At the start of this year, a new birding project was launched for California: the first statewide bird breeding atlas bird effort. Participants can join the project and submit lists through eBird, with a focus on observing breeding activity.

With the breeding season kicking into gear in the Central Valley, I decided to join the project and pay particular attention to a local community park area where I had observed a Killdeer nest last year.

Shifting my focus to breeding activity opened my eyes to a whole world of bird behavior I had not previously noticed. I watched a bright red male House Finch feed his mate in a courtship ritual that strongly resembled a youngster being fed by a parent. Mockingbirds carved out their territory by singing at the same general location for days on end. Various species, from starlings to goldfinches, collected material for nests and flew out of sight to build a temporary home.

And of course I monitored the Killdeer for evidence of nesting. I didn’t have to try very hard – the Killdeer led me straight to the nest!

I was walking down a sidewalk completely oblivious to a well-camouflaged Killdeer that was sitting crouched in the dirt at the edge of the paved path. When I paused nearby to look at another bird, the Killdeer misinterpreted my intentions and charged at me. There was no “broken wing display” as is their usual defense. Instead, it ran at me while screaming an ear-piercing call, stopping within a couple inches of my shoe. Had I not been careful, I could have easily stepped on it! But because it had left its nest, I was able to observe three eggs.

During my walk on the next day, the Killdeer was foraging nearby, allowing me to see that it now had four eggs (I walked by quickly, never pausing, so as not to accidentally distress it again).

Such a lovely experience to report for the bird breeding project! But the excitement wasn’t over for the morning.

Near the Killdeer nest, a Horned Lark popped onto the wire fence, perched within a couple yards of me. Undeterred by my presence, it sang its heart out in a twinkling melody. I quickly pulled my phone, launched Merlin, and hit record, holding my breath and trying to quietly angle the phone to minimize the wind. I had the biggest smile on my face as I realized that this joyful song would be my 100th recorded species for 2026, reaching my Big Year Recording goal!

In a true Big Year fashion, I intend to continue my recording challenge to see how many species I can end the year with. But for now, I am reveling in the joy of having completed my goal of recording 100 species in a calendar year, with many months ahead of me to truly enjoy additional experiences.

To read more posts about this challenge, see the dedicated Bird Recording Challenge 2026 web page or click on “Bird Recording Challenge 2026” under “Tags” at the bottom of this post.