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my year in birds: 2022

Not much happening worthwhile in 2022. Total life birds: 1115. An armchair tick with taxonomic changes. Total ABA-area birds: 589. Ditto. Total state birds: 333. No change. Plenty of opportunity, though. Michigan hosted two Limpkins, a Variegated Flycatcher, a Southern Lapwing… but even chasing birds was just not really feasible for us this year. Home […]

my year in birds: 2021

Well, here we are, it was 2020 all over again due to the covid-19 pandemic — at least for us. We did not travel, but we did a little birding close to home. Total life birds: 1114. Two armchair ticks with taxonomic changes. There were actually a few losses but more gains, although I confess […]

my year in birds: 2020

Well, here we are, mired in the stay-at-home covid-19 pandemic. I know a lot of people did a lot of local birding in 2020, for lack of travel and other safe activities. I was home, but pre-occupied with other stuff. Total life birds: 1112. Nothing new, although I think the recent split of Mexican Duck […]

my year in birds: 2019

Well, I did do a little traveling in 2019: to Wisconsin for my sister-in-law’s birthday, and to Montana for spouse’s old friends reunion. I’d been to both states before, so no lifers on these trips. My life bird this year was Whooping Crane, in my home county. Total life birds: 1112 Total ABA-area birds: 587. […]

my year in birds: 2018

“Birding” in the sense of really spending time in the field looking for birds has largely fallen by the wayside. My work over the past few years expanded into broader ecological endeavors, heavy on botany and entomology. But in keeping with tradition, here is my catch up post. Some new life birds since the last […]

still with me?

Did you think I had just given up, abandoning bootstrap to the graveyard of dead blogs? The last few years have been a crush of winding down my university job, taking an offered premature retirement, and transitioning to more freelance work and more free time (in theory, at least). Although I have kept several of […]

my year in birds: 2014

My traditional compilation, after the second full year in my new home and home township. Once again, due to many (expensive) house projects, we did not travel. New life birds: None. Total life birds: #1100. No change. Total ABA-area birds: 579. No new species this year. Total state birds: 315. A Western Kingbird showed up […]

my year in birds: 2013

My traditional compilation, which is essentially the same as last year, except that I’m filling in the baseline data at my new home and home township. Otherwise, nothing new as we did not travel. Like last year, I picked up an armchair lifer, which I am counting because 1) it’s my list, and 2) I […]

my year in birds: 2012

My traditional compilation. I took no trips at all this year, as my father was ill and passed away, and we bought and sold a house. We barely had time to eat, much less bird. New life birds:  I picked up an armchair lifer with the split of Gray-lined Hawk (saw mine in Nicaragua in […]

the year in birds: 2011

This tradition is now probably just for me, and my 3 remaining readers! I took two international trips this year: one to the central highlands of Nicaragua, my second time in this area (you can read about the highlights here and here), and the other a quick trip to Honduras. Also a business trip to […]