Happy New Year!

Unfortunately I have to kick off the new year by working today.  However, I did manage to get some drive-by birding in this morning.  Behind the local Kroger store (King Soopers here in Colorado) there is a small, shallow pond that seems to be an attractive rest stop for many water loving birds.  I have seen many different shorebirds, ducks and geese at this pond over the past few years.  This morning, there were more geese on the pond than I have ever seen there.  Primarily Canada Geese, with a few Cackling Geese and this single Snow Goose included in the mix:

A good start to the new year, I would say!  Other common species seen on the 20 mile drive to work:

• American Robin
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• American Goldfinch
• House Sparrow
• Blue Jay
• European Starling
• American Crow
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Rock (Common) Pigeon

Happy new year and best wishes for a year of spectacular birding!

In The Beginning …

So how exactly does one become a birder anyway?  Well, I can’t speak for anyone else, but my love of birds started early in life.  I was fortunate enough to attend a summer camp in New Hampshire which had a good nature program.  One of the summers I was there, we set up nets to capture birds for banding.  I got some good up close looks at many summer species of New England and enjoyed learning about the birds.

Then I became a teenager.

Many years later, in May of 2009, I took a cruise up Alaska’s inside passage.  During the cruise we saw much wildlife and many birds that I knew only from books.  That triggered something in me and I have been an avid birder since.  By the end of that year, I had upgraded my camera, found the rare bird reports for Colorado, and had traveled the state far and wide to find new species.  Part of the joy is in observation.  Part of the joy is attempting to capture the perfect shot of each species, and even of specific behaviors of each species.  Part of the joy is just getting out and away from the daily grind!

I hope this blog conveys the joy I have in birding and perhaps even triggers the same latent inclinations in others.