50+ Species on New Year Big Day 2025!

[@HawkInTheLens]

Didn't realize how locked into that Say's Phoebe I was 😂 Thanks for meeting up and another great adventure!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Haha, it's true you definitely were locked in! Cheers to many more in 2025!

[@andyfirth1267]

Great channel Jordan. Love your enthusiasm and increasing knowledge of the birds. It’s nice as a UK birder seeing species unfamiliar to me. Thanks.

[@ronaldnuiver5632]

I started 2025 well with a new bird for The Netherlands. The Pacific Loon/diver.

[@brighteyedbirding]

That's amazing! Congratulations on your new bird!

[@markshen3280]

Hi, again. Another question I’d like to ask is …..how do you tell the difference between FAMALE Bonaparte Gull and FEMALE Black Headed Gull ? Have you seen the MALE versions of these gulls ? By the way, here in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR, we have the Oriental Magpies in the New Territories. A pair of them has a nest high up on a tree top 🌲 nearby in our area.

[@brighteyedbirding]

The males and females look the same in both species (at least in the field). Species-wise Black-headed Gulls have a reddish bill and Bonaparte's Gulls have a black bill.

[@markshen3280]

Greetings from Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR. Good morning to you. Don’t geese, ducks and other waterfowls feel the cold when swimming or standing on frozen ponds or lakes ?

[@brighteyedbirding]

They are pretty resilient creatures! They are really good at regulating their heat.

[@markshen3280]

Greetings from Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR. These two species of gulls are generally difficult to distinguish, eh 😄😄😄😄

[@brighteyedbirding]

Very difficult haha

[@kennethnoble8139]

Great start to the year! I'm (another) UK birder. I only saw 12 species on New Year's Day because it rained hard all day. I'm still not up to your total of 51 but was pleased to see a Western Barn Owl today, looking very miserable in the rain. (It snowed overnight but the temp has risen today.)

[@brighteyedbirding]

12 species is a great start! This time of year is rough with the weather, but I'm glad you were able to see a Barn Owl! That's incredible!

[@MHarenArt]

Your video was fantastic! Congrats on your new record! I didn't do any birding, but did see a bunch of Robins, Bluejays, and BUNCH of Norther Flickers, a Mourning Dove and a few Cardinals out back, trying to crack through the ice in the birdbaths. They are all looking for water. I have a lot of work to do identifying the different ducks and sparrows. Many of the Warblers stump me too. But I'm working on it! Thanks for sharing!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks so much for watching! Hey backyard birding definitely counts as birding! Seems like you have a great habitat for the birds :D

[@yuutuubewacher]

Great first day, Jordan!! I’ve been seeing (and hearing) a ton of birds at the little lake I showed you. Yesterday I thought of you when this happened: First, I saw four (!!) spotted towhees and a CA towhee close to me, all up in the trees together (very odd). Then I heard some sound in the brush below them. I looked down and there was a roadrunner!! I hadn’t seen one in several months. Clearly, the towhees and a song sparrow which was with them didn’t want to be on the ground. The roadrunner eventually ran down the trail, and the birds went back to ground feeding. 🐦

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks so much Sandy! That's such an awesome encounter! My favorite bird! I watched a video the other day of a roadrunner snatching hummingbirds out of the air and gobbling them up! Those birds were probably terrified. Thanks for watching!

[@earnestlad1872]

Hello. Great to learn about the amazing total of 51 species on the first day of the birding year. I am glad you got the Black-billed Magpie. Here in the UK, the Eurasian Magpie is very common. As far as I can tell, the two Magpie species mentioned are identical in appearance. I cannot understand why they are classed as different species.

[@PootPootMagoot]

Hiya, UK birder here but I've seen Black-billed Magpies when I was over in the states. Wings and tail have different proportions to our Eurasian Magpie, but the best way to differentiate them is by their calls, which are VERY different (it's a bit like how our Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler look VERY similar, but as soon as you hear them calling you know which one it is). Plus, non-overlapping ranges so their gene pools are pretty separate at this point.

[@earnestlad1872]

@@PootPootMagoot Hi, many thanks for your kind reply. Also for sharing this very helpful information. I didnt know the wing and tail have different proportions. Sorry to be a nuisance, but please would you happen to know specifically what the differences are in those regards. eg which has longer tail and/or wing length?

[@PootPootMagoot]

@@earnestlad1872 No problem at all, happy to help! I believe black-billed magpies have longer tails and wings in proportion compared to eurasian magpies

[@TracyBirds]

Happy New Year, Jordan. Happy Birding. 🎉

[@brighteyedbirding]

Happy New Year to you Tracy!

[@flyingparrotphotography]

That's a fantastic effort and a great start to the year!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks so much! It was a great day!

[@HaydenEpp]

Congrats on a great total for January big day! I went out briefly on the 1st but only ended up with 10 species. It was pretty cold out and I had been up late the night before 😆 Looking forward to the birds of 2025!

[@brighteyedbirding]

10 species is still a great start! I hope you got some good ones!

[@clarkwgriswold157]

Congratulations 👏👏

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@evtheencyclopedia8945]

Looks like you and Hawkin had a good time! I got a couple lifers yesterday; Harlequin Duck and White-winged Scoter. I tried and failed for a couple Boreal Owls

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was a lot of fun! Congrats on your lifers that's awesome.

[@Fire_2000]

You definitely had a really good start to the year! Definitely jealous of the black scoter (that would be a lifer for me). On new year's day, I saw 43 species myself with the highlights being a long tailed duck, pacific loon, red throated loon, white winged scoter, and Iceland gull.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Sending you Black Scoter luck! Sounds like a great total for the new year! I need those loons on my list!

[@Fire_2000]

@brighteyedbirding you should drive out to Denver at some point. Red throated loons, pacific loons, and also yellow billed loons are technically rarities, but it seems like we get them here every winter. Not sure what other lifers you'd get out here compared to what you have in Salt Lake, as the ecosystems are relatively similar. I know they're not lifers anymore as of recently, but you'd see so many cackling geese here that they won't be special anymore 😂

[@HumblingBored]

It's exciting and refreshing to see how many other people my age are into wild birds. I would've never known. I'm from Wa. State but I've hiked the highest parts of Utah. I raced Fords at Utah motorsport complex, It's a beautiful state.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Utah is an amazing place for birds! And it's definitely great seeing how birding is becoming a much more diverse hobby with people of all backgrounds! Young birders too! Thanks for watching.

[@TracyBirds]

I thought Utah would be in full blown winter right now, and surprised that there is still open water.

[@brighteyedbirding]

It's been getting warmer and warmer. Winters have been pretty mild the last few years.

[@wikusburger5226]

Didn't do too much birding on Jan 1.Mostly garden birds.I got 26 species on the list.Currently on 82 species for the year.

[@brighteyedbirding]

That's pretty awesome! Amazing start to the new year!

[@JudahWildlife]

I only managed 17 species on jan 1st due to lots of rain, but 2 great northern divers (common loons) on the sea is pretty good for a 5 minute walk from the house considering they’re pretty rare in the uk compared to NA

[@JudahWildlife]

Missed most my rare targets in the new year so far, but oh well, up to 71 species and will do much better when I can drive!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Weather is tough in January haha. That's amazing you found those birds! Quality is better than quantity I always say haha. Well done!

[@TracyBirds]

Great big day 2025!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks so much!

[@michaeleder6841]

Was that the coyote in the background with the harrier too?

[@brighteyedbirding]

I believe in the harrier shot those were Great Blue Herons in the background.

[@michaeleder6841]

@@brighteyedbirding Sorry, should have been more specific, at the 6:30 mark

[@brighteyedbirding]

@@michaeleder6841 Oh wow! Watching it back, it looks like it was! Good eye!