While birders are a grateful bunch, often appreciating what birds and experiences they have observed than what they have not, we often look over checklists and flip through field guides and come across that one species’ name or image that just makes us cringe. These nemesis birds come in all shapes and sizes, and no matter how good you are as a birder, you probably have one yourself.

While updating my last year’s checklist and getting the new ones ready for this year I saw a bunch of nemesis birds that for one reason or another have eluded me. I figured it would be good to appease the birding gods by listing them for others to see (why hide my “failures”?). Just perhaps maybe I will luck out and find these feathered gems on my future journeys. Feel free to mull over my list and add your own if you have some bad birding mojo to release.

~Chad

Chad’s Nemesis List

1. Laysan Albatross (Over 100 hours on the Pacific and not one yet!)
2. Worm-eating Warbler (Heard many but never seen)
3. Prothonotary Warbler (Heard several but never seen)
4. Cape May Warbler (The only “Northern Warbler” in my area I have yet to find)
5. Rosy-Finches (I have visited high peaks for all 3 species in breeding season, yet none)
6. Mountain Quail (Several trips to the deserts and mountains of CA with no “Quarks”)
7. Little Gull (Only regularly occurring gull that visits NY I’ve yet to see)
8. Northern Beardless Tyrannulet (Many hours of fruitless searching in S TX and S AZ)
9. Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Only regularly occurring Storm-Petrel in CA to see)
10. White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lots of walking at high elevation (12k+ ft) for lots of rocks)

Close Notables:

Black Swift
Juniper Titmouse
Bicknell’s Thrush
Black Rail
King Rail
Kentucky Warbler
Canyon Towhee
Black-capped Gnatcatcher