A Triple (Treble) Bird Score

Gila Woodpecker along the Gila River in Gila, New Mexico. / © Bryan Pfeiffer

I have seen a Virginia Rail in Virginia, an Arctic Tern in the Arctic, a Mangrove Cuckoo in a mangrove, a Juniper Titmouse in a juniper, a Canada Warbler in Canada, a Rock Ptarmigan on a rock, a House Finch on a house, and many other “double bird scores.” You get the idea.

But never could I claim a triple. Until now. So let it be known to all who care (both of you) that on December 17, 2014, along the Gila River, in the town of Gila New Mexico, I spotted a Gila Woodpecker.

If I were birding in European football circles, they’d call this “the treble.” So take that, Manchester United, which, as everyone knows, achieved “the impossible dream” in 1998-1999 when they* won the English League, the F.A.Cup and the European Cup in the same season. The Treble – a big deal.

Anyone else got a birding treble? Or even a quad? Write it up in the comments section below. I’ll feature them in another blog post.

Come to think of it, the Gila National Forest is only a few miles away. Oh, the possibilities….

* Note that in British English a collective noun takes a plural pronoun.