It seemed like a great idea. I had been bird-watching, identifying birds, photographing birds and enjoying it all on my own and/or with friends. Then, as January 2023 approached, I had this bright idea. I would observe birds and record my checklist of observations in Cornell’s eBird every day for the entire year. Simple!
Yes, it is simple when I am home and can record the birds at our feeders or take a walk in the neighborhood and record birds seen during my walk. Some days I chose local birding hotspots to spend time at and observe birds while on a walk. Easy!
With all the traveling I had done during 2023, across the USA, I also stopped at national wildlife refuges, local and national parks and monuments, and recorded birds seen in those locations. That was fun exploring a new place, plus seeing some birds I would not have seen elsewhere. I attended some bird festivals which are wonderful places to see birds. Plus, other birding participants have their eyes open looking for birds with you!
But sometimes, I would wake early and there was a chill in the air and no birds at our feeders. Or I slept in my van in a parking lot the night before and no birds were in the neighborhood. And I might continue driving down the road and stop at a rest area. What!?! Just the usual grackles, starlings and house sparrows …. but they make it to my daily checklist! Another time I was on a back road in North Dakota. A nice surprise: wild turkeys just happened to walk in front of the van! They make it onto a checklist!
I have a greater appreciation now for how long 365 days is. Also understand there are some days birds are not flying around me as often as I thought they would be. It is almost eerie to walk outdoors and not see a bird for a period of time. It almost makes me worried about the health of our environment. Are we sure birds are doing okay? Then I go looking for bird nests or other signs of bird life!
My 2023 daily recording of an eBird checklist challenge was met! By the way, 12.7 million other birders completed a checklist per day this past year. I’m in good company!
No plan is set for me to continue a daily checklist through 2024, yet I know I will look for birds each day. It has become a habit! Here’s a guarantee: if I see a new bird, it will be recorded in eBird and maybe with a photo! So far I have 443 birds on my life list! There’s only about 10,000 more birds to be seen in the world! Maybe I’ll get my number higher as my return to international travel happens in 2024!