Week 1 Summary and 2019 Goals
Week 1
2019 Total: 65 2019 Lifers: 1
Highlight Birds: Bar-tailed Godwit (lifer), Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Gannet, American Bittern, and Brant
January 1, 2019 (Tuesday)
I started the year out in South Carolina. It wasn’t an extremely birdy day because I was flying back to Virginia.
January 2, 2019 (Wednesday)
This was an amazing day to start off the New Year. I met a nice birder out in the field. I picked up a Bar-tailed Godwit (lifer) and a Eurasian Wigeon.
January 3, 2019 (Thursday), January 4, 2019 (Friday)
These were light birding days because of work.
January 5, 2019 (Saturday)
Today was a great day of birding. I got to see some Gannets, which I’ve really missed. I accidentally spooked a bittern out of the grasses, which also scared me. There were hundreds of Brants out at one of our local parks too.
In past years, my year usually starts off with a Christmas Bird Count (CBC) with some buddies back in South Carolina. That day is usually the best day of birding I have each year. The day usually starts with some pre-sunrise owling, then some golf cart birding somewhere mid day, and ending with some more owling right after sunset. Unfortunately, the CBC I usually go on was today. Brad and Jeff, I hope ya’ll had a good day out there.
2019 Goals
I think its always good to set goals for yourself. Here are a few of my bird goals for this year:
eBird checklist a day challenge
200 species for the year
Improve shorebird identification
Take more photos and video
Put more effort in chasing some of these rarities that show up in the area
Learn more about birds
Educate and talk more about birds
Go birding with more people
Those are just a few that come to mind now. I hope ya’ll have some goals set for improving yourselves too.
This was a great first week of birding for 2019. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.
Also, happy National Bird Day, everyone!
