Back in CT... tentative bird list from 3 weeks of pure America....

I tallied dozens of lifers, and I didn't even make it down the south of California.... I made it there, but the Sierra Nevada mountains, and a stupid Jack-rabbit now has my baby (Colorado) as a pile of scrap metal, never to bee seen again.

I made this list on the plane ride home, I just need to positively ID a few.... this is about it though. 3-5 more at best.

*(Starting from where the Merritt turns into the Hutch)
*(L)-indicates lifer

1. RT Loon
2. Common Loon
3. RN Grebe
4. Horned Grebe
5. Eared Grebe (L)
6. PB Grebe
7. Western Grebe
8. Clark's Grebe (L)
9. Am. White Pelican
10. DC Cormorant
11. Am. Bittern
12. Least Bittern
13. GB Heron
14. Great Egret
15. Snowy Egret
16. Cattle Egret (L)
17. Green Heron
18. BC Night-heron
19. White-faced Ibis
20. Mute Swan
21. Tundra Swan
22. Canada Goose (including several 'cacklers')
23. Great-white Fronted Goose
24. Snow Goose
25. Wood Duck
26. Mallard
27. Am. Black Duck
28. Gadwall
29. No. Pintail
30. Am. Wigeon
31. No. Shovelor
32. Cinnamon Teal (L)
33. BW Teal
34. GW Teal
35. Canvasback
36. Redhead
37. RN Duck
38. L. Scaup
39. Co. Goldeneye
40. H. Merganser
41. Co. Merganser
42. Ruddy Duck
43. T. Vulture
44. B. Vulture
45. No. Harrier
46. SS Hawk
47. Cooper's Hawk
48. No. Goshawk (NJ)
49. RS Hawk
50. BW Hawk
51. Swainson's Hawk
52. RT Hawk (5+ sbs/morphs, including 'Krider's')
53. Ferruginous Hawk (L)
54. Golden Eagle
55. Bald Eagle
56. Osprey
57. Merlin
58. Am. Kestrel
59. Prairie Falcon (L)
60. Peregrine Falcon
61. California Quail (L)
62. Chukar (L)
63. Gray Partridge
64. RN Pheasant
65. Blue Grouse (L)
66. Ruffed Grouse
67. Sharp-tailed Grouse
68. Wild Turkey
69. Co. Moorhen (L)
70. Am. Coot
71. Virginia Rail
72. Sora (L)
73. Sandhill Crane
74. Am. Golden Plover
75. Semipal Plover
76. Killdeer
77. Am. Avocet (L)
78. Black-necked Stilt (L)
79. G. Yellowlegs
80. L. Yellowlegs
81. Solitary Sandpiper
82. Willet
83. Spotted Sandpiper
84. Upland Sandpiper (tons!)
85. Long-billed Curlew (L.... needed Sibley's for that one... amazing bird)
86. Dunlin
87. Pectoral Sandpiper
88. White-rumped Sandpiper
89. Semipal Sandpiper
90. Least Sandpiper
91. Stilt Sandpiper (L)
92. LB Dowitcher
93. Baird's Sandpiper (L)
94. Buff-breasted Sandpiper
95. Am. Woodcock
96. Snipe
97. Wilson's Phalarope (L)
98. Boneparte's Gull
99. Franklin's Gull
100. RB Gull
101. California Gull (L)
102. Herring Gull
103. GBB Gull
104. Caspian Tern
105. Common Tern
106. Forster's Tern
107. Black Tern
108. Mourning Dove
109. White-winged Dove (L)
110. Rock Dove
111. YB Cuckoo
112. BB Cuckoo
113. Short-eared Owl (strange to see them over prairies and not marshes)
114. Long-eared Owl
115. GH Owl
116. Barred Owl
117. No. Saw-whet Owl
118. Burrowing Owl (L!!... was sitting dead center in a country road north of Vegas enjoying small mammal.... on of my target birds!)
119. E. Screech Owl
120. W. Screech Owl (L)
121. Co. Poorwill (L)
122. Whip-poor-will
123. Co. Nighthawk
124. Lesser Nighthawk (swarms around billboard lights in the dessert) (L)
125. Chimney Swift
126. White-throated Swift (L)
127. Black-chinned Hummer (L)
128. Ruby-throated Hummer
129. Calliope Hummer
130. Broad-tailed Hummer (L)
131. Rufous Hummer (L)
132. Belted Kingfisher
133. Red-headed Woodpecker (numerous is some spots)
134. Lewis's Woodpecker (L....amazing bird...looks like water-colors)
135. RB Woodpecker
136. Red-naped Sapsucker (L)
137. YB Sapsucker
138. Downy WP
139. Hairy WP
140. 3-toed Woodpecker (L)
141. No. Flicker (both 'yellow' and red'-shafted')
142. Pileated Woodpecker
143. Olive-sided Flycatcher
144. W. Wood-pewee (L)
145. E. Wood-pewee
146. Cordillion Fly (L)
147. YB Fly
148. Willow Fly
149. Alder Fly
150. Least Fly
151. Dusky Fly (L)
152. E. Phoebe
153. Say's Phoebe (L)
154. Vermillion Fly (L)
155. Ash-throated Fly (L)
156. GC Fly
157. E. Kingbird
158. W. Kingbird (L)
159. Loggerhead Shrike (L)
160. RE Vireo
161. Warb Vireo
162. White-eyed Vireo
163. YT Vireo
164. BH Vireo
165. Steller's Jay
166. Blue Jay
167. W. Scrub Jay (L)
168. Gray Jay
169. Pinion Jay (L)
170. Black-billed Magpie
171. Co. Raven
172. A. Crow
173. F. Crow
174. H. Lark
175. P. Martin
176. NRW Swallow
177. Bank Swallow
178. Violet-green Swallow (L)
179. Tree Swallow
180. Cliff Swallow
181. Barn Swallow
182. Juniper Titmouse (L)
183. Tufted Titmouse
184. BC Chickadee
185. Mountain Chickadee (L)
186. Bushtit (L)
187. RB Nut
188. WB Nut
189. Brown Creeper
190. Carolina Wren
191. Bewick's Wren (L)
192. House Wren
193. Winter Wren
194. Sedge Wren
195. Marsh Wren
196. Rock Wren (L)
197. Canyon Wren (L)
198. RC Kinglet
199. GC Kinglet
200. BG Gnatcatcher
201. Mountain Bluebird (L)
202. Western Bluebird (L)
203. Eastern Bluebird
204. Am. Robin
205. Wood Thrush
206. Veery
207. Swaison's Thrush
208. Hermit Thrush
209. Gray Catbird
210. No. Mockingbird
211. Brown Thrasher
212. Sage Thrasher (L)
213. Sprague's Pipt
214. Am. Pipit
215. Cedar Waxwing
216. No. Parula
217. Orange-crowned Warbler
218. Tennessee Warbler
219. BW Warbler
220. Virginia's Warbler (L)
221. Nashville Warbler
222. Yellow Warbler
223. Chestnut-sided Warbler
224. Magnolia Warbler
225. Cape May Warbler
226. BTB Warbler
227. Cerulean Warbler
228. Blackburnian Warbler
229. Yellow-rumped Warbler (both 'myrtle' and 'audubon')
230. Black-thated Grey Warbler (L.... another on checked from the wish list)
231. Townsend's Warbler (L... striking)
232. BTGreen Warbler
233. Prairie Warbler
234. Palm Warbler (both 'yellow' & 'western')
235. Pine Warbler
236. Bay-breasted Warbler
237. Blackpoll Warbler
238. Yellow-throated Warbler
239. Grace's Warbler (L)
240. Worm-eating Warbler
241. Prothonotary Warbler
242. B&W Warbler
243. Am. Redstart
244. Ovenbird
245. No. Waterthrush
246. Mourning Warbler
247. MacGillivray's Warbler (L)
248. Common Yellowthroat
249. Wilson's Warbler
250. Canada Warbler
251. Hooded Warbler
252. YB Chat (L... finally!)
253. Euro. Starling (most numerous bird seen, 2nd to TVs)
254. Western Tanager (L)
255. Scarlet Tanager
256. No. Cardinal
257. Black-headed Grosbeak (L)
258. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
259. Blue Grosbeak (L)
260. Lazuli Bunting (L... another on the 'hitlist')
261. Indigo Bunting
262. Dickcissel
263. Spotted Towhee (L... 'great plains')
264. E, Towhee
265. Green-tailed Towhee (L)
266. Sage Sparrow (L)
267. Black-throated Sparrow (L)
268. Field Sparrow
269. Brewer's Sparrow (L)
270. Clay-colored Sparrow
271. Chipping Sparrow
272. Baird's Sparrow (L)
273. Grasshopper Sparrow
274. Henslow's Sparrow (L)
275. Nelson's (sharp-tailed) Sparrow
276. Savannah Sparrow
277. Vesper Sparrow
278. Lark Bunting (L)
279. Lark Sparrow (L)
280. White-throated Sparrow
281. White-crowned Sparrow
282. Fox Sparrow ('interior west')
283. Song Sparrow
284. Lincoln's Sparrow
285. Swamp Sparrow
286. Dark-eyed Junco ('pink-sided', 'slate', & 'Oregon sbs.)
287. McCown's Longspur (L)
288. Chestnut-naped Longspur (L)
289. Smith's Longspur (L)
290. W. Meadowlark (L)
291. E. Meadowlark
292. Bobolink
293. BH Cowbird
294. Yellow-headed Blackbirds (tons!)
295. RW Blackbird
296. Brewer's Blackbird (L... once I IDed one, they seemed everywhere)
297. Co. Grackle
298. Great-tailed Grackle (L... seen from my airplane window in Dallas/Ft. Worth)
299. Bullock's Oriole (L)
300. Baltimore Oriole
301. Orchard Oriole
302. Scott's Oriole (L... very, very neat bird)
303. Purple Finch
304. Cassin's Finch (L)
305. House Finch
306. Red Crossbill (I love the Black Hills... winter birds don't winter there, they stay!)
307. Pine Siskin ('yellow adult, in the end of May, in Nevada... cool stuff)
308. Lesser Goldfinch (L)
309. Am. Goldfinch
310. House Sparrow

By my tally, that is 78 lifers, jumping my life total to 387. Sucks to be home, but with staples in the brain, sprained wrist, and 2 busted ribs.... it feels great to relax.

-Brian-