Count down to #600

And while I'm in a birding mood, this is an update on my North American Life List. I'm currently at #550 so here's my "count down" to #600...

1. Bullock's Oriole
2. Ash-throated Flycatcher
3. Fulvous Whistling-Duck
4. Bell's Vireo
5. Abert's Towhee
6. Calliope Hummingbird
7. Hammond's Flycatcher
8. Lesser Nighthawk
9. Scott's Oriole
10. Tropical Kingbird
11. Zone-tailed Hawk
12. Blue-throated Hummingbird
13. Gilded Flicker
14. Dusky Flycatcher
15. Scaled Quail
16. Short-tailed Hawk
17. Cordilleran Flycatcher
18. Gray Kingbird
19. Hepatic Tanager
20. Dusky-capped Flycatcher
21. Connecticut Warbler
22. Cassin's Sparrow
23. Pinyon Jay
24. Red-faced Warbler
25. Elegant Trogon
26. Lark Bunting
27. Le Conte's Sparrow
28. Common Poorwill
29. Gray Flycatcher
30. Virginia's Warbler
31. Elf Owl
32. Black-chinned Sparrow
33. Ringed Kingfisher
34. Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
35. Northern Pygmy-Owl
36. Sharp-tailed Grouse
37. White-eared Hummingbird
38. Sprague's Pipit
39. Botteri's Sparrow
40. Varied Bunting
41. Greater Shearwater
42. Kirtland's Warbler
43. Long-tailed Jaeger
44. Cory's Shearwater
45. Audubon's Shearwater
    
46. Black Rail
47. Yellow Rail
48. Mangrove Cuckoo
    
49. Bicknell's Thrush
50. Black-capped Petrel

These, barring any real rarities, are the most likely new species that I'll see in the ABA area (basically North America north of Mexico). There's a handful of common western species (like Bullock's Oriole, Bell's Vireo, Hammond's Flycatcher), a few Arizona specialties (Elegant Trogan, Red-faced Warbler, some hummingbirds), a few Florida specialties (Short-tailed Hawk, Mangrove Cuckoo, Gray Kingbird and Black-whiskered Vireo), a few Texas birds (Ringed Kingfisher and others), a bunch of random not-that-rare western-ish-type stuff (Lark Bunting, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Pinyon Jay, Le Conte's Sparrow, many more), some Atlantic seabirds (Greater, Cory's and Audubon's Shearwaters), some tricky eastern species (Connecticut Warbler, Bicknell's Thrush) and 20 or so others, mostly western and/or pelagic birds. I'm hoping for about 20 new birds this year and maybe I'll make #600 in 2012 or 2013. Click here to view my life list.