The title says it all, will 2019 be the year the Waterloo County big year record is broken!! Maybe...join me, just a regular birding dude on this quest for birds, as I adventure into the remote depths of one of the most unknown, epic, breathtaking, but mostly ordinary places in the world......Waterloo County.
I guess this post comes a little late with almost two months of this year already passed by. But if anything, this time has really heightened my spirits on pursuing this seemingly difficult task. I'm also stuck here for the next year, with a good chunk of free time (Thank-you co-op Gods!!), so why not do something big. So let's take a look at the details, shall we.
I guess this post comes a little late with almost two months of this year already passed by. But if anything, this time has really heightened my spirits on pursuing this seemingly difficult task. I'm also stuck here for the next year, with a good chunk of free time (Thank-you co-op Gods!!), so why not do something big. So let's take a look at the details, shall we.
The record: A little research reveals a record lies somewhere between 210 and 215. So, let's say for this potential big year 215 is the number to beat (Please correct me if I'm wrong).
How hard is 215? For a landlocked county such as Waterloo, pretty bloody hard. To get some perspective my current county life list is a whopping 208!! Yes, that's right, I haven't even seen the yearly record holding number in my entire life [And yes I've lived all days in Waterloo County (Cambridge)].
With the help of eBird targets and a few other references including the official ABA code definitions and Vandermeulen's Ontario birds coding system (references below) I took a crack at categorizing the birds I still need to see in Waterloo County this year.
Code 1: The Commoners (79)
The very common to fairly common county birds. I should expect to see all of these without much effort in a year. From Killdeers to Turkey Vultures to American Pipits it doesn't get much easier than this.
Ex: KILL, HETH, SESA, NAWA, WODU
Red-tailed Hawk
Code 2: The Specialties (41)
Common to uncommon birds that may require me to visit specific locations but should all be realistically achievable. I'll need to see all 41 of these in a year. Certainly some of these will be a piece of cake while others will take a bit of patience and persistence.
Ex: BRTH, BWTE, BCNH, PHVI, SORA
Vesper Sparrow
Black-billed Cuckoo
Code 3: The Unseekables (26)
Tough but fair annual visitors, requiring a few aces up my sleeve. Out of the 34 birds in the category some will likely be missed but I'd like to think that 18 birds from this category isn't asking for too much (Or too little??). This code 3 Barred Owl I chased in the county's south was a great way to close off January!
Ex: MOWA, BOGU, VIRA, COGA, OSFL,
Barred Owl
Code 4: The Exceptionals (26)
We have entered the crazy zone of unpredictable rarities. This include anything that is less than an annual encounter in the county but five records or more all time or three or more records in the past 30 years. Let's say I get three of these.
Ex: GWFG, BOWA, RNPH, GWWA
Ex: GWFG, BOWA, RNPH, GWWA
Code 5: The Biggies (57)
Provincial rarities or insane County birds. Waterloo doesn't really shout out "Big Rarity Potential" like the big guns of Pelee or Long Point, but with this category racking in 57 species, lots of good stuff has been known to show up. Fewer than five records ever for the county or less than three records in the past 30 years constitutes a code 5. I will need to see one of these to tie the alleged 215 record and two to break the record.
*Insert future 2019 Biggie pic here*
Ex: FRGU, BRAN, WHIM, KIEI, HESP
Code 6: The departed (1)
Sorry Passenger Pigeon :(
SO......
That's a wrap, 215 out of 303 species on the dot (on eBird at least) for the county of Waterloo.
All in all, this will be quite a year that will surely give me a run for my money ($$215$$). More importantly, even if this doesn't become the year of a record breaking feat, I hope this can be a year where I can truly take the time to appreciate and reconnect with this county in all its natural beauty and birds, embarking on some great adventures with birders and friends all around the county lines. Whatever the type of year this may be, I feel confident calling this a 'Big' Waterloo County year!
All in all, this will be quite a year that will surely give me a run for my money ($$215$$). More importantly, even if this doesn't become the year of a record breaking feat, I hope this can be a year where I can truly take the time to appreciate and reconnect with this county in all its natural beauty and birds, embarking on some great adventures with birders and friends all around the county lines. Whatever the type of year this may be, I feel confident calling this a 'Big' Waterloo County year!
Hooded Merganser
Stay tuned for a January/February update on this County Big Year!
References
Anonymous. (1970, January 01). A numbers game (Big Year). Retrieved from http://joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com/2011/11/numbers-game-big-year.html
https://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1101706-aba-codes-and-ebird
ABA Codes and eBird. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1101706-aba-codes-and-ebird
Sign in to your Cornell Lab Account. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ebird.org/targets?
region=Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (CA)&r1=CA-ON-WT&bmo=1&emo=12&r2=CA-ON- WT&t2=year&mediaType=
