Bird List - A Not So Big Year

I've been reading a book called The Big Year, about folks who bird like crazy on a particular continent and identify as many birds as they can see within a 365 day time period. I think the record holder according to the book counted over 700 birds in one year.

It's taken me 11 months to get to 57. Mind you, I also went to grad school for all of 2010, doing fieldwork mumbo-jumbo for the past 5 months. I don't think any novel is about to be written about my particular birding story. But I wanted to get warmed up for a weekend of purposeful birding by typing up the list.

I'm going to be surrounded by real birders, serious folks who have the cool vests and ergonomic binocular straps and field guides in the waistband of their technologically-fibered pantalones. I'm hoping to graduate from birdwalk groupie to a real novice this weekend.

1. American Coot
2. American Kestrel
3. American Robin
4. American Wigeon
5. Ash Throated Flycatcher
6. Barn Swallow
7. Black Chinned Hummingbird
8. Black Crowned Night Heron
9. Black Phoebe
10. Blue Grosbeak
11. Canada Goose
12. Cassin's Vireo
13. Cedar Waxwing
14. Cinnamon Teal
15. Common Merganser
16. Common Throated Warbler
17. Common Yellow Throat Warbler
18. Cooper's Hawk
19. Downy Woodpecker
20. Great Blue Heron
21. Green Heron
22. House Finch
23. Kingfisher
24. Lark Sparrow
25. Lazuli Bunting
26. Lesser Goldfinch
27. Lincoln's Sparrow
28. Mallard
29. Mourning Dove
30. Northern Flicker
31. Northern Shoveler
32. Northern White Thrasher
33. Osprey
34. Pied Billed Grebe
35. Red Tailed Hawk
36. Ring Necked Duck
37. Roadrunner
38. Ruby Crowned Kinglet
39. Ruddy Duck
40. Say's Phoebe
41. Scrub Jay
42. Snowy Egret
43. Spotted Sandpiper
44. Summer Tananger
45. Tropical Kingbird
46. Warbling Vireo
47. Western Flycatcher
48. Western Kingbird
49. White Breasted Nuthatch
50. White Crowned Sparrow
51. White Winged Dove
52. Willow Flycatcher
53. Wilson's Snipe
54. Wilson's Warbler
55. Wood Duck
56. Yellow Rumped Warbler
57. Yellow Warbler