Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

So as the first day of this new year begins to wane, I'm sitting down and thinking about some of my favorite birds I saw from this year, as well as from years past. After spending some time going through my eBird lists and looking up what birds (including lifers) I'd seen, I began the process of figuring out which was the best bird I had seen overall for each year from 2010 onwards. For each year leading up to this past year, I'll list the single "bird of the year" and then elaborate when talking about birds from 2014. The birds I will mention from 2014 will be three honorable mentions, the last year bird species I saw, and my favorite life bird. So here goes. 2010: Swallow-tailed Kite ( Elanoides forficatus ) Photo by Brian E. Small 2011: Snow Bunting ( Plectrophenax nivalis ) Photo by Pat Watts 2012: Long-tailed Duck ( Clangula hyemalis ) Long-tailed Duck in Norwalk Harbor. Photo taken myself. 2013: Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) Imm...