Date: 5/6/26 10:49 am From: Drew Stephens <0000109643f780a6-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: A bird a minute or better?
Each morning I’ve been setting my phone outside on the back porch with Merlin running, while I shower and get dressed. 10 or 15 minutes. 20+ birds each time. Recorded my first Oriole yesterday.
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From: The Birds of Arkansas Discussion List <ARBIRD-L...> on behalf of Jerry Butler <jerrysharon.butler...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 12:04:32 PM
To: <ARBIRD-L...> <ARBIRD-L...>
Subject: A bird a minute or better?
You don't often get email from <jerrysharon.butler...> Learn why this is important<https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> Two weeks ago I went to a friend's house who keeps a well stocked
feeder in hopes of seeing my FOS rose-breasted grosbeak. I never saw it, but I sat there 37 minutes with my Merlin on and I also counted counted a few species I saw that were not vocalizing. Later at home, when I posted them all, I noticed that I had seen 37 species in 37 minutes.
It got me wondering, how long a person might continue successful birding at that pace?. Not much longer I guessed, I figured that 37 min span might have been a record for me. However, yesterday, I birded the Greenway in Hot Springs and I walked only about 2 tenths of a mile and counted 51 species in 41 minutes, breaking my newly set personal record. Most of what I saw and heard was the bird species you would expect, but I did see a blackpoll warbler which was a Garland County first for me.
I usually bird for much longer spans of time but I seldom see more than fifty species, particularly when I'm alone. What is your experience?
