My BEST day of birding in MONTHS!

[@BertosBirdLife]

Congrats on four lifers! Especially ones that don’t regularly occur in the state. I saw quite a few Long-Tailed Ducks when I was in Maine for the fall, started showing up when winter rolled around. Question for Q&A: what has been your biggest challenge with your birding channel and how have you overcame it?

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks so much! Winter brings some strange things to the state! Great question! Excited to answer this one!

[@kalebanderson2903]

Congrats! Such a cool set of birds all in one place! Glad we ran into you and spotted that Short-billed again!

[@brighteyedbirding]

You brought us the luck for sure haha!

[@scottjohnson9603]

Congrats on the Long-tailed Duck!! Such an awesome bird!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you!! Super happy to finally see this bird!

[@markshen3280]

Good Morning 🌅 to you from Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR. A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to you on your ‘LIFERS’, the Long-tailed Duck , the Short-billed Gull, Black Scoter, Sage Brush Sparrow, Northern Shrike. I like the Northern Shrike because of its unique grey plumage colour, unlike other Shrikes I had seen on KZbin. As always Shrikes are known for their ‘cruel’ way of stabbing their preys (small mammals, insects m fish 🐟, small birds, worms 🪱 🐛) on sharp barbs and thorns on branches.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Hey Mark! Thanks so much! Northern Shrike is really unique in it's plumage and coloration!

[@HaydenEpp]

Congrats on 4 lifers! It's been a very long time since I've had that many in one day too, especially in my home province. And congrats on the Long-tailed Duck! I was also very excited the first time I saw that species. I'm from the Great Lakes region and they're extremely common in some parts of the area during winter, but not as common in others. For me it was just about going to the right place. Scoters are also always exciting to see, especially Black Scoters - I think I've seen that species only twice.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks so much! That's awesome you have those nearby! They are annual here at the Great Salt Lake, I've just never made the trip out, so I'm so happy I finally did!

[@HawkInTheLens]

Wow! So jealous of all those incredible species you picked up! I really like how muted the colors are on the sagebrush sparrow

[@brighteyedbirding]

Sagebrush Sparrows are definitely underrated. Was awesome to run into them by shear luck!

[@Fire_2000]

Nice! Those are all awesome lifers! Short billed lifer and black scoter (all scoters in general) would be lifers for me too. I've seen sagebrush sparrows once in Western Colorado and long tailed ducks three times (once in Denver, twice in Colorado Springs).

[@brighteyedbirding]

I was pretty ecstatic to find all FOUR of these in one day! Such cool birds!

[@Fire_2000]

@brighteyedbirding yeah that's awesome! It's been a while since I got 4 lifers in a single day

[@JudahWildlife]

I have seen an adult male long-tailed duck pretty close up on a reservoir in the uk! Second best duck imo

[@brighteyedbirding]

That's awesome! Would love to see one in full breeding plumage someday!

[@Andrewdeank]

Can you give us an update on your research and where can we stay updated on you research projects?

[@brighteyedbirding]

Great question! Can't wait to talk about this!

[@TracyBirds]

🙌

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheJoyofBirding]

Awesome! So glad you got all those lifers. I think my favorite was the sagebrush sparrow. My question for your Q and A is: do you have any tips for starting a birding channel? For example, how to make sure it doesn’t detract from the birding experience? Thanks! -Thomas

[@brighteyedbirding]

Really good pick for your favorite! Can't wait to answer this question! Thanks!

[@ShepStevVidEOs]

Long tailed duck would be awesome! I got northern pintail a few weeks ago and probably weirded out some other birders/hikers because I was almost jumping for joy.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Haha, I totally understand that. I can feel people watching me as I jump up and down with lifer dances.

[@birdocs]

Amazing, I need myself one of those days, got at least 1 today. Although I did not get a photo. Do you think birding is growing as a eco tourism activity? And What would be your dream birding adventure?

[@brighteyedbirding]

Those are great questions! Can't wait to talk about them on the channel!

[@evtheencyclopedia8945]

I believe the photo you put up of a Long-tailed duck is actually a male in its nonbreeding plumage. They have a lot more brown in their breeding plumage. Excellent finds, though! Congratulations! One question I have for your Q & A is: 'What are 5 birds you would like to see in the state of Minnesota?'. I am from Minnesota, and I am very curious to learn which birds excite you the most!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Haha well that's awkward! Great question! Happy to answer this one!

[@jennifertedman]

The Long-Tailed Duck is not common in Florida, it actually comes up as Rare on eBird. It was a lifer for me on Saturday, 11/30/2024. I was happy to get three lifers in two days. Four in one day is amazing. Congrats! My other two were also Rare here: Brewer's Sparrow (third on record for Florida) and a Snow Bunting.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Congrats on your lifer! What an amazing Florida bird! I've never seen a Snow Bunting! Would love to!

[@jamespace5033]

Bro. Nice job

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you so much!!

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

I've seen lots of ducks, but not the long-tailed duck.

[@Fire_2000]

They're not easy to find. They're usually really far out in large bodies of water and you'll need a scope to ID them

[@arianad859]

What a day! I so wanted to go to antelope Island over Thanksgiving but my family wasn't in favor. 🤦‍♀️ A question for your q&a: Could you outline a good birding code of ethics? Or go over birding etiquette?

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was a great day! That's a great question! I'll definitely do this!

[@hakodatebirding]

Was watching Long-tailed Ducks and making a youtube video about them just last week 😊. We have lots of the same birds as you here in Japan actually....

[@brighteyedbirding]

That's amazing! So cool to see these birds in different parts of the world!

[@JudahWildlife]

My only 4 lifer day in the uk ever was last october, and i struggle to get more than 1 lifer a month atm aha, but when i can drive ill get a few more tho. 233 is a lot higher in the uk than the us, altho hardly twitcher numbers.

[@JudahWildlife]

Is there any website where you’ve uploaded your lifelist where i could have a look at it aha?

[@brighteyedbirding]

Not at the moment. Maybe I'll post one someday! Currently sitting at 333 lifetime and 300 for the year.

[@JudahWildlife]

@@brighteyedbirding ah awesome! My global list is 352, but ive been to canada for a month and europe a bit outside of the uk

[@markdayton6759]

I got my Long-tailed Duck here in San Diego’s Mission Bay about two years ago. Non-breeding plumage.🤔

[@brighteyedbirding]

That's awesome! Such an awesome looking bird!

[@benjaminmaughan6127]

Question for the Q&A: How many birds are on your life list? Also how long have you been birding? I guess that’s two questions.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Great question! Looking forward to talking about this!

[@timmywood9677]

Today I’ve saw a Buffalo head duck my friend that I showed it to said it was a male first time I’ve seen one

[@brighteyedbirding]

Congrats on seeing that beautiful duck! They are awesome! (Bufflehead)

[@kassemakil8641]

What is your total lifer count throughout your entire birding career?

[@brighteyedbirding]

Great question! Excited to talk about this!