I’ve been giving birds a lot of thought recently. I’ve got a photo set on Flickr with 83 pictures of birds in it, and I’ve got a category here on the blog called “For the Birds”. I recenty watched a movie called “The Big Year” with Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin about a competition to see the highest number of bird species in one year. That movie got me thinking about my “life list” – meaning, I’m wondering just how many different species of birds I’ve seen.
I contacted Bob Zeller over at Texas Tweeties for some advice about getting my list going. He kindly gave me some ideas. I’ve also been over to Ebird.org to have a look at their bird checklists. I spent some time on Flickr going through my bird photos – the collage above was created from my Flickr set. And now, I’m sharing my thoughts with you.
My plan is to spend some time getting a list of what I’ve already seen started. I’ve saved a list of Massachusetts birds and I thought I could start by going through that list and checking off what I already know for sure that I’ve seen. With the help of my go-to bird identification website, Cornell’s All About Birds, I figure I can tackle identifying birds that I’ve seen, but wasn’t quite sure exactly what they were. Then, eventually, I hope to be able to add to my list and to my photo collection – like when I saw that ruffled grouse this past weekend.
My hope is now that I’ve put my plans here in the blogosphere for you all to see, I will follow through. I hope to be back soon with what I believe to be my “life list” number. Have you ever given any thought to just how many species of birds you’ve seen?
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