Thank heavens for pre-posting. Let's see how quickly I join this conversation. [update: Oh look - I'm awake.]
So, January 1... time to start a new year list. I didn't do a very good job of it last year - some notes from various trips, but didn't actually do a list. I even had a few lifers, but can't quite be sure where those notes are. oops.
But hey, it's the new year, a new start and I finally got my act together and signed up for eBird. If I'm going to watch and list, might as well put the data to good use.
Who wants to come out and play?
American Goldfinches, clinging to my window screen for some mysterious reason.
I'm not talking serious, competitive listing here (though you're welcome to it if you're into that kind of a challenge). I'm thinking about the kind of thing that will spur you to get out just a little more often, to poke around some places you might not have visited before, to learn a little more about the birds you see all the time.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION...
Maybe you can do something as simple as a yard list. It's probably the easiest kind of list there is, but it can still be quite interesting and inspirational. It's an incentive to look around and see how you can make your yard more bird-friendly. (It's also an incentive to just plain look around more often... who knows who'll flit in for a moment?) Stuck at the same number for too long? Maybe adding another bath or a suet feeder will bring new visitors.
During the dry California summers, a bath brings many birds to the yard. One year it brought some just-fledged Scrub Jays. The two siblings were inseperable for weeks, and continued to hang out in the yard as they grew up and got their big-bird feathers.
Or maybe you can do a city or county list. When I took part in a friendly San Francisco big year back in 2005, I found out about all kinds of great little parks and pockets of birdy goodness around town. I'd often put in a half hour of birding on the way to or from work; didn't get a lot of birds from that, but it put me in a much better frame of mind most days.
We're lucky in San Francisco - it's a small Big City, only 49 square miles - but it's got a lot of great parklands packed into that little space. This is Lake Merced, just a few miles from my home, and those reed-beds are home to Sora and Virginia Rails, among others.
Get ambitious and go statewide or national or ABA or worldwide... Choose a park. Or state parks or national parks. List birds seen by bike or kayak. Start tracking birds seen on your lunch breaks at work. The list of possibilities is nearly endless.
LIST TO LEARN
Build a library while building a list - create your own set of reference materials while you're out there enjoying the birds.
Keep a list of birds photographed. It will remind you to keep some kind of camera with you, whether it's a good SLR or a point-n-shoot or your phone. You'll get to know your camera better and, unlike the film days when you had to pay for every image, it's no loss if you try a shot and it doesn't work out. Because I'm a nerd (and also because I use the photos for reference) I have a file folder that's just birds by species, with subfolders for individual species and a few folders for groups/families (e.g., shorebirds or waterfowl, where you often find large mixed flocks). I include the bird's band code as part of the file name for easier searching later, something you can do even if you don't set up folders.
If you're taking photos to have pictures of pretty birds, you might pass by something less colorful, like a Say's Phoebe. If you're building a list, you'll take a photo and remember what an elegant little bird it is.
Keep a list of birds you identify by sound. It will encourage you to learn the basic birds of your area (if you don't already know them), and will help you get a feeling for how to remember and group songs. If you're relatively new to birding, birding by ear will help you immensely. If you're more experienced and have already been using your ears, keeping the list will keep you even more tuned in to the voices around you. Try recording them - you don't need archival quality recordings to learn the songs and calls; even a phone video will help you build your skills.
Okay, it's a bird-dot. But if I wanted to get more familiar with the song of White-crowned Sparrows, this would do the trick.
DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR THE BIRDS
Sign up for eBird and report your sightings. I admit that I didn't get around to it for way too long, but I've signed up and will start entering info this year. The world is getting tougher and tougher for wildlife, but there are also some serious efforts to reverse those declines. eBird doesn't really have enough years and enough data points to be able to point to any long-term trends yet, but the more people participate, the more valuable this database will be.
Is the average gaggle of geese getting bigger or smaller over time?
Whether you do it purely for fun, or with a sense of purpose, doing a year list is sure to give you a nudge to get out and enjoy the birds a bit more. And that seems like all the reason you need.
Spread your wings and get out there!
matching mole points out that The Daily Bucket has a Yardbird Race for 2012 starting today. A little friendly competition is always fun.