail in their productivity. One trip in particular, with Ron Howard, produced quite a few year birds. The main reason behind this last minute trip was for the Piping Plovers seen in the area the day before. After almost 30 minutes of being lost in the middle of nowhere, we came across the drained ponds that were our targets. We rounded the known Piper pond once without seeing either of the plovers, when out of the blue there one is. How we missed it the first time, I don't know since it stuck out like a new fallen snow in the heat of summer. Other successes in Prairie County for August included Black Tern, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, and 2 Red-necked Phalarope.

One of the birds I worked the hardest for in August was Swallow-tailed Kite. There was a failed attempt to find one around the Marianna area on August 6th, involving many miles of driving and looking, but that was all redeemed on the 14th with close viewing and photographing of TWO near Gillett! This pair was here for about two weeks and allowed many birders to view them. The day Mom and I relocated them, there happened to be a couple out birding through this part of the country. Upon talking to them, I learned that they were from North Carolina and had no idea there were Swallow-tailed Kites around (nor did they really care).....they just wanted to see the Mississippis!

The following weekend Dad and I headed to southeast Arkansas for some regional specialties: Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill, Mottled Duck, Least Bittern, and Fulvous Whistling-Duck. This was one of the crazier trips of the year and is now sitting on the crazometer right next to the Okay Levee death march. For the weekend, I had mapped out plans A through E. Plan A was to find the storks and spoonbills at Arkansas Post. We ended up using all the planned plans and winged it from there, eventually making it all the way to the Louisiana border on the Mississippi River Levee. Just before Louisiana, east of Grand Lake and Eudora, we had 8 flyover storks and 3 in a pond off the levee. By the time we reached this pond, I was pretty much fried for the day. I believe I started talking to the storks present wondering why their cousin (Roseate Spoonbill) couldn't be in the pond with them. After dinner that night and as the sun was setting, I ate my words for dessert. Kenny Nichols called at about 7:15 with two Roseate Spoonbills east of Grand Lake. Somehow I knew as soon as he called the exact spot this dastardly duo was sitting. Dad caught a little bit of lead-foot and we headed BACK to the levee. Sure enough, in the twilight, below the levee in the exact same pond of my earlier comment stood the spoonbills. They looked at me and seemed to snicker when I looked down and realized my right foot was in a big pile of fresh cow manure, compliments of the 400 head of cattle down the side of the levee.
That night it rained cats and dogs. We woke up in our primitive McGehee motel and headed for Camp Nine, Baxter Farms. The goals for the Camp Nine reservoir were Least Bittern, Mottled Duck, and Fulvous Whistler. We'd talked to Dick Baxter the day before and he warned us not to get stuck on the muddy roads; the first thing we did was get stuck. I'm confident that four-wheel drive would not have helped us get out of that mess. Luckily there were folks working that muggy Sunday who were able to pull us out. The only issue posed after that was the fact that we were a little over a mile from the actual reservoir where all the bird magic was supposed to happen and not able to drive. So walk we did, only at the end we found that the area we walked to had no view of the reservoir. I was not leaving without those birds, so I left Dad and traipsed along a ditch through a very muddy bean field. I hauled, not wanting to have a run in with a cottonmouth. With that jittering my mind, you can imagine what went through my head when a deer jumped violently from the brush right next to me. A little shaken I got to the opening on the reservoir and immediately saw a flock of 10 Mottled Ducks flying around. One down. I pulled out my iPod and did a playback of Least Bittern with no luck. When I tried again two flushed from the reeds only 20 feet in front of me! Two down. Eventually FUWD were heard. Three down. Now keep in mind, being out of the muddy field and away from the ditch did not put me at ease. I was still wary of the large alligator that had been seen there in years past. Just before leaving the reservoir I heard a rustle in the brush and saw scales through a gap in the leaves....I feared my worst nightmare had come true. I did what I had to do and ran; upon turning around an armadillo was waltzing across the road. My excuse: I didn't want to get leprosy. What really happened: I freaked because I thought it was a 13 foot alligator. Done at the reservoir I
was ecstatic to have some new, major year birds under my belt, but I still had to get back. The way I came in was out of the question and that left me no choice but to traverse the farm road, which was really part of the field that had been left unplanted for access. If the main road was muddy then you better believe that this "road" was a muddy hell. And did I mention I was lugging scope and camera through all this? It took me about an hour of slipping and sliding to get back to the truck. At one point I thought about taking my scope and leaving the tripod behind, but I didn't and I'm proud to say that not once did any of my gear hit the ground.
On the way home Kenny Nichols called again, this time with the Red-necked Phalaropes at Treadway's Fish Farm. Dad was all for going after them, but told me I needed to stop answering my phone when Kenny called.

I ended my birding for August with a first of season Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Craighead Forest on the 29th. This species is listed as rare during both spring and fall migration in Arkansas, but is seen fairly regularly during the fall at Craighead Forest in Jonesboro. This was year bird number 282.

September: Dusty Desert, Still Hot?!?
April to May and late August to early October are the major shorebird migration windows for the state. During spring migration there was almost too much water for good shore-birding and during the latter part of the fall migration there was too little water in many places! Though it was very dry, I did manage to get some successful shore-birding in during September. The major success here was White-rumped Sandpiper....a species I kick myself for missing in the spring since they are much more common then than in the fall. I've got Kenny and LaDonna Nichols to thank for that!
On the day of the 13th, I birded for a little while with Ron Howard at Craighead Forest. He likes to use an Eastern Screech Owl playback to bring in the other birds for photographing and little did I expect a screecher to actually respond! It happens occasionally in the park, but it hadn't worked for me all year. This was another bird I was excited to FINALLY have.
A last shebang for the month, putting my year list at 285, was a trip to the family rice operation near Alicia with Bill Shepherd and my mom. The goal here was none other than Yellow Rail and Sora. Just days before, a relative explained, they had harvested a really sloppy field and had little birds flying up all over the place. The day of the 24th would have none of that though. Most of the fields being harvested were pretty dry. They produced one Sora, but no rails other than that. I never got a chance to try again for Yellow Rail, but should've because it would be pretty easy to get in a good, wet field.

October: One Lake, One Ol' Coot, and a Whole Lotta Birds
For me, most of the month of October was spent on my home turf: Northeast Arkansas. The main actors in this October play were Jeff Wilson and Benwood Lake. Who would have known that a lake previously unheard of by most of the Arkansas birding community would produce such rarities in such a short amount of time and become a crown jewel? The birds found at Benwood during October ranged from Red Phalarope (a miss for me at both Benwood and Mallard Lakes) to Sabine's Gull and on and on. My numerous trips here started with the discovery of a Sabine's Gull by the aforementioned Jeff Wilson. This was a bird I needed desperately after having driven five hours for one (Viola to Texarkana) and not showing itself. I got it on the very first day of the month! This lake also produced a Franklin's Gull....the one seen for my year laid down while we watched it and apparently never got back up. Small lake, rural Arkansas; a good place to die peacefully I guess. Franklin's were definitely not few and far between at Benwood this season. A flock of about 30 sailed silently over on a trip a little later in the month. All of these are good birds for the state, not to mention almost every time I went to Benwood there were Peregrine Falcons and sometimes Merlin!

On the sixteenth, Dad and I met Karen Holliday, Dan Scheiman, and Jim and Sam Dixon at Bald Knob NWR for an early morning shot at a Nelson's Sparrow. We had a tip that one field in particular had produced quite a few Nelson's in the past. Our task force discussed a plan of action and then set to work. We fully expected to flush lots of LeConte's before getting that one Nelson's, if we even got it at all. Five minutes and 100 yards into the field we get our first Ammodramus type sparrow. It is all fiery orange/yellow and sits up nicely for good views. Though our first look was not sufficient I know everyone was thinking LeConte's, but hoping for Nelson's. Suddenly it's back up and I'll be darned if that bird didn't have a solid gray crown stripe flowing like Niagara Falls onto its nape! I think I danced a little at this point. We chased the perfect Nelson's Sparrow around the field for about 30 minutes and got decent looks even though it seemed to like to stay in the grass.
That same day we get back home and I've just started my weekend homework when my phone rings. It's Jeff Wilson and he says that they've got a Eurasian Wigeon at Benwood Lake! What normally takes an hour didn't take so long that day. Dad and I arrived to find Mike Todd and Jeff photographing the beautiful male through their scopes. I don't really know how to classify the limits of Benwood Lake this year, but it was out of this country at least!

The trip that ended my month nicely was a general sweep towards Fayetteville. I say general sweep because before heading northwest we headed due south to Pine Bluff. Mom and I were met by an always helpful Delos McCauley who took us around Boyd Point Wastewater Treatment Facility to see the Eared Grebes. There were at least 40 present that day. These guys seem to have a similar story as the swans at Magness Lake.....multiplying in numbers every winter. After seeing the grebes and smelling some good, ripe sewage we headed on our main path to Fayetteville. Coming up on Texarkana I gave Kenny Nichols a call to see if they were seeing anything interesting from their cabin on Lake Dardanelle. He says nothin' new and calls back a little while later after we've passed all the Dardanelle exits with a Western Grebe. It's too good to pass up so we unauthorized citizens use one of those handy little "authorized vehicles only" turn around points. Thanks to Kenny, I got the bird!
Moving on. The next day I scheduled to meet up with the typical Fayetteville crew at Woolsey Wet Prairie (Joan Reynolds, Jacque Brown, Joanie Patterson, Mike Mlodinow, Joe Neal, David Oakley, and David Chapman). This was the first time I'd met most of the group and man was it a fun day. At Woolsey we had 12 species of sparrows, among them Henslow's and Grasshopper! I talked to Joe Neal for some time about targets for the day, one of which was the rare Spotted Towhee. He told me to ask Mike Mlodinow about that one. Mike and others had been split from Joe and I and gone to the other end of Woolsey. When we asked him about the towhee he casually said, "Well there's one right over there." My initial reaction was, "Haha you're funny." But in actuality, there really was a Spotted Towhee. We all eventually saw it and it made for an awesome year bird.

Other major birds bagged in October were Red-cockaded Woodpecker at Pine City Natural Area with Bill Shepherd and Bewick's Wren at Craighead Forest Park. I ended the month with 297 species.

November: Long-shot Month, Finally Cold
November officially started with a trip down to Overflow National Wildlife Refuge on the 6th. The goal was the Common Ground-Dove that had been seen on and off for a few weeks by Bobby Schat. Dad and Kelly Chitwood were the extra eyes this trip. This was my first chase for the dove, but Kelly's eighth since she started birding! Needless to say it was no big deal for us to search the recently plowed corn fields all morning for this bird, walk a country mile, and exhaust our energy as long as it was rewarding in the end. Not only did we look in the fields, but we looked around the headquarters where one is sometimes seen feeding on corn there. We walked all the way around the fenced area and saw no ground-dove. We did, however, see a boars head lying in one of the corners of the fenced area. An interesting warning to other feral hogs not to come into the area? Kind of like pirates hung in cages over the docks I guess. Anyway, back to birding. Our searching took us about two hours and all seemed hopeless. Just as I was starting to really get heated and squirm out of frustration, a bird flew from the brush and into a nearby field. Dad's headed snapped towards me, but I already knew what he was thinking. That bird had the telltale rufous underwing of a Common Ground-Dove. I jumped out of the car and frantically pointed to the field so Kelly could see the beautiful bird that had just landed close by. This species never gave me the chance to make it a nemesis, but it sure gave Kelly fits for a long time!
Later in the day we headed to Lake Enterprise to check for Vermilion Flycatcher. No Vermilion, but we did come across a very interesting eagle. The lake was pretty low, allowing for walking almost all the way to the water line. I decided to take advantage of this and get a closer look at the eagle. As soon as my right foot hit the mud, it broke through the crust and I sank. I think the one leg came out in China. Clearly, my knee-boots did not work out well here. After finagling my way out of the mud, we never could relocate the eagle but the photos we got said Bald Eagle, not Golden like we'd hoped.

The following weekend we were off again. This time to Lake Maumelle where Dennis Braddy had reported an early Red-throated Loon the day before. I had help from many good Central Arkansas birders, including Dennis himself. We looked from the Hundley Road Access for a good 2 hours with no luck. Dennis went down to Vista Point and found the bird within just a few minutes! Dan Scheiman, Dad and I rushed down there and sure enough, on a calm strip of open water was the Red-throated Loon. It dove constantly, but this elegant bird was an easy bag. If you can even say that after searching for three hours.

November held yet another trip to Northwest Arkansas. This time it was for the Arkansas Audubon Society's fall conference. I haven't been a member of the AAS family for that long, but I always feel right at home. My trip started Thursday with a stopover at Delaware Point, on Lake Dardanelle, for gulls and ducks. Nothing much other than Ring-billeds and Herrings. Friday, I started at Woolsey Wet Prairie with Joe Neal. The goal for the morning was an American Tree Sparrow that had been seen the day before. This bird was a desperate need! We did not find the bird, but thought we had a response to playback later in the day.
Now as for Saturday....I started with Joe Neal's field trip group to Beatie Prairie and the Maysville area (pretty much as far northwest you can get in the state without being in Missouri and Oklahoma). We got good looks at some of the usual raptors in that neck of the woods: Harlan's Hawk, Bald Eagle, etcetera. Not long after we started I got called off to Chesney Prairie Natural Area after a Long-eared Owl that was flushed from a cedar there. I think I took about half of Joe's group with me when I went :-) Anyway, we could not relocate the owl but soon after we started at Chesney, Ted Stiritz--another young birder in the state and a great one at that--and I were looking through a group of sparrows when he shouted "tree sparrow!". My adrenaline spiked and I turned to see number 300 staring me right in the face. Not long after I began yelling about my 300th bird it flushed.....but was relocated later for a few others to see. This marked the biggest milestone of my Arkansas Big Year. It marked official success. The major miss for the day was the Long-eared Owl, which never showed for us. We went back at dusk to try for it, but again had no luck. The next morning Karen Holliday, Lenore Gifford, and I went back AGAIN. It was a no show....this forced us to try something that seemingly never works outside breeding season for this species: playback. I'm sure glad we tried. The owl was clearly not still at Chesney, but responded about a half mile to the east! Its low, persistent "hoo, hoo" lifted my heart higher than the sky. It let out one single alarm "kuk" as a flock of crows went nuts. The only way it could've been more perfect is if we got to actually see it, but for the purpose of my year list, sound was acceptable.

I ended November with a rainy day trip to Magness Lake with Dad on the 27th. We met Terry Butler at his house in Pangburn and from there headed toward Magness. Magness Lake is one of those places that has a pretty rich background bird-wise. It all started due to some bad weather that dropped in a few Trumpeter Swans during the last decade. When these first swans departed with the north winds of spring, little did birders know they had made plans to come back! To make a long story short, the Trumpeters have been returning in greater and greater numbers every year since; sometimes they even invite a Tundra Swan or two to join them. It is such a treat getting to view these majestic creatures. Done with the background info, our primary reason for this trip was to see a juvenile Tundra that had been hanging around the lake. Pulling up at the lake, we immediately saw 30 Trumpeters and the one lone Tundra across the lake. The Trumpeters are always sociable and the Tundra finally decided to be also, working his way slowly across the lake. Something I'd like to touch on before continuing: 30 does not sound like a large number and it's not for these swans. If we were to have gotten there later in the day and later in the winter, especially, we might have seen upwards of 200 swans!
This harrowing trip with the big birds ended November with 303 species for the year.

December: Busy to the Last
December was supposed to start with a planned trip to Texarkana on the 3rd. The complication was that on the 1st, a Brewer's Sparrow was found at Woolsey Wet Prairie in Fayetteville. This was a first state record and a bird I really needed, but probably wasn't going to get. The main reason I expected not to get this bird was due to me not thinking it would stick around. I will admit, I was wrong. I got an email on Friday the 2nd saying that the Brewer's was still hanging out in the same place! I was at school, but after a few emails back and forth with the Department of Leaving and Parenting Services, I was out. Within the hour Mom and I were on our way to Fayetteville. We made it in 4 1/2 hours; a record since it normally takes 5. We arrived at Woolsey at 3:15pm to find the Nichols and pretty much the whole Northwest Arkansas birding crew. It took us about ten minutes to relocate the bird and about 10 more to get pictures. We stood around and talked afterwards, but all-in-all I was in Fayetteville no more than 40 minutes. The Brewer's Sparrow actually stuck around for a few weeks!
Mom and I moved on with our trek and headed to Texarkana from Fayetteville. This was the trip of a lifetime....yeah right. The corkscrew highway we decided to take through the Ouachitas that night didn't fare well on our Delta dwelling stomachs. We got to Texarkana at around 10:00, went to bed and started a new day bright and early. The next morning, Mom went shopping while I birded with Charles Mills. I had hoped to have a more productive, non-windy day of birding, but birding with Charles is a fun experience no matter what.
When birding, there is always a kicker. Most of the time it involves a VIP bird being somewhere that you are not. This day's kicker was no exception. Almost as soon as we started I got an email from....guess who?....Kenny Nichols saying that the Barrow's Goldeneye had returned to Lake Dardanelle! I felt like I was in a dream state at this point and knew I had to have a chance at redeeming myself on this bird. I couldn't leave Texarkana just yet though, so I finished my day out with Charles. The next morning Mom agreed to head back north, this time taking the interstate. We arrived at the Deleware Recreation Area to a steady rain. I don't melt, so it didn't bother me. I spent about 30 minutes searching for the Barrow's, but was only seeing Common Goldeneye. A déjà vu feeling of not being able to find it crept over me. I didn't fret too much because I was able to call in the reserves. Kenny came over to Delaware and found the bird pretty quickly in a smaller offshoot flock from the main one. The Barrow's was a beautiful male and upon finally seeing it, was definitely different than a nearby Common Goldeneye. Interesting fact of the day: the goldeneye I got on first, that Kenny eventually saw too, had the wrong head color for an adult male, but had more black on the back than a straight-up Common should. Could it have been a hybrid? There was no sure-fire way to tell at such a distance so I guess we'll never know.
The weekend ended plus two species and a sure-to-be world record in our pockets. That being traveling to and from three extremities of the state in under 12 hours.

As in a big year, I was back at it again the next weekend....kind of. Dad and I were really supposed to be hiking on the Buffalo River, and we did, just with a little side searching for crossbills and saw-whet owls. No luck for either, but we got a good six miles in and beautiful scenery all the way. There is absolutely NO cell phone service in the valleys of Ponca and Boxley, so I was cut off from the world of birding notifications until Sunday when we left the valleys. As soon as I regained service my phone blew up with all kinds of texts, emails, voicemails, you name it. As it turns out, there were numerous Glaucous Gulls at Lake Dardanelle and a Vermilion Flycatcher running around unseen at Stuttgart Airport! Both were species I'd hoped for all year, but didn't expect too much out of. I broke the news to Dad and he agreed to head to Dardanelle. Along the way it was he who brought up the subject of going after the Vermilion too! Upon arrival at the Lake Dardanelle Lock and Dam we saw no Glaucous sitting on the lock. I began to sweat a little since it was there only a few hours before. Getting cold, I went to put on my jacket, walked back to the edge of the rock hill going down into the water, and saw the massive snow-white gull eating a fish on the shore. It was the Glaucous and how I missed it the first time I don't know. The bird even let me get pretty close. That took all of ten minutes, so we were off cross-state to Stuttgart. On the way we passed a pond/flooded field that had a Cackling Goose in with some Canadas....this was one of my 75 miles per hour birds. We arrived at the Vermilion Flycatcher spot with no time to spare as it was already 4:00pm and the sun was sinking fast. After not seeing the bird for the first 20 minutes I began to get a little frantic since it seemed so cooperative for everyone else through the day. Finally, from a nearby reservoir flies the bird we were looking for. It was flying away from us and I had to run to keep up to see where it would land. I'd hate to be in a real marathon with the Vermilion because it definitely won and we lost it. Losing it didn't last long. It gave away its location when it flew into short oak in the corner of an open field. It was a perfect scene....vermilion colored bird sitting in a fiery orange-leaved tree. It sallied up once to catch a bug, flew off towards the reservoir, and didn't come back. I would've liked pictures, but seeing it in the conditions I did was good enough. And so ends another cross-state trek.

The following Saturday, December 18th, Dad and I headed in the general direction of Fayetteville. We stopped in Conway to check for Cackling Geese at Beaverfork Lake. I wanted to get photographs and having gotten this bird for the year already it was not a big deal when we could not locate them. We did, however, find Michael Linz. He came up to us and said he had a scoter nearby. I didn't care what species it was because I needed all three! We eventually relocated it and it turned out to be a White-winged Scoter....the one of three I least expected to get this year. The light here was like looking into an LED bulb so we moved down, eventually setting up scopes and standing in two feet of water thanks to the recent rains. It allowed great views and couldn't have had a more telltale white wing patch.
Though Methodists, the next day, Dad and I attended Birdside Baptist with Joe Neal and crew for the Fayetteville Christmas Bird Count. Roseanne Barnhill and I were in charge of Woolsey Wet Prairie for the day and came up with great numbers and the count's only Northern Harrier. Our main task was to relocate the Brewer's Sparrow, which we failed to do but had fun anyway. We combined forces with Joe and two other birders after lunch, but could not locate that one new bird I needed to boost my year list to 309. We ended the day at the home of Doug James where we were treated with a calling screech owl on their bird feeder!
Monday, before heading home, Joe and I went to Beaver Lake. Nothing new there either, but we did see two groups of three Western Grebes and two Long-tailed Ducks....not a bad consolation prize at all! I believe six Western's may be a high count for the state. On the way home, I got an email saying there had been a Sandhill Crane near Bono during the Jonesboro CBC. That was five days earlier and I thought it would be a stretch for it to still be in the same spot. After already having traveled six hours and 300 miles looking for this bird I figured we had nothing to lose by checking a place fifteen minutes from my house. Sure enough, as we drove by its field I saw no Sandhill....good thing Dad was with me though because while I was busy looking way out in the field he saw the bird not far off the highway. He will be a birder yet! I tried to creep along a muddy ditch line, as much as you can creep with mud sucking you in and sinking into the water, to get closer. When I reached the top of the bank the crane was about 15 yards in front of me. I ended up a little closer than that and in full view of the Sandhill. It never seemed to mind me being so close and when I was done taking pictures I quietly walked back to the truck. The crane wintered in the area and allowed close viewing many more times.

As soon as I woke up on the morning of December 30th I checked my email and I'm glad I did. In the night, someone had given the previous day's report of a Red-necked Grebe at Lake Dardanelle. Dad and I had planned to leave for Stuttgart, along the way checking a spot for Golden Eagle, and preparing ourselves for the White River NWR CBC the next day, but that didn't happen. I gave Dad the wake up call and we were off for Dardanelle within the hour. We arrived at the Delaware Recreation Area at about 11:30, teamed up with Kenny and LaDonna Nichols, and could NOT locate the grebe. We saw the Barrow's Goldeneye and a Glaucous Gull, which are both very rare in Arkansas, but during a big year if you've already seen a species--even a rare one-- they seem to become "trash" for the rest of year. After over an hour of scouring, we decide to head on since I still needed to check for the Golden Eagles that were seen all the way back across the state. Ten minutes later I get a text message from Kenny. It said simply, "Turn around. I just found it.". I had to laugh out loud at this because it was so typical of birding anywhere near the Nichols! We hightailed it back and got to view the stunning Red-necked Grebe at close range in its own private cove. Nearby were Red-breasted Mergansers and a Long-tailed Duck....can't complain about that mix! Three hours after the private viewing of the grebe we arrived south of podunk Fair Oaks (north of Brinkley). There the sun was sinking fast over thousands of waterfowl; the perfect location for a Golden Eagle. I finally spotted a large, floppy bird flying out across the field. It was pretty far out, so I tried following its flight in a scope which is not as easy as it looks. Luckily, I was able to maneuver the scope like a smooth machine gunner and get diagnostic views of the eagle before it slowly flew into the setting sun. What a beautiful bird!
With a belly full of alligator, sleep, and waking up at 4:00am, I was ready to start the final day. No new birds (for me) were found during the Christmas count at White River, but we had an awesome day birding with Bill Shepherd and meeting plenty of others. After boating through flooded bottomland and seeing nearly 13,000 Ring-necked Ducks you're not allowed to say you had a bad day. I would have liked to have added something more to my year list, but I could not have been happier to end with Golden Eagle, the Thunderbird of the west.
As the sun set, it not only set on December 31, 2011, it set on the year as a whole, and my Arkansas Big Year officially closed at 311 species.

I'd now like to thank everyone in the Arkansas birding community and beyond for helping me accomplish this big year. Whether it was reporting on a rarity, cheering me on, or being up for birding, almost every birder in the state played a role in this year. Being a junior and senior in high school during 2011 made things pretty challenging and help was a necessary thing. There were times when I got burnt out and thought about quitting, but I was always drawn back in....birding is a habit (sometimes good, sometimes bad) that cannot be shaken. I've gained so much knowledge this year and not just knowledge about birds, but knowledge about myself and others. All this knowledge will be carried with me throughout life.

For specific thanks I'd like to first thank my parents. Without their constant chauffeuring, this year would not have been possible. Next I'd like to thank Jerry Butler. Jerry hasn't been available for birding a whole lot this year, but in my book he will always be known as the man who started it all. He has also done very well in his reporting on my progress throughout the year. I would also like to thank Charles Mills, Joe Neal, Dick Baxter, Dennis Braddy, Jeff Wilson, and Kenny and LaDonna Nichols. All of these people are excellent birders and they pretty much stick to there specific areas of the state, which is really good for a big year since their areas seem to produce some pretty spectacular birds! Charles and Joe both drove me around their corners many-a-time this year and I think I must be forever indebted. Another thank you goes to Bill Shepherd, Karen Holliday, Dan Scheiman, Ron Howard, and many others who are always up for birding.

Thanks again everyone for an awesome year! I hope to see you all in 2012.

~Mitchell Pruitt

Big Year Final Report: The Birds

2009-01-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

I started off 2008 like I had the previous 3 years, not really sure if I should go all out and do a Big Year. That changed early in the year.

In 2007, Dennis Braddy conducted a Big Year in Arkansas and ended the year with an excellent total of 307 birds. At the end of the year, he said he wouldn't chase any birds for a while. That lasted less than one day, and he was off to chase some Common Ground-Doves found at Holla Bend by Cameron Cox on New Year's Day. I also chased those Common Ground-Doves, but not on New Year's Day because New Year's Day comes after New Year's Eve. I needed those doves for my state list, and I got them a few days later. That was my first chase.

My second chase was for Brown Pelican at Lake Dardanelle on January 12th. The pelican had flown over Bo Verser's car the day before as he drove down the highway. It was later relocated by Dennis Braddy, who had to be thinking that Common Ground-Dove and Brown Pelicans could have been more courteous and strayed during 2007.

After Kenny and LaDonna Nichols and I saw the Brown Pelican, we found a White-winged Scoter just above the Dardanelle Dam. After that, we went to the junior high in Russellville to scope the gulls. We picked through the masses once, and didn't see anything unusual, only Ring-billeds. Some yahoos pulled up in a truck and wanted to know why were wasting our time looking at sea gulls. Kenny, as he usually is, was very polite to them and started explaining that sometimes rare gulls are found with the more common ones. Just at that moment, I spotted an unusual gull- a Thayer's Gull, which is a great rarity for Arkansas, and a great addition to my year list. Feeling like we had all the luck in the world, we headed up to the Maysville area to look for a Northern Shrike that had been seen twice briefly by Mike Mlodinow, Joe Neal, Jacque Brown, and Dennis Braddy. We did not see the shrike, nor did we see a Prairie Falcon in the area. I had traveled a long distance from home to see a measly Harris's Sparrow (which I would find in March about 10 miles from my house). How can you complain on a day when you see Thayer's, Lesser Black-backed, White-winged Scoter, Brown Pelican, and Harris's Sparrow on the same day? You can't.

Sometime in January, I got word that two falconers, Chris Price and Raul Ramirez, had seen a Prairie Falcon near Osceola. I had never seen a Prairie Falcon despite looking for them in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and New Mexico. I really wanted to see one. Badly. I searched the spot the bird had been seen 3 times during January to no avail. On February 1st, I went to the area where the falcon had been seen weeks before. I didn't see it. However, I found a Rough-legged Hawk in the area (that would later be seen by Ron Howard). I felt pretty good about the hawk, but I still wasn't satisfied. I needed that dadgum falcon. So what did I do? I went back to Jonesboro and recruited some help.

The same afternoon (February 1st) Nick Anich and I headed out to find the falcon. We went to the spot and found the county road lined with fearless Mourning Dove. The falcon wasn't around. We decided to go look around for other northeast Arkansas specialties, like Sandhill Crane and American Black Duck. We found these with minimal effort. Nick and I had just enough time to get from the crane grounds (near Birdsong) back to the Prairie Falcon location around dusk. We turned off the highway onto the county road, and I said "we're not gonna see it." The very instant that I had given up on the Prairie Falcon, it flew across the road right in front of us! You can't make this stuff up. It lit on a telephone pole and allowed us scope views and enough time to snap a few pictures, then, it took off in a flash.

I had not really planned to do a Big Year, but I seemed to have some luck. I have no idea how many year birds I had by February 1st. I did know that I already had a ton of rarities, and Big Years are made by rarities.

From February 1st until the end of March, I added several more really good birds like Glaucous Gull, Red-throated Loon, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, and Anna's Hummingbird. My year list totaled 169 birds on March 31st, and that seems like a bunch, but Kenny Nichols and Bo Verser saw 168 birds on one May day in Arkansas during the peak of migration.

April

20 April 2008

April 20, 2008 was one of my most memorable days of birding in Arkansas. The list of birds I saw was pretty good, but more importantly, it put a little wind in my sail leading up to the peak of migration. I started the day around 6:30 a.m. by scanning over a dried fish pond for shorebirds. I spotted Least, Semipalmated, Pectoral, and Spotted sandpipers. I also noticed a pale spot that was on the driest part of the pond bottom. When I got my binoculars up, I was happy to see a Piping Plover in breeding plumage!

After studying and photographing the plover, I continued down the pond levee about 100 yards or so. A bird that flew up from the grassy levee caught my eye. I noticed a lot of white in its tail, and I figured it was probably just a Vesper Sparrow, but something just didn't seem right. As I lifted my glasses, I was stunned to see a Sprague's Pipit. This bird sat motionless for what seemed like an eternity. He even allowed me to back my truck up and turn sideways, so I could photograph it out my window. Now that's a polite pipit.

Next I went to an irrigation reservoir to look for whatever might be out there. I scanned and scanned and saw lots of ducks, including Mottled, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy, Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, etc. Two Black-crowned Night Herons flew by. Then I managed to see a Least Bittern as it flew just above the cattails. Soras were calling everywhere, and I heard a few more Least Bitterns. I eventually spotted an American Bittern in flight.

I felt like I had seen everything from that spot, so I decided to move to a different vantage point. I first saw 5 Horned Grebes in breeding plumage. Horned Grebes are not rare by any stretch of the imagination, but they're sharp looking in late April. After about five more minutes of scanning, I found the first Eared Grebe for the county! I took some photos of the bird, which was also in breeding plumage. I scanned a little more, and eventually spotted a flock of six Fulvous Whistling Ducks on the north side of the reservoir. I managed to snap a photo through my scope, which was quite poor, but understandable because the ducks had to have been more than half a mile away.

I went back to the drained fish ponds and found several more shorebird species. The best ones were Black-necked Stilt and Dunlin. A single female Hooded Merganser was my only one of the day. An adult Bald Eagle was soaring over towards the river.

Next, I went to some other fish ponds, which were being drained to be farmed in row crops. There was a lot of good shorebird habitat in the draining ponds. I saw a single Baird's and a few Western Sandpipers in with all the Leasts and Semis. One pond had three Semipalmated Plovers. Four Black-necked Stilts dwarfed everything but the Greater Yellowlegs.

After lunch, I birded around for landbirds (even though it was the wrong time of day) and found a few good birds like Lincoln's Sparrow, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and House Wren. I heard a wren scolding me around an old shed, and I figured it was another House Wren, but it didn't sound like the one I had heard a few minutes before. I pished and a Bewick's Wren popped up, one of only a few I've seen in Arkansas. The wren flipped its tail side to side and continued to scold.

I left the wren and went back to the first fish ponds I had visited that morning to see if anything else had dropped in. As it turned out, five American Avocets and 2 Caspian Terns had stopped in, and an Osprey flew over. I checked the other drained ponds, and found two Piping Plovers in one pond. I couldn't believe there were two of them! I guess the fact that the river was up so high, and all the sandbars were underwater helped send the Pipings my way.

I finished the day off with two young Bald Eagles, another Osprey, 3 Upland Sandpipers in a plowed field, and a single Barn Owl in an old building.

Any day you see Piping Plover, Sprague's Pipit, American Avocet, Bewick's Wren, Upland Sandpiper, Mottled Duck, Least Bittern, American Bittern, Barn Owl, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Eared Grebe, Caspian Tern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Horned Grebe, and Baird's Sandpiper ain't a bad day for Arkansas.

I ended the month of April with 256 species on my year list. May would make or break my big year.

May

Warbler May Day

On May 10, 2008, Kenny and LaDonna Nichols joined Ron Howard and me for a morning of warbler watching at Craighead Forest Park in Jonesboro. A cold front moved through the area during the night and the winds shifted from the south to the north, and the conditions led to an inland fallout. We started around 6:45a.m. and didn't quit until 5:00p.m. It was just that good. We had 22 species of warblers on the day, and other good birds like Painted Bunting, Lark Sparrow, and a couple of late Red-breasted Nuthatches. The best bird of the day award went to a totally unexpected Clay-colored Sparrow in the gravel pit adjacent to the park. That Clay-colored Sparrow saved me a bunch of grief because they are rare and unpredictable in Arkansas. But on this day, the warblers were the real show-stoppers.

When I say we had warblers, I don't mean just a few. We had tons of the things. We estimated that we had 150 Tennessee Warblers, 85 Magnolia Warblers, 75 Chestnut-sided Warblers, 30 Nashville Warblers, 30 Blackburnians, 25 Black-throated Greens, 25 Redstarts, 20 Bay-breasteds, and 20 Blackpolls. We had lesser numbers of Northern Parula, Yellow, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Pine, Palm, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white, Kentucky, Yellowthroat, and Wilson's Warblers. The final tally at the end of the day ended with a mind-boggling 522 individual warblers!

May Chases

I also chased a few birds in May. Charles Mills called to say he had a Whimbrel down on the Okay Levee, so Sarah and I, along with Dennis Braddy, headed down the next morning. Big shorebirds are notorious for not sticking around unless there's inclement weather. Well, there was no inclement weather to be found. It was a bluebird day, but luck was with us, and the bird was still there. I also picked up Sanderling and Alder Flycatcher down there, which aren't rare but they can be a pain to find when you want to find one.

Kenny and LaDonna Nichols found some Swainson's Hawks over around Holla Bend. The next day, Ron Howard and I were looking at two of them.

I got word that Terry Butler had a White-winged Dove at his feeder. The next day, we were both looking at a White-winged Dove at his feeder. I headed to the Wilburn Clearcuts after leaving Terry's and found Bachman's Sparrows and a Willow Flycatcher.

May Finds

The best birds I found in May, aside from the aforementioned Cape May Warbler and Clay-colored Sparrow, were: Hudsonian Godwits, Black-bellied Plovers, Swainson's Warbler, Common Terns, and Franklin's Gull in Desha County. In Jonesboro, I think Ron Howard and I saw just about every warbler that comes through Arkansas regularly, along with all the empids, Veery, and Black-billed Cuckoo. Every bird you get is one you don't have to worry about finding later. I ended May with 290 birds.

June, July, and August

June is generally a slow birding month in Arkansas. I mopped up birds I had not seen yet, like Worm-eating Warbler, King Rail, and Louisiana Waterthrush. Can you believe that Louisiana Waterthrush was year bird #293?

In July, Ron Howard and I went to Magazine to look for Rufous-crowned Sparrows. We had driven about 4 hours from Jonesboro, and I think I heard the birds singing as soon as I opened the car door at the hang-glider spot. Ron got some really nice photos, and we high-tailed it back to J-town.

The last part of July, I found the first Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills of the year down in Desha County. I ended July with 296 birds.

I saw a lot of good birds in August, but most of them were birds I had already seen for the year. I heard that there was a Least Grebe at the Craig Fish Hatchery, and the next day, along with Kenny and LaDonna Nichols, Dennis Braddy, and Sarah, I too had seen Arkansas's first Least Grebe. There were 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers up there, and they were my first for the year.

On August 25th, I got a call from Kenny that he had found a Red-necked Phalarope at Des Arc. I had been working all day, but luckily, I was working near Searcy, and Searcy is a lot closer to Des Arc than Jonesboro is. The phalarope was year bird #299. I was on cloud nine.

September

Hurricane Birds

On August 25th, Hurricane Gustav formed out in the Atlantic. It moved into the Gulf of Mexico and picked up steam. On September 1st, Gustav hit Cocodrie, Louisiana as a Category 2 storm. On the morning of September 2nd, I was at Lake Chicot looking at my life Sooty Tern. I had also broken the 300 barrier. I birded around the area looking for more hurricane birds. Late in the afternoon, I got a call from Arkansas's First Couple of Birding that there was a frigatebird perched in a cypress tree at Grand Lake. LaDonna had spotted it flying and immediately lost it, before re-finding it in the cypress tree. Kenny finally had the frigatebird for his state list.

Through the week, several storm birds were still being seen in Arkansas. There were Sooty Terns at Millwood, Dardanelle, and Beaver lakes. A Bridled Tern was at Millwood. There was a Royal Tern at Millwood and another at Centerton. I finally had time to go birding again on September 7th. Charles Mills had a jaeger and a skimmer down at Millwood on September 6th, and the other rare birds in the state had moved on, so Sarah and I headed to Millwood. We saw a Sooty Tern and the jaeger. I had never seen a jaeger before, and wanted a closer look. The only way to do that was to rent a boat. Charles, Sarah, and I took a boat out while Dennis Braddy stayed on the bank to guide us. We saw the jaeger, and it wasn't any closer than it was when we had seen it from the bank. Finally, it sat down and we were able to get fairly close to it. However, just before I shut the motor off, it took off, and since I was trying to keep the photographer in good position, I didn't get very good looks. Charles got some photos, and some experts have said Parasitic and some have said Pomarine. I didn't identify it, but I've got it as jaeger species. Just as we got back to the state park, Dennis called to tell us that there was a Black Skimmer on the Okay Levee. We raced around there to see an immature Black Skimmer, a different bird than the adult Charles had seen the day before. Three legit storm birds and a very rare jaeger can really boost a year list.

Dardanelle Gulls

Sabine's Gull is a very rare migrant through the interior, but the best time to see one is in the fall. In Arkansas, Charles Mills has found lots of them at Millwood, and more recently Kenny Nichols has found a few at Dardanelle. I knew that I would have to make a trip to one of those two lakes to get that bird. On September 12th, Kenny found a Sabine's at Dardanelle. I was there the next day to see it. After looking at the Sabine's, we birded around the lake to see if Huricane Ike had left any storm birds. We didn't find any storm birds other than Laughing Gulls. We went back to the Nichols Bird Observatory and spotted a strange looking gull in with a bunch of terns. It was a long way off, so we headed to Delaware Rec. Area to get a better look. We couldn't judge size, and so we were unsure if it was a Bonaparte's or Little gull. Kenny went to eat lunch (after all, he didn't need a Little Gull). Dan Scheiman and Don Simons showed up to look at the Sabine's Gull, and I got them on the other gull. The bird finally got closer, and we identified it as a Little Gull! I think half the birders in Arkansas showed up to see that thing. I ended September with 307 birds.

October and November

There were only a few birds that I could get in October and November. Yellow Rails are seen during very late rice harvests in Arkansas. It just so happened that I knew a farmer in Desha County who had planted rice after wheat, in June. They cut that rice on October 26th, and I was there watching for flushing rails. I saw a lot of Soras, and some Virginias, then I had a bobcat run right by me. I saw some more Soras, and some more Virginias, and after watching for about 3 hours, the combine flushed up a Yellow Rail. 308.

Another bird that is easiest to get in October is Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. I thought I would try Bald Knob because there is a lot of good habitat there. I trudged through several fields that had flooded smartweeds and panicum grass without seeing any Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows. I flushed a bunch of Le Conte's, a couple of Soras, and an American Bittern. I found another field with some more good looking habitat, and after flushing some more Le Conte's, up popped a Nelson's.

November didn't give me anything but American Woodcock, and that was while I was on the job. It didn't matter, it was year bird #310.

December

When December rolled around, I had 2 "gimmes" left on my list: Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Henslow's Sparrow. I eventually got both of those. I heard that there was a Broad-billed Hummingbird, but it disappeared. Remarkably, it showed up at someone else's feeder and they graciously allowed birders to see it. One day, I emailed Nick Anich my list of most probable birds, and I added that someone out there must have a Rufous Hummingbird. Karma was on my side, and I had a message from Dan Scheiman about a Rufous Hummingbird in East End within an hour. Dennis Braddy called to report 2 Western Grebes at Lake DeGray. I ended up getting the grebes and a Pacific Loon down there that was found on the Christmas Bird Count. By hanging around Kenny Nichols and Paul Lehman, I picked up Common Merganser and Golden Eagle at Dardanelle and Holla Bend, respectively.

I ended the year with 318 birds, 23 chases, and 295 birds found on my own or by my birding party.

Misses

Every Big Year is going to have some missed birds. By my count, there were 13 species seen in Arkansas in 2008 that I did not see. Some of them, like Red Crossbill, were not chase-able. Others stuck around for a little while, but for one reason or another I did not see them. The Chestnut-collared Longspur that Charles Mills found was around for a few days, but I was working. Long-tailed Ducks showed up but both were gone the next day. The Black-legged Kittiwake found by Doris and Dottie Boyles in December 2007 was still around until early January, but I didn't know it was still there.

The biggest misses I had were Ruddy Turnstone, which I get just about every year, and the Long-tailed Duck. Another one that sticks out is the Long-billed Curlew that Joe Neal found in April that was gone the next day.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone I mentioned above for all the help. If I forgot to mention someone, I am sorry, and thank you.

Special thanks to Dennis Braddy for helping to modernize Arkansas birding. His real time reporting is very helpful to everyone who birds in Arkansas. He also found some really good birds this year, like Black Skimmer and Western Grebe.

Thanks to Ron Howard for being up for any birding trip anytime. Persistence and skill make good birders, and Ron is an excellent birder.

Thanks to Charles Mills for helping me out. Charles has a great birding spot in his neck of the woods and nothing seems to get past him.

Thanks to Kenny and LaDonna Nichols for all their help. A Big Year is not possible in Arkansas without their help. They did not have to help me, but they did. They let me know about every bird as soon as possible. Luckily, they are good friends of mine, and they realize that when they get ready to do another Big Year, I'll help them in every way I can.

Thanks to my wife, Sarah, for letting me get away with this.

Dick Baxter
Jonesboro, Arkansas
dickbaxter100@GMAIL.COM
http://www.pbase.com/dickbaxter

A Woodpecker Reflection

2008-05-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

I saw my first Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCWs) in the 1970s, in the newly organized Felsenthal NWR. Based upon what I saw there, and what I could learn from reading, I felt RCWs were heading down the same road as Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. In my early 30s, and fresh on the ecology scene, I was drawn by the drama of the bird's decline and the interesting mature pine habitat in which it lived.

In my mid-40s, I was presented with an opportunity to join a Forest Service team already at work on recovery of RCWs on the Ouachita NF in western Arkansas. In the fall of 1990, at age 44, I returned to the U of A-Fayetteville, worked on an MS in Zoology, and went to work as part of the Ouachita RCW team. That was January 1993.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker - J. Neal

In 1990, we caught and banded the RCWs on the Ouachita NF -- 32 adults. There were 12 nests that summer, with only 10 young fledged. It was a population crashing toward extinction. In 2007, there were 37 nests, 67 fledglings, and about 103 adults. The 2008 RCW nesting season is off and running, and promising. We are finding new active cavity trees and many nests already have young birds. These nests cover a wider geographic area than in 1990. It's a lot different than what I had expected in the 1970s and it is a brighter world than the one we saw in 1990. With so much bad environmental news, this is a welcome brightness.

The years have passed, 15 of them now, since I went to work full time on the Ouachita NF. I'm now in my early 60s, and on June 20, I will finish my career with the US Forest Service, all on the Ouachita NF. The woodpecker project team will continue. Because the goal is full recovery, this project will consume several more careers. I'm glad I had these years to be part of a team that includes many capable individuals.

Joe Neal

Now for a brief lament: I have never been sure that the choice I made in 1990 was really the best one for me personally, or for my family. It just seemed inevitable, considering how I felt about things. When I drove from Fayetteville, headed 110 miles south into the Ouachitas, I was pulled between natural loyalties and commitment to an idea and a passion. The better job meant I could better support my daughter Ariel and myself. In pursuit of these interests, I spent a lot of time away from my home and from Ariel's growing up. I was at work when my mother died, trying to squeeze in just one more job.

There's nothing unique here, and I make no special claims. It's just stuff I think about as I go about the task of gathering up my books and papers, and the stuff that has accumulated in the Ouachitas Mountains part of my life. I could have made other choices in 1990, but this is the path I took. It's a time for sorting and taking stock, and considering what lies ahead.

Well, of course, there will be lots more birding. There will be other ways to pursue my interest in RCWs, because this interest is undiminished after 30+ years.

JOSEPH C. NEAL, biologist (but not for long)
Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita NF
P.O. Box 2255 (1541 Highway 248 W)
Waldron, AR 72958
jneal@fs.fed.us

Rock Wren at Pinnacle Mountain State Park

2008-03-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Many Arkansas birders take advantage of Kingfisher Trail at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, hoping for a chance to see a favorite bird or perhaps even a rare species seldom seen in Arkansas. We are never disappointed on our walks there. The beautiful old trees and the stream nearby are perfect habitat for so many different species of birds.

I was 14 years old the first time I visited Pinnacle Mountain.
It was much different then; no marked trails along the way but this didn’t seem to matter as I climbed to the top and looked at the breath-taking beauty far off in the distance. This was long before I became a serious birder and I seldom ever thought about that climb or ever intended to do it again.

However, late Sunday, January 27th, when word spread quickly among the local birders of the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas (ASCA), that a Rock Wren, a rare winter visitor, had been seen near the top of the mountain, I knew I had to make the climb once again. The next day at 1:45 I started up the long trail alone, hoping to see this tiny little bird. The climb was more difficult and tiring than I remembered from so long ago, but it never occurred to me to turn around and go back without seeing the little wren. It was a slow climb and several times I stepped aside to let others pass who were faster than I. One young man stopped to say hi, looked at me curiously, turned and looked back at the huge rocks behind him and said, “Did you come up this way?” I told him yes, wondering why he had asked, but I soon knew the answer when his next question was, “Does your family know where you are?” I told him yes, they knew I was at Pinnacle Mountain, but not that I was on the mountain. At this point I suspected he thought I had escaped from somewhere. We both continued our climb and I soon lost sight of him.

Rock Wren - A. Radomski

The Rock Wren had been seen near marker #9, but when I reached that spot I could not locate the bird. I continued on to marker #10 and beyond searching with binoculars and getting very worried. I know how this tiny bird can hide among the rocks and yet, be within inches of you. Finally I gave up and started back down the trail, stopping every few feet still looking and hoping. I was so tired and disappointed, and very close to tears when suddenly the little Rock Wren popped out from between the rocks only a few feet in front of me. It played out on the rocks for several minutes. I was so thrilled the climb had not been in vain, and with newfound energy I continued on down the trail. By the time I reached marker #4, my legs felt like rubber and I stumbled once. The young man, who had passed me on the way up, was passing me again on his way down. He stopped briefly to ask. “if I had ever climbed the mountain before.” I told him yes, almost 60 years ago. He also wanted to know what made me do it. I told him there was a little bird up there that I really wanted to see. I think my answer just convinced him even more I had a loose screw or two.

You see, my hair is now gray, I’ve had one knee replaced, and I walk with a cane. I tried to convince him I would be okay, but the rest of the way down he never got very far out of my sight, nor did he leave the parking lot until I reached my car. I hope he knows how much I appreciated his concern and kindness. It was 5 p.m. when I finished my climb and started home.

Several other members of ASCA have also made the climb up the mountain for a chance to see the Rock Wren. Unfortunately, not all were successful at locating the bird.

I will be back again to walk the Kingfisher Trail looking for warblers and other birds migrating through our state. Pinnacle Mountain State Park is a wonderful place for all ages to enjoy, especially the young at heart. I encourage everyone to get out and visit this park. A special thank you to everyone who helps maintain the natural beauty of our state parks.

Doris Boyles
Little Rock, Arkansas

The 300

2008-01-27T19:17:00.000-08:00

My quest ended November 17, 2007. Standing on a gravel road ten miles from Jonesboro, Nick Anich and I had just scoped several Cackling Geese in a large flock of Greater White-fronted. After 40,000 miles on the road, endless hours of driving in the dark while fighting sleep, burying the Prius in mud three times, running the battery down once, receiving one richly deserved speeding ticket and one warning, and discovering whole new genera of DEET-swilling, biting, and orifice-seeking gnats, what did I feel at that precise moment? Relief, to be sure, but mainly I felt resolute. Arkansas year-bird 300 represented the achievement of my public goal, but the real goal, the private one, remained.

Those of you who have read my posts know that I took doing an Arkansas Big Year (ABY) very seriously. Among other things it was to be my introduction to the Arkansas birding community, a means of establishing my birding bona fides. However, the specific goal of 300 birds was an afterthought. Doris Boyles mentioned the number in casual conversation and it stuck. It was a nice round number, easy to remember, and theoretically achievable, having been exceeded by Kenny and LaDonna Nichols in 2005.

What's the worst single thing about doing a Big Year? In my case it was being away from Pat and Skip much too much. I needed their support and they gave it, though Skip, our English Springer Spaniel, was a bit less understanding. Without them on my side, if not by my side, reaching 300 would have been the failure of a hollow victory. A downside to Big Years that I did not anticipate is that the moment you tic a bird, it becomes a trash bird, noise to be filtered out, ignored. Soon almost every bird you see is a trash bird, annoyingly taking precious time you need for finding good birds. What's the best thing about doing a Big Year? The birds, of course. And the birders.

My year-long enterprise was conducted in public, with as many posts to the ARBIRD listserv as bird species. My successes and failures alike were open to all. The highlights were many: seeing the first state record Northern Shrike and the second state record Cave Swallow; having the sixth state record Calliope Hummingbird turn up at our backyard feeder; finding Ruff, Red Knot, Sabine's Gull, Prairie Falcon, Bewick's Wren and Cape May Warbler; adding Thayer's Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Sprague's Pipit, Smith's Longspur, and Red-cockaded Woodpecker to my year list; and standing next to a tree containing a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk and hearing Bill Shepherd deadpan, "That's the smallest goshawk I've ever seen." Missing the same Red-necked Phalarope twice was my most painful failure. That miss came at a crucial time, when it seemed that success or failure of a year-long effort might hang in the balance. So many people pulling for me. I had let them down. Even now it stings.

Stretching beyond everyday pursuits to take on challenges requiring significant physical and mental effort, and not a little pain and discomfort, is my way of learning new things about myself and about life. The Red-necked Phalarope episode was instructive. How would I react? Truth to tell, for a few days I simply went through the motions. I birded everyday, mechanically, out of habit. But soon I regained my momentum. The endorphin rush, the tingling on the back of my neck when in pursuit of the next target bird, returned.

Reaching my public goal ironically presented a new challenge, a challenge to my private goal. The temptation was to coast through the remaining month and a half of 2007, chasing whatever rare birds, if any, that others found. Instead, I told Pat that I needed her help. I had to push extra hard for the remaining few weeks. I needed her support more than ever at the end. She gave it, without reservation. And so I birded hard right up to the last day of the year, finished with 307 year-birds, and met the personal goal I had set for myself by answering this simple question. At age 60 could I still take on a year-long mentally and physically taxing challenge and never give up, never let up, always give my all? I was enormously gratified to answer that question in the affirmative at midnight December 31, 2007. I am still alive.

Dennis Braddy
Little Rock, Arkansas

An Arkansas Big Year

2008-01-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

My only preparation for an Arkansas Big Year (ABY) was to make sure my quest had Pat's full support. Though we had only a rough idea of what the enterprise would entail, we both knew I would approach it as I have every other challenge in our 41 years together - an all-out, 100%, obsessive compulsive, damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead effort, beginning to end! That was my only plan. At first.

It soon became apparent that Skip's separation anxiety and aversion to car travel meant that Pat would seldom be able to accompany me. My quest would be a solo affair. Or would it? I realized pretty quickly that if I was to have a successful Big Year I would need a lot of help. Fortunately, Kenny Nichols and Dick Baxter stepped forward to help with overall strategy, tactics, and metrics for measuring my progress. Also, I decided that I would "go public" with my ABY. By setting a specific target of 300 species and giving a blow-by-blow account on the ARBIRD-L listserv I hoped to recruit the help of the Arkansas birding community at large by involving them in my chase for 300. There was a second reason I chose to announce a specific numerical target. I find nothing more motivating than fear of public failure. Without a specific goal you cannot fail.

Most of the year I wasn't too worried about making 300, because I thought I had little chance. As the year progressed my estimates of the likely final total trended upward, but it wasn't until September that I began to think I could make it. That's when I hit the biggest speed-bump of the year. My 48-day year-bird drought in June and July was definitely frustrating, but not too surprising. I had already found almost all of the permanent residents. The real heartbreak was administered by a little Red-necked Phalarope. It was found by Jeff Wilson and seen by an entire group of ASCA field-trippers. While en route I spoke to an ecstatic Dan Scheiman who, along with the others, was still soaking-in the rarity. But when I arrived, the phalarope was gone, flushed by a passing Peregrine Falcon. All year long I had tried to maintain a certain emotional detachment. I would chase a lot of birds. I would get some and miss some. But the Red-necked Phalarope got to me. By the time I got home, two hours late for my 60th birthday party, I had a call from Karen Holliday saying the phalarope had returned and Jeff thought it was settling in for the night. At first light the next morning I once again stood alone on the side of the road searching in vain for the departed phalarope. That really hurt. It was far and away the most discouraging moment of my entire ABY.

I experienced many memorable highs during my 2007 ABY - relocating Mike Mlodinow's 1st state record Northern Shrike (the new curator assures me it's a lock), observing the 2nd state record Cave Swallow with Charles Mills and Max and Helen Parker, having the 6th state record Calliope Hummingbird show up at our backyard feeder, and experiencing a near-fallout of warblers with Dick and Sarah Baxter at Craighead Forest Park. These were all memorable. But the most exhilarating moment came near the end of the year when Joe Neal, Mike Mlodinow, Dan Scheiman, and I found a large falcon near Chesney Prairie. And promptly lost it! Then chased and found it again. And lost it. And finally found it yet again to confirm our tentative ID - a very rare Prairie Falcon. Being part of a team of intellectually and emotionally engaged birders bringing all of their birding skills to bear on a single purpose, and succeeding, was truly exhilarating.

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Spotted Towhee, Veery, Black-billed Cuckoo, White-winged Dove, and Common Tern are all birds that are seen in Arkansas every year, or nearly so. I tried hard for all of them, spending many days and driving thousands of miles in the search. I missed them all. In some ways my most unexpected find was Townsend's Solitaire. Don Simons found this bird at Mount Magazine. I wasn't able to reach Don for precise directions. I knew the solitaire was west of the Rufous-crowned Sparrows, which wasn't much help since I didn't know where they were either. As I random-walked the southwestern part of the mountain, pretty much lost, the Townsend's Solitaire found me. Twice. Sweet!

I birded almost every day for a year. I drove over 40,000 miles. Counting depreciation of the Prius, gasoline and oil, a set of tires, a $150 speeding ticket trying to get to St. Francis National Forest for the dawn chorus, about a dozen pairs of lost, broken, or scratched glasses, and a pair of walking shoes (I also walked 800-1000 miles), my ABY cost about $10,000. The real cost was the time away from Pat and Skip. I left Skip behind so many times that whenever I said bye to him, he growled. Pat never actually growled. There were times I knew my selfish quest was taking its toll on her as well, but I'm proud to say she finished the year strong. As did I. I found bird 300, Cackling Goose, on November 17 and ended my ABY with 307 species. The last bird was Northern Shrike.

Should you try to become the 4th member of the Arkansas 300 Club? Sure, but it won't be easy. Do you have to do it the way I did? Of course not. However, if you want to crack 300, you must chase every rare bird found anywhere in the state, immediately. Time is the enemy. Every passing second decreases exponentially the probability of relocating a bird. I refused to make medical or dental appointments or otherwise obligate myself to be anywhere that I could not leave instantly, for the whole year. It is the really rare birds you tally that will make the difference between a good year and a 300 year. And some of your best birds will literally fall out of the sky. You just have to be at the right place at the right time. That means you've got to spend a lot of time in the field.

Most importantly, make sure those closest to you are on board. Without their unreserved support you will fail. Few are fortunate enough to have partners that share their passion for birding. I have two. Fewer still are those whose partners love them enough to part with them for much of a Big Year. I'm a lucky man.

Dennis Braddy
Little Rock, Arkansas