Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

I've done it again! Another bird on the list and while I'm a long way off from 350 species, but for once, I got a bird fairly quickly. As you can probably guess from the title, I saw my first Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) near lot 7 at Parker River NWR. While it was an excellent find, I wouldn't have been able to find it without a tip from another birder. My initial strategy was to work my way down the beach and look out in both directions for anything vaguely white and owl-shaped. At lot 3, I met another birder along the boardwalk who hinted that he'd seen a Snowy near lot 7 about an hour beforehand and was currently pursuing a Short-eared Owl ( Asio flammeus ) that had been spotted nearby. I traveled as quickly as I could (25 mph speed limit after all) and got out of the car. A woman was sat in her car nearby and smiled as I walked by. "There's been a Snowy Owl spotted.", she said. I nodded and asked where it was now. "Go north up the beach ...

Listing can be a tedious and annoying task, but it can also be enjoyable and brag worthy. There is nothing better than comparing notes and numbers of year lists, life lists, all manners of lists with one's fellow birders. My own life list hovers just over 320 spp., making me excited for my trip to Bombay Hook NWR this weekend. With reports of American Avocets ( Recurvirostra americana ) and a Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax ) along the coast of the refuge, I'm pumped to get some more lifers. I found out about their presence by following the ABA Rare Bird Alerts on my email (the Ruff being considered a code 3) and noting what observers on eBird had seen. Most of them listed a single bird hanging out with other shorebirds in a specific pool which brought my spirits up to know that they bird was staying in one place. Having a network of tips and lists at your fingertips and being able to use it to find birds is just amazing and I'm so happy to be able to contribute to such a service...