2017 Nature Goals

I've composed a list of  10 goals I hope to achieve in 2017. It will be interesting to see how many I complete!

1. Observe 57 new species to get my life list up to 300.
This shouldn't be all to difficult. There are a few planned trips that will help me achieve this.

2. See a Prothonotary Warbler.
This species has evaded me for the last two years. This year I will see one!

3. Go birding in 100 new spots.
This may be a little difficult to keep track of, but I'm up for the challenge.

4. See all 5 Great Lakes
So far I've seen 3 out of 5. Superior and Michigan here I come!

5. Hand feed a Gray Jay.
Algonquin is the best and most accessible place for this.

6. Complete the 100 species Challenge at Point Pelee in one day.
I came close last year, 82 species, however it was a VERY bad migration day at Pelee, with only eight or nine species of warblers and no tanagers, only three species of flycatchers (no Eastern Kingbird), and 5 species of Shorebirds, only 4 of which were at Hillman. This year I planned my Big Day so it's a week later than usual. Maybe it'll make a difference.

7. See/Hear Wolves
I think that'll be pretty neat.

8. Find a rare....anything!
Whether it be a bird, butterfly, dragonfly, herp, or plant.

9. Volunteer at a banding station.
Banding is something I'm really interested in. If any of you know of a banding station that likes volunteers in Southern Ontario, please let me know!

10. Complete a "Weekend Big Year"
Since weekends are really the only time I'm able to go birding anyway, I figured why not do a big year where I only count birds seen on the weekend (with a few exceptions.)

The rules are simple:

1. I will only count birds I see on the weekend OR extra day (see below)
2. I will allow myself to have 20 "extra days" for when I want to count birds I see during the week. This may come in handy when I have a trip planned for a weekday, but I want to have those birds count for my big year, or when I see a rare bird during the period of Monday-Friday. Limit of two "extras" per week.
3. Holiday Mondays DO NOT count as the weekend and I must use an "extra day"
4. I will only count birds I see in the ABA area.
5. Have some fun.

Also, if you are a birder who keeps track of their sightings, maybe consider of doing a "Weekend Big Year" as well and make up your own rules. It would be fun to compare results at the end of the year!

I'll be keeping track of my total at the side of my blog under the "About Me" section.

Smith's Longspur...Seen on the Weekend!

Well, let the fun begin!