The Clock Runs Down.....

Well, it is December 31. It is dark, and there are no more owls to be found, and I end the year at 246 species, six short of my target.

It has been a great year, and aside from the magic 252 number, I have achieved everything I set out to do. I have had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, found a lot of new spots, and seen a lot of great birds! There have been some hits and some misses, but c'est la vie.

I also owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people who helped me out with sightings, tips, spots, and some great company in the field. I pray that I haven't forgotten anyone (and my apologies if I have), but thank you (in alphabetic order) to: Avery Bartels, Mike Bentley, Pierre-Paul Bitton, Sandy Bowie, Daniel Bryant, Russ Cannings, Cathy Carlson, Jon Carter, Ryan Cathers, David Caudwell, Aziza Cooper, Ian Cruickshank, Daniel Donnecke, Jessie Fannuchi, Jamie Fenneman, Jeremy Gatten, Tom Gillespie, Rob Gowan, Sandra Gray, Rhys Harrison, Nathan Hentze, Jared Hobbs, Jason Kimm, Cathy Lee, Warren Lee, Agnes Lynn, Derrick Marven, Barb McGrenere, Mike McGrenere, Guy Monty, David Newell, Ann Nightingale, Tom Plath, Dave Robichaud, Mary Robichaud, Robin Robinson, David Routledge, Chris Saunders, Rick Shortinghuis, Mike Toochin, Sharon Toochin, Rob Walker, and anyone who found and reported a bird to the RBAs this year, or opened their yards for others to enjoy a rarity.

I also have to thank my wife, Thea. She tolerated, with incredible humour and grace, many schedules changed at the last minute, many dinners left on the stove, and many half bottles of wine left on the table.... She has also encouraged a repeat!

The few birds I missed, some of them pretty big misses, are birds which showed in the Victoria Checklist Area this year, but I was either out of town or couldn't catch up with them. These are:

• Great Egret
• Eastern Kingbird
• Brewer's Sparrow
• Lazuli Bunting
• American Golden Plover
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Common Tern
• Brown Pelican
• Sooty Shearwater
• Green Heron
• Rough-legged Hawk

And, to end on a highlight, a few of my favourite birds of the year:

• Lesser Nighthawk (first Victoria record)
• Black Phoebe (first Victoria record)
• Black Tern
• Red-necked Stint (first Victoria record)
• Magnolia Warbler
• Yellow-breasted Chat
• Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

And of course, the other 239 species I caught up with this year!

Now, having missed my mark, am I going to try again? You bet! I won't be using this blog, and have created a new blog, at www.victoriabirder.blogspot.com. 252 is a goal within reach, so here we go again!

Happy New Year, See You next Year, and Good Birding!