I first learned about the June Challenge last year, but our move to Florida was too late in the month for me to participate. This year I set a goal of 75 species, which I reached — just! The complete list is at the end of this post.
June Challenge birds must be seen; I was lucky to see this Northern Bobwhite as they are more often heard-only on my checklists
Part of the point of the challenge is to get birders out in the field in a hot, traditionally boring time of year for birding. The heat got to me, I admit, and I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked. In the end I added 30 checklists to eBird in June, and a few of those were incidentals to add species expressly for the challenge (like the single-bird lists featuring Common Nighthawk, House Sparrow, and European Starling — all seen in parking lots).
I went to Lyonia Preserve to look for Florida Scrub-Jays and was delighted to find several babies
Another point of the challenge is to get birders to try new birding locations. I birded three new-to-me spots in Volusia: Heart Island Conservation Area; Palm Bluff; and Lake Ashby Park. Each brought me at least one species seen nowhere else during June, and as a bonus I got some new scenery in an otherwise “boring” month.
The only Limpkin I saw all month was at Lake Ashby Park
I studied eBird checklists to determine some target species. Two species were surprises because they weren’t recorded by other Volusia eBirders in recent Junes: Barn Swallow and Least Bittern. My best birds were Common Nighthawk, new to my Volusia list, and year birds Black-crowned Night-Heron and Great Shearwater (seen offshore during strong east winds). I added a few birds in the last week by specifically seeking them in suitable habitat. In this way I picked up Common Ground-Dove, Loggerhead Shrike, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. If I had taken the time I very likely could have gotten Eurasian Collared-Dove, Bachman’s Sparrow, and House Finch. My biggest misses were Glossy Ibis and Wild Turkey. I just didn’t get out enough. Without the push of the Challenge, though, I surely wouldn’t have seen this many birds during June. Maybe next year I will try for 80…?
June Challenge List 2012
1 Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus
2 Brown Pelican – Pelecanus occidentalis
3 Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
4 Laughing Gull – Leucophaeus atricilla
5 Least Tern – Sternula antillarum
6 Royal Tern – Thalasseus maximus
7 Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
8 Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
9 Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
10 Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
11 Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major
12 Great Egret – Ardea alba
13 Snowy Egret – Egretta thula
14 Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
15 Reddish Egret – Egretta rufescens
16 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis
17 American Oystercatcher – Haematopus palliatus
18 Rock Pigeon – Columba livia
19 White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
20 Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
21 Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata
22 Barred Owl – Strix varia
23 Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
24 Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
25 Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
26 Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
27 American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos
28 Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
29 Northern Parula – Setophaga americana
30 Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
31 Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
32 Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
33 Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
34 Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
35 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
36 Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura
37 Great Crested Flycatcher – Myiarchus crinitus
38 White-eyed Vireo – Vireo griseus
39 Red-eyed Vireo – Vireo olivaceus
40 Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos
41 Brown Thrasher – Toxostoma rufum
42 Brown-headed Nuthatch – Sitta pusilla
43 Eastern Towhee – Pipilo erythrophthalmus
44 Red-tailed Hawk – Buteo jamaicensis
45 Sandhill Crane – Grus canadensis
46 Eastern Bluebird – Sialia sialis
47 Yellow-throated Warbler – Setophaga dominica
48 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa
49 Wood Stork – Mycteria americana
50 Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
51 Limpkin – Aramus guarauna
52 Cooper’s Hawk – Accipiter cooperii
53 Northern Bobwhite – Colinus virginianus
54 Green Heron – Butorides virescens
55 American Coot – Fulica americana
56 Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus
57 Sandwich Tern – Thalasseus sandvicensis
58 Chimney Swift – Chaetura pelagica
59 Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
60 Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
61 Common Nighthawk – Chordeiles minor
62 House Sparrow – Passer domesticus
63 Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus
64 Florida Scrub-Jay – Aphelocoma coerulescens
65 European Starling – Sturnus vulgaris
66 Great Shearwater – Puffinus gravis
67 Ruddy Turnstone – Arenaria interpres
68 Black-crowned Night-Heron – Nycticorax nycticorax
69 Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica
70 Swallow-tailed Kite – Elanoides forficatus
71 Roseate Spoonbill – Platalea ajaja
72 Common Ground-Dove – Columbina passerina
73 Loggerhead Shrike – Lanius ludovicianus
74 Least Bittern – Ixobrychus exilis
75 Ruby-throated Hummingbird – Archilochus colubris
