As I write this from my desk in Sierra Vista, I think back at what an incredible trip that was. A swift, textbook surgical strike. What a cliff-hanger finish! It could have turned out very differently. Here’s what happened. Last night I checked eBird one more time and decided the Thick-billed Vireo was the better bet over LaSagra’s Flycatcher. I got up today at 5:15. My strategy was to get a very early start to beat rush hour traffic. It worked! I skipped breakfast and left the hotel at 5:40 and slid down the pike to Crandon Park on Key Biscane. Where it was still dark and the park was closed. I waited in my car for 40 minutes and then found the nature center and began the search. After an hour, 2 birding buddies from the Carolinas – one from North and one from South – joined me in the search. (one wore a San Pedro House t-shirt.) My flight home was at noon so I figured with getting gas, bringing the car back, unexpected traffic delays (there were), and getting my ticket I had better get out of the park by 9:30. We spread out and combed the entire area without luck. Big doubts filled my head. Shouldn’t I have stayed another day? Was it worth spending this kind of money for this trip? Should I have done this at all? I’m going home empty handed. More searching, more ticking of the clock. At this side of 9:15 I sat down and rubbed my face. It’s over- no vireo. Then I heard a bird singing. As I listened closer, I could tell it was a vireo, but there was a White-eyed Vireo in the area. I walked over and put my glasses on it and yelled out – “I think I’ve got it!” Someone else said: “I do too!” And there it was, right in front of us – Thick-billed Vireo – a rare stray from the Caribbean. A minute later an obscure bird showed up. I watched it eat a berry – good, could be a tanager. It came out into the open and there she was – the female Western Spindalis. Wow! Both birds! Just in time! This was like hitting the winning basket at the buzzer. I couldn’t believe my good luck. I told my Carolina friends I was heading out, “I’m quitting while I’m ahead!” I had not an extra minute to spare. I reached the gate 5 minutes before boarding.
Both birds are new for my ABA-area list and the vireo is a world life bird and my second Code 4 bird of the year. The high-stakes gamble paid off in spades. You never know when these rarities are going to leave the area. I would consider doing this again this year. Maybe a chase to Seattle or Northern California, where I will not otherwise be this year. I added 13 other species to the Big Year List, raising it to 199. I look forward to finding number 200. How sweet it is!
robsbigyear2019.com 