I felt that there were
several key ingredients to 2003 that allowed me to have the kind of year
I enjoyed, being able to come across 505 species of birds in the
great state of Texas. The sheer number of days and hours that I
spent in the field birding would be extremely important in helping me
cross paths with as many birds as I did. However, more crucial than my
own efforts was the willingness of many folks of the Texas birding
community who took an interest in my year-long adventure, providing me
with invaluable help, critical details and camaraderie as the year
progressed.
Birders from every corner of
the state helped me out in 2003. Whether it was a casual comment
about a good spot to look for a certain bird, a trip report posted to TEXBIRDS, all the way up to folks putting me up for a night at their
homes, changing their plans to bird with me, or gaining me access to
restricted properties, my success in 2003 would not have been possible
without their kindness and support.
My sincerest thanks and
appreciation goes out to everyone who helped and I hope that they feel
some shared ownership in our effort. Many of these individuals
deserve specific mention:
My parents - Carol & Larry
Carpenter: My dad's interest in bird-watching spilled over to me
starting when I was 10 years old (in 1979) and many of the places I
visited in 2003 where places that I had first visited with my dad and
family. During my Big Year, my parents served as my "Base
Operator", keeping me up-to-date on what was happening in the Texas
birding world as well as providing me room-and-board whenever my
journeys took me near the upper Texas coast.
Brush Freeman, Petra Hockey,
Willie Sekula: I don't think I ever went more than a handful of
days at a time in 2003 without hearing from Brush, Petra or Willie.
All three are excellent birders who have spent countless hours in the
field in Texas and elsewhere, and are usually tuned-in to current
rarities, interesting sightings and often have helpful tips for locating
difficult birds. They provided me with valuable information and
encouragement, often whilst I was on the road somewhere, and proved to
be great sounding boards for my strategies and plans.
The Davis Mountains and Big
Bend birders: If there was one region that played the biggest part
in my Big Year success it was probably the Trans-Pecos region. The
birders who live out that way have always been generous with helping me
out and 2003 was no exception. I was often very quick to learn of
rare & interesting birds out there, was able to gain access to private
and otherwise inaccessible lands, and also spend time in the field with
some excellent birders all due to the support of these folks.
Specifically, I would like to thank Mark Adams, Kelly Bryan, Maryann &
Marc Eastman, Carol Edwards, John Gee, Linda & Dave Hedges, John Karges,
Mark Lockwood, Dale Ohl, and Carolyn Ohl-Kolb.
Barrett Pierce: The upper
reaches of the Texas Panhandle can hold key species to any Texas Big
Year and 2003 was no exception. Barrett, who lives in Amarillo,
spends a large amount of time birding that area and was key in helping
me on several trips and with several species. He was continually
looking out for good birds for my list, kept me informed of good birds
he either saw or heard of, helped secure access to some areas that would
have been otherwise inaccessible, and even put me up for a night at his
home.
There was also several
individuals who went to some effort to get me access to specific birds I
was after. In many cases, this involved rearranging or adjusting
their own lives & schedules to help me out. These generous folks
are: Mike Austin, Charlie Brower, Jesse Fagan, Guy Luneau, Randy
Pinkston, Martin Reid and Matt White. Without their help, there
are specific birds that I would have missed (or missed trying for)
completely for the year.
Besides the folks mentioned
above, there were several other folks who I want to recognize for their
support and help at different times in my Big Year: Vahn Adams,
John Arvin, Shawn Ashbaugh, Lynn Barber, Peter Barnes, Brandon Best, Tim
Brush, Scott Carpenter, Sheridan Coffey, Scarlet & George Colley, Mel
Cooksey, Mike Creese, Rich Damron, Andy Donnelly, Charles Easley, Lorna
& Dodge Engleman, Tim Fennell, Rob Fergus, Anthony Floyd, Bert Frenz,
Tony Gallucci, Shirley & Joe Hamm, Jeff Hanson, Dewayne Hodges, Gary
Hodne, Joan & Scott Holt, Sally & Hugh Jameson, Rich Kosteke, Fred
Land, Tom Langschied, Lee Lemmons, Brad Lirette, Dell Little, Charlie
Lyon, Terry Maxwell, Brad McKinney, Chris Merkord, John Odgers, Mike
Overton, Jay Packer, Laura & Randy Packer, Jim Paton, David Poteet,
Truman Powell, Bob Rasa, Phil Rostron, David Sarkozi, Rosemary Scott,
Phoebe & Jim Sealy, Cliff Shackelford, Dale Smith, Paul Sunby, Darrell
Vollert, Ron Weeks, Jimmy Zabriskie and Barry Zimmer.
Thanks are also in order to
those birders who report their sightings via post to the TEXBIRDS
listserve. Many times I was quickly able to learn of rare and unusual
birds often within hours of the initial sighting of the bird due to
timely posts to TEXBIRDS.