2019 has been a year! It has been a tumultuous mess in the political world but in the birding world, I sought respite and joy in nature. And in that birding realm, I created some wonderful memories.
Perhaps my best bird, most unexpected bird, and life bird I never thought I'd get in NYC was a
burrowing owl that was just chillin' on the fence post of a construction site at our horseshoe crab monitoring site. With my car as a blind, I silently FREAKED out and grabbed some very close pictures because I rolled up turned my head and WOW, right there, unexpected.
And lastly, birding this year has been so special because of the amazing friends and family I have shared many of these memories with. An epic trip to
Cape May was just that, epic. With a crew of amazing people - and birding brought us all together. I am so delighted to know these folks and share birds with them. I used to prefer being a solitary birder, but it turns out once you meet some amazing people and form a friendship - birding with friends is so much better. Thanks, y'all!
With my family, I shared a lifer
Pacific Loon with my dad and my lifer Golden-crowned Sparrow with my mom (funny, they each got a Pacific bird on the east coast!). I thank my wonderful husband who shares a love of the outdoors, with a mild interest in birds for putting up with my constant "OH' STOP HERE!'s" and joining me on adventures to new places and even seeing a bird or two. We had an amazing time exploring Colorado and North Carolina together, he also joined me at
Shawangunk in the late spring to look for bobolinks and grasshopper sparrows. It was hot, he was a trooper!
How lucky are we to have such access to nature in such a huge city. In 2020 we are starting off the year with a trip to get some Texas birds, again my husband is up for the adventure - we have never been before! I hope to continue to bird while pregnant and sharing with our future kid birds, nature, and our fascination with the natural world. We have a lot of changes coming our way in the new year and decade ahead.
Last weekend all I wanted was to just see a purple sandpiper. And I did. These are my last birds of 2019 along the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn...
 |
| How cute is this nugget?! |
 |
| What a sweet bird, I love that they are here in the winter, specifically right here in Brooklyn. |
 |
| While not a whole bunch out this day, it was warm and I enjoyed this bufflehead doing its morning stretches during its preening. |
 |
| Look at that flappy foot! |
 |
| Happy New Year - Wishing everyone a bird-full 2020! |
No comments:
Post a Comment