Half of a Centre County big year

Since moving to State College in June, I have been birding a lot, getting to know the area and its different hotspots. I was also able to do some productive birding during spring migration, picking up harder to find birds like Red-necked Phalarope and Mourning Warbler. Fall migration was excellent and I was able to find most of the expected passerines except for Black-billed Cuckoo, Connecticut Warbler and Cerulean Warbler. Birds I missed in the spring that others reported include Wilson’s Phalarope, Laughing Gull, Common Moorhen and both bitterns. Despite some of these misses from the days when I was just commuting to Centre from Lancaster, my year list currently stands at 188 species in Centre County. My goal for some time has been to hit 200 species before the end of the year and as the year wears on and the ducks start to come back, this looks more and more likely. I have compiled some wishlists of birds that I think are feasible and others which will be a lot harder to get. Getting to 205 is looking more likely, and with a little luck I think 220 may even be possible.