Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 17)
A recap of the seventeenth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), as we chase a two birds from Europe . . . a Ruff and a Garganey.
Yearly Archives: 2024
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 16)
A recap of the sixteenth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), as we complete our 81 day road trip around the country.
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 15)
A recap of the fifteenth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024) – the Crazy Chicken Edition
Greater Sage-Grouse
Today we visited a Greater Sage-Grouse Lek in Henefer, Utah. A Lek is a a courting display, where dozens of male and female Grouse gather together in a dawn mating ritual. Males will repeatedly expand their chests, which are equipped with special air sacks, trying to impress females. We arrived an hour before dawn, […]
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 14)
A recap of the fourteenth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024) – the Lovebirds Edition
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 13)
A recap of the thirteenth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), as we chase the Elegant Trogon.
Elegant Trogon
Before our Big Year began, Ingrid and I talked about which bird we were most looking forward to (hopefully) seeing over the course of the year. I was hoping to see a Great Gray Owl . . . basically for petty reasons . . . as it was the only species Ingrid had seen that […]
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 12)
A recap of the twelfth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), as we chase the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Rosy-Finches.
The Hunt for the White-winged Crossbill
On the 80th day of Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year . . . we travel to Saddleback Mountain Ski Area in search of the White-winged Crossbill.
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 11)
A recap of the eleventh week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), as we chase the last few outstanding Maine winter birds before hitting the road again.
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 10)
A recap of the tenth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), as we make an identification error and return to Maine for a few weeks.
Pyrrhuloxia
With a name that is as difficult to pronounce as it is to spell, the Pyrrhuloxia is often mistaken for a female Northern Cardinal. Found in brushy desert habitat of the Southwest, it can be differentiated from a Cardinal by its stubby yellowish bill and comical pointed crest.
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 9)
A recap of the ninth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), including our visit to the Santa Margarita Ranch.
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 8)
A recap of the eighth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), including the challenges of chasing rare birds.
If He Catches You . . . You’re Through
This morning, Ingrid and I were driving down a road in Los Fresnos, Texas when we were startled to see a large black anvil sitting at the edge of the road. A mile later we saw a wooden crate with the letters TNT stenciled on the side. A little bit further we saw a pile […]
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 7)
A recap of the seventh week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), including time spent in Miami and driving to Texas.
Cattle Tyrant
This South American Flycatcher has absolutely the greatest bird named ever . . . Cattle Tyrant . . . think about that . . . that’s a fun name! Typically, this bird follows grazing animals in small flocks across farmland and marshes . . . in South America. Until November 11 of 2023, it had […]
Sandhill Cranes at Dawn
As Ingrid and I birded our way from Miami to Texas, we spent a night outside of Gainesville, Florida. The following morning we were up early to search for the secretive Bachman’s Sparrow . . . a non-descript bird that is best found when singing in the late winter and spring. We heard and saw […]
Miami Exotics
Yesterday, Ingrid and I toured the Miami, Florida area looking for Exotic Birds. Generally speaking, exotics are species brought to the United States from South America or Asia as pets. They escaped (or were released) . . . met up with a similar exotic of the opposite sex . . . and had babies. Many […]
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 6)
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 6) A recap of the sixth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), including time spent on the Space Coast, the Everglades and Fort Myers.
Species Spotlight – Vermillion Flycatcher
Species Spotlight – Vermillion Flycatcher Perhaps the most vibrant of flycatchers is the Vermilion Flycatcher, particularly the male with his bright scarlet and black plumage and dapper black eye mask. Females are brownish with just a tinge of red on the belly. Vermilion Flycatchers are typically found in the southwest, but like all birds, can […]
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 5)
A recap of the fifth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), including highlights from our trip from Maine to Florida.
Redheads by the Thousands
With apologies to “I Love Lucy” fans . . . Ingrid and I have never been as impressed by Redheads as were today. Thousand and thousands of these beautiful ducks were packed closely together along Pea Island NWF on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. If we see a single Redhead in Maine […]
Two Code 4s!!!
After a storm delay at the beginning of our trip south (for real, not the fake kind that United Airlines likes to invent), today we made our way from Sturbridge, Massachusetts to Ocean City, Maryland. This, however, was not a non-stop drive as we had planned layovers in New Jersey and Delaware to look for […]
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 4)
Ethan and Ingrid’s 2024 Big Year (Week 4) A recap of the fourth week of our 48 State Big Year (2024), specifically preparing for three months on the road chasing birds.
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