Birds every month of the Year

My first new bird in December,
Peregrine Falcon

Sorry, but yes, this is another post about birds. I will probably be spending most of my days off during the winter chasing birds. During this last month, I hope to add a few birds to my list. During January all of the birds will be"new" again so I'm curious to see how many bird species I can kind since I have learned so much the past year.

I've mentioned multiple times that I keep track of my list with other birders who bird in Rhode Island. Besides my RI list I just keep track of the birds that I've seen in New England but not in Little Rhody. I really have tried not to make birding about numbers. Truthfully, my goal really is more about getting good pictures. Still I keep the lists.The RI list is more important to me because I am friendly with the other people on the site. I see them at bird walks and most of them are in the Ocean State Bird Club. I could never catch the leaders even if I retired because I like to fish too much. I still want to see as many birds as I can.

One thing that I realized in October, I have seen new species of birds in every month of the year to that point. I knew there were a few more birds out there so I was going to add to my list during the final two months. During November I added thirteen species of birds to my list. During December if I could add another ten I will be ecstatic. One thing is for sure I will have found at least one new species in each month. On December 1 I found a Peregrine Falcon in Pawtucket. Peregrines are an awesome bird. I was disappointed I hadn't seen one yet this year.

I know that no one cares a rat's ass if I've seen new birds in each month. Trust me, this post isn't about "bragging". However, for me personally I am taking a little pride in it. Seeing birds all year means that I stayed diligent. I kept looking for birds. This is obviously been my best year birding in terms of numbers. But I also feel that it was a complete year round process to find them.

I didn't really spend any time birding until Feb 3. I saw a few birds in January but didn't look for  many winter specialties (which is why I still am on the lookout for them now).

The month I saw the most species- February- 67
The month I saw the least new species July- 3 (all at Charleston Breachway looking for shorebirds)

Also of note, Friday was the first time I have ever
been close enough to a Eurasian Widgeon to
make a photo worthwhile.