First Day

One of the exciting things about doing another Big Year is that I have to try to see all the exciting birds I have seen in the past again, and have to find some new birds as well.  Below is the list of birds (with first sighting location) from the first day of my year:

1. Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - Gunflint Lake, MN
2. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) - Gunflint Lake, MN

3. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) - Gunflint Lake, MN

4. White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) - Gunflint Lake, MN

5. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) - Gunflint Lake, MN
6. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) - Gunflint Lake, MN
7. Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) - Gunflint Lake, MN

8. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) - Gunflint Lake, MN

9. Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) - Gunflint Lake, MN
10. American Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos) - Gunflint Lake, MN
11. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) - Gunflint Lake, MN

12. Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN

13. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN
14. Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN
15. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) - Ham Lake, MN
16. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) - Gunflint Lake, MN
17. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) - Gunflint Lake, MN

18. Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) - Gunflint Lake, MN

19. Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica) - Gunflint Lake, MN

20. Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) - Gunflint Lake, MN

21. Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) - Lonely Lake, MN

22. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) - Gunflint Lake, MN

23. American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) - Gunflint Lake, MN
24. Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida) - Gunflint Lake, MN

All the birds above were spotted on the first day of my Big Year (April 30, 2017).  I hiked over 10 miles that day to get a good start.  It would be great if every day I could spot that many species!