With more than 10,000 bird species in the world, making a bird bucket list seems an overwhelming prospect. So, I’ve made category lists, like all the wading birds in North American, all the shorebirds on the Texas coast, adding at list one new bird every year to my list of migratory birds that stop over in Texas, every duck in the United State, and of course, every crane in the world. You might think that last list would be the most daunting, with only two cranes natives to North American, the whooping crane and the sandhill crane, but, I’ve cheated a little here. Adding a bird to a life list or bucket list means the bird must be spotted in the wild and not in captivity. Here’s where I fudged on the cranes. On one afternoon in August 2010, I set out to check off all fifteen cranes in the world. Fortunately, members of each species live in captivity at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. However, on this day, the crane I’d most wanted to see didn’t show itself. Shorty before my arrival the male blue crane died and the female, in mourning, would not leave her house. So, for that reason the blue crane is first on my bucket list. To complete my wading birds of North American, I’m still lacking the least bittern, glossy ibis, white-faced ibis, flamingo (although I saw them in Africa, so I guess that counts), and the limpkin.
 |
| Blue crane |
Here’s are the first ten on my latest list:
1. Blue crane
2. Golden eagle
3. Wood duck
4. Little egret
5. Limpkin
6. Glossy ibis
7. White-faced ibis
8. Least bittern
9. Atlantic puffin
10. Golden-cheeked warbler.
What birds are on your bucket list?
What sought-after species have you recently spotted?
