Bird-A-Day Challenge

I am not a “lister.” I just want to be upfront about that. Yet, here I am on Day 14 of a strange new quest that has me, yes, listing birds. Many serious and even casual birders keep lists of the birds they’ve seen: life lists, year lists, state lists, backyard lists, and on an on. But this is a different type of list. I’m listing a bird for every day of the year—just one bird a day. The goal is never to repeat a species, nor to go a day without seeing a new one. Yes, I, a casual birder, have decided to engage in a very challenging—some might say impossible—game. For however long I last, I’ll be writing about my progress here on Audubon Magazine’s blog The Perch. As the days go on, I’ll fill in the details of the 14 birds I’ve seen so far, and update the list. Maybe you would like to play along, or just follow my follies. Either way, I’d be happy for the company. A few weeks (or maybe even days) from now, when I’ve gone through all the birds at my feeders, gulls and ducks that I can see on my riverside commute to NYC, and park pigeons and house sparrows outside my office window, I’m going to need all the support I can get.

Day 1: Common Redpoll
Day 2: Red-tailed Hawk
Day 3: Downy Woodpecker
Day 4: Pigeon
Day 5: Greater Scaup
Day 6: Snow Goose
Day 7: Carolina Wren
Day 8: Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Day 9: Canvasback
Day 10: Junco
Day 11: Great Black-Backed Gull
Day 12: American Crow
Day 13: Bald Eagle
Day 14: Still to be determined. The day is young….