Following the bandwagon here. And besides, I think that by publicizing my birding goals, I'll be more inclined to follow through with my ideas.
Goals:
-> Continue to Bike: Last year I biked over 2300 kilometers - 90% of that was because of birding. Unfortunately, winter biking isn't safe (I'm not looking for excuses) so the first 2 or 3 months may not see me biking very much.
-> See over 300 species in Canada: in 2011 & 2012 I saw 294 and 295 species, respectively. This year it should be easier for me to get over 300 because I'll actually be in Canada for more than 8 months of the year + I'm presumably a better birder so can find more of the things I shouldn't have missed in previous years...
-> Convert 3 individuals to start using eBird! Last year I managed to convert 2 people and both have been regularly using it since... need to start scoping out more victims soon :p
-> Be in the top 10 list of checklists submitted for Canada for 2013! Last year I submitted 1370 checklists. If all of those had been in Canada I would have been in 7th place! With more eBirders, and the competitive nature of eBird, I suspect I'll need over 1500 checklists this year to achieve my goal. That is over 4 checklists per day, or 125 per month - yikes :S
-> Be in the top 15 list of species seen in Canada for 2013. Last year I recorded 295 species, putting me in 21st place. If I do travel to Alberta this summer, I should be able to achieve this...
And following Brandon's lead:
I really have no idea where I'll be for the majority of this year, nevertheless, here are some birds I hope to see in Canada this year in no apparent order:
Cave Swallow
Black Swift
Connecticut Warbler
Slaty-backed Gull
Any empid sp. from the west coast
Today was my last full day in Newfoundland. I promise to include pictures in the next posting...
