26 December 2008

Top Ten Lifers of 2008: Number 6

If you're a birder I'm sure you have been guilty of scanning the pages of your field guide and dreaming of seeing certain birds. When I was in Bolivia I saw my first creeper but I still dreamed of seeing one in my home country. So at Number 6 I present you with my lifer Brown Creeper Certhia americana.
Painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes


This fall I decided to take a spur of the moment trip to the Midwest to see my drinking buddies. I knew that I could easily pick up a couple of lifers but I wasn't going to focus my trip on birds. My main reason for being there was to relax, have some fun time with my girls, and see real fall colors. That being said I knew I would be disappointed if I went home without seeing a couple of new birds. To my surprise one of the first birds of the trip would be my lifer Brown Creeper.

The creeper was in a mixed flock of kinglets, titmice, and chickadees. And yes, that was my first confirmed Black-capped Chickadee. I really must think about getting out of the Southeast more often. So there I was on a path all alone staring down my first Brown Creeper. It was definitely a big highlight of the trip though the apple orchard, camping, and concert wasn't half bad either.

We're half way through my Top Ten Lifers of 2008. Check back tomorrow for another selection of not one but five birds all lumped together under Number 5.

4 comments:

slybird said...

What creeper did you see in Bolivia?

By the way, I'm heading down your way in late January. I'm relocating to Archbold to work on scrub-jays for a while. :)

Eva Matthews said...

Nick, you should look me up when you're ready for some extreme South FL birding. I've heard good things about Archbold, but haven't been there yet. I hope you like it.

Oh and I saw an Olivaceous Woodcreeper in BO.

slybird said...

Okay, will do. I've never been to Florida before, except the inside of Miami airport.

Eva Matthews said...

Wow, in that case you are going to love the birding down here.