Wilson's Snipe (H Appropriate Habitat)
Over the course of the past five years I have been privileged to participate in the third New York Breeding Bird Atlas. It was the first atlas for me and will undoubtedly be the last as well. Atlases take place every twenty years. When the next one rolls around, should I, by some strange and unlikely miracle, still be standing up and taking nourishment, I would be ninety-two. Pretty much of a nope.
House Wren in the act of fledging
(NY Nest with Young)
I loved doing the atlas and will continue to code breeding bird activity going forward. Thanks to it, I learned a lot about bird behavior, which added a rich new dimension to my favorite outdoor pastime.
I saw a Bald Eagle rebuilding after losing a known nest in a storm last spring. It was jumping up and down on a branch like a kid with a new trampoline. When the branch finally broke it carried it off to a new nest structure, much smaller and less ambitious than the many-years-old original. I don't know if there were new eggs, as timing would indicate that the downfall of the old nest took eggs too, but I can hope.
Through closer than previous observation and a little more detective work than we might have bothered with before the atlas, a friend and I discovered a brand new Bald Eagle nest adjacent to one of my favorite birding spots (I used to call it Snipe Central). Alas I don't know if this pair had success either, but it was fun to watch them.
Red-tailed Hawk ( P Pair in Suitable Habitat)
It was the same with many other species. I learned to watch more closely and to bird much more intensively, as I tried to help finish priority blocks.
I am most grateful to the people running things who took time to email corrections when I was wrong, thanks when I got something done, and suggestions for new places to bird. Also to people I was able to join on atlasing trips, who know a lot more than I do.
Thanks to atlasing while at camp I found one of the best birding spots I know of, where it was nothing to find thirty or forty nice species and to witness all kinds of breeding behavior in an hour or two. I cannot wait to get back there...if the road is passable...next spring in warbler time!
I am going to miss working on the atlas though. It brought me in contact with many birders I otherwise wouldn't have encountered and was a lot of fun besides.
Killdeer (C Courtship, Display, or Copulation)
(Get a room!)
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