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The Little Big Year-week 46: All this fun comes to an end

10,000 Birds

When we returned to Tucson, from the Bahamas, I was approaching a milestone number, 1300 bird species, and drove myself hard, climbing, hiking, searching, and driving all over the state of Arizona looking for those last eight birds. By 7:30, two of the owls starting calling back and forth across the small ravine, and I had my 1300th bird!

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Half Hardy

10,000 Birds

When I began birding with people from parts farther north I became familiar with the term “ Half Hardy “, which refers to those species of birds who are generally present in small numbers during mild winters, but usually can’t handle the rough patches of extreme cold temperatures and snow that are less frequent.