Today I finally heard a Red-eyed Vireo in the yard, the very last of the 49 Code 1 yard birds (i.e. those expected to be easily observed). So everything else I am able to see or hear this year is expected to take more work to find.
So far I’ve found 28/40 Code 2 birds–those that are expected but take more time and luck to find, as well as 51/73 Code 3 birds–those that are probably findable but take special effort or luck.
The ultimate final species count for the Backyard Big Year will depend on how many of the 90 Code 4 birds I can find–those that occur regularly in the county but are not expected or easily found in my yard. So far I’ve managed only 11/90 of those. Distant flybys and nocturnal migrants are probably the best bet for these guys, so hoping that I’ve actually got more of these already recorded on my night-time recording sessions that I haven’t reviewed yet, and that more will show up this way as we roll forward. It’s a lot of work to go through the recordings, and I need a second computer so that I can record live while reviewing a past recording. Hopefully I’ll be set up with that very soon!
