With 2018 coming to an end, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the birds of this year. I was privileged by some of the opportunities, with everything from the usual encounters to the rare vagrants.
This new year though, I have big plans on becoming more involved in my local parks in an effort to help maintain a healthy environment for our wildlife. There are few trail crews that clean up the litter and keep the trails clear from debris. As I’ve been hiking/walking in the parks near my home, I’ve noticed a large increase in the amount of trash lining the trails. It’s appalling to say the least. It wouldn’t take much at all to bring a trash bag with me here and there. If everyone picked one piece of trash while out on a walk, we could keep our parks beautiful with ease. On a higher note, even though it’s a given, I want to see more birds! While I’m at work (I work outside), I get the chance to see birds all day long. I have a personal goal of seeing at least 200 different species of birds in a single year. Without a doubt, it is definitely possible, but with my summer work schedule I won’t get a whole lot of spare time to dedicate solely to bird watching. As my daughter grows though, I’ll get the chance to take her with me on my treks, making it much easier to convince my wife to let me out more often.
If I plan correctly and stick to my schedule, I should be able to get out almost every morning to at least one of the closer parks. I can be at my favorite Hotspot within ten minutes of leaving my house. As I stated before, working outside will become very beneficial to meeting my goal of 200 birds this year. I’ll be jotting down everything I see in journal I picked up off Amazon to ensure that I don’t miss a thing. I’ve started to carry my backpack with me wherever I go. I keep pretty much everything in there, to include all of my birding accessories. I’m always prepared to look for wildlife, pretty much at all times during my travels. My wife isn’t so always so fond of me looking for birds all the time but its much better then a lot of other things I could be doing.
The clock is about to strike midnight and the celebrations are about to unfold, so I must be signing off for now. I will be updating this blog regularly through out all next year to keep better tabs on everything in an organized manner to share it with you all. There will be more then just birds as well, I have a passion for all wildlife and this blog serves as a journal for all of my wildlife encounters.
Thank you and cheers to the New Year, Happy birding.
-Bill W.
Short-eared owl @ Mercer Meadows, Lawrenceville, NJ
Bills Birds and Such 