Congratulations on your 54th bird sighting of 2025, Carl. That's a fair way to 200 for the year. I was out today up here in Ottawa due to the snow, was not able to see many birds. I did stumble across a Pileated Woodpecker while searching for an Eastern Screech-Owl. Pileateds seems so unfazed by the weather up here in Winter - it's uncanny.
I’ll always read Life is for the Birds, Carl. Not going away—just figuring out Substack’s place at a new juncture. Your writing is a wonderful portal to the American west and its avian life.
What a wonderful way to reframe the competitiveness of a big year into documenting the baseline for the area before further "desertification." I hope that your efforts do inspire someone else to start birding your area--your photo of the pygmy owl makes me want to go explore Lower Water Canyon with my binoculars!
Congratulations on your 54th bird sighting of 2025, Carl. That's a fair way to 200 for the year. I was out today up here in Ottawa due to the snow, was not able to see many birds. I did stumble across a Pileated Woodpecker while searching for an Eastern Screech-Owl. Pileateds seems so unfazed by the weather up here in Winter - it's uncanny.
Thanks! I’m up to 62 now, which I think is fantastic for mid-February in a county that has minuscule amounts of water (all of it is frozen solid now).
Gosh, I love Pileated Woodpeckers. I’ve seen less than 10, but every sighting has been fantastic.
I wouldn’t even know where to start to get 200 bird species! I hope you find them all and share it with us here.
You know I will!
Great pace to start 2025, Carl. I like the way you shift the emphasis of why we ought to do big years; less for the individual, more for the place.
Keep reading, James. I’ll miss you too much.
I’ll always read Life is for the Birds, Carl. Not going away—just figuring out Substack’s place at a new juncture. Your writing is a wonderful portal to the American west and its avian life.
What a wonderful way to reframe the competitiveness of a big year into documenting the baseline for the area before further "desertification." I hope that your efforts do inspire someone else to start birding your area--your photo of the pygmy owl makes me want to go explore Lower Water Canyon with my binoculars!
Hey, I think you should, although it might be a long drive.
Nearly half of the land in the west is public, though, and there’s plenty of space for hiking and camping if that’s your thing 😉
I do have a friend in Tucson and family in Denver, so Utah is basically on the way if I were to do a road trip to see them!