Facebook Update from JB

Facebook Closing Trip Update from JB:

Spent the last 2 weeks birding (“birdwatching”) every day on a whirlwind camping trip traveling over 5,000 miles, through 10 states, from East Tennessee to the Grand Canyon and back.

Two of my 4 kids are birders, and we saw 175 different bird species on the trip... that’s about 17% of the bird species in the lower 48 United States!

We reached a few milestones:

My 12-year-old birding son had 75 Lifers (species he’s never seen before) and reached his 300th life bird species on this trip, an Acorn Woodpecker, in Madera Valley, Arizona.

My 9-year-old birding daughter had 79 Lifers and reached her 300th life bird species, a Painted Redstart, in Madera Valley, Arizona.

I had 61 Lifers, and saw my 450th life bird species, a Verdin in Big Bend National Park, Texas.

A few more of the many highlights included:

1. A critically endangered California Condor (wild!)
2. The stunning Vermilion Flycatchers
3. Crested Caracara (that I’ve wanted to see since I was a boy my son’s age)
4. The very uncommon (in the U.S.) Rose-Throated Becard
5. The fastest animal in the world, the Peregrine Falcon
6. The elegant Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers
7. And the crowd favorite, the Greater Roadrunner

(All photos from Audubon)

There’s also a tiny chance we even got my wife interested in birding!

10 STATES

1. Tennessee

2. Georgia

3. Alabama

4. Mississippi

5. Louisiana

6. Texas

7. New Mexico

8. Arizona

9. Oklahoma

10. Arkansas

6 NATIONAL PARKS

1. Big Bend National Park

2. Carlsbad Caverns National Park

3. White Sands National Park

4. Saguaro National Park

5. Grand Canyon National Park

6. Petrified Forest National Park

NATIONAL FORESTS, STATE PARKS & MORE

1. Bayou Segnette State Park, Louisiana

3. Atachafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana

4. Galveston Island State Park, Texas

5. Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico

6. Tucson Mountain Park, Arizona

7. Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains of Coronado National Forest, Arizona

8. Prescott National Forest, Arizona

9. Coconino National Forest, Arizona

10. Kaibab National Forest, Arizona

11. Cibola National Forest, Arizona

12. Painted Desert, Arizona

13. Cache River National Wildlife Reserve, Arkansas

14. T.O. Fuller State Park, Tennessee

15. Hatchie Wildlife Reserve, Tennessee

16. Natchez Trace State Park & Forest

Acorn Woodpecker

California Condor

Crested Caracara

Painted Restart (Abigail's 300th)

Peregrine Falcon

Rose-Throated Becard (Very uncommon in the USA)

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

Greater Roadrunner

Verdin

Vermilion Flycatcher