Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

What a strange year it's been. Again. As I sit at home with my parents in Massachusetts where I started off 2015, I'm doing what all people do at this time of year; looking back at the accomplishments, failures, regrets, ideas, and events that defined the year. Normally, I reserve this space for "Bird of the Year" and gloat about how my journey to getting 200 species of birds on my life list has been the triumph of my year. Instead, it was finding full time work and graduating from a stay-at-parent's-home adult to a fully fledged living my own life adult. It's been a strange journey and while I've been happy with how I've been doing, I have also been looking forward at what's next. 2016 obviously. But that's just another year. Another set of 366 days (it's a leap year, don't cha know?) to fill up with happiness, anxiety, rage, tears, sweat, thought, and experience. This year, I've decided to give a rundown of the main events for...

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...

It's officially two days into 2014 and this snowstorm is terrifying! Well not really, but I can happily report my choice for bird of the year 2013, as well as, my resolutions (nature wise) for the year! This past year I failed to reach my goal of 350 species and only managed to reach 338, but that's still impressive for spending most of the year in New Jersey and having access to some of the birdiest areas in the country. I was graced with a few good rarities this year and with the Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) invasion coming into full swing, it provided a nice finish to the year indeed. So many species to choose from, but ultimately Hedwig herself won me over! In case you didn't see, here are some photos of the immature bird that would become my bird of the year. Resolutions wise, I'm keen to begin practicing my outdoor teaching skills once more with my new job in Pennsylvania. As for my goals they are as follows: 1. Be creative. That can mean drawing, wri...

After a few months of using Google Drive, I've finally been able to get Word, Excel, and Powerpoint back on my computer. Then, utilizing the drive, I downloaded my bird lists and resume so that I can tweak them for future (or in the case of the bird lists use them immediately). It was then I thought about what was the bird of the year at least in regards to what was a lifer for me at the time. So I whittled them down to the following. I'll start with 2009 and finish with this year's contestants. The bird of the year this year will be announced on New Years Eve so mark you calendars! 2009: Snow Goose ( Chen caerulescens ) 2010: Swallow-tailed Kite ( Elanoides forficatus ) 2011: Snow Bunting ( Plectrophenax nivalis ) 2012: Long-tailed Duck ( Clangula hyemalis ) 2013: The contestants include are as follows: Limpkin ( Aramus guarauna ) Canvasback ( Aythya valisineria ) Pink-footed Goose ( Anser brachyrhynchos ) American Avocet ( Recurvirostra americana ) Missi...