The Ups and Downs of Birding Today

Red Headed Woodpecker

The choice was skiing or birding. Since we have had such warm weather the last few days, it made more sense to bird on a nice day than to ski in the slush.  I planned on doing a "big day" to see how many species I could see. On a winter big day, I usually hope for a around fifty. The plan was to start my day around sunrise. Getting up around 6:30 and being birding by 7:30 would give me enough sleep and enough sunlight.

I ended up leaving the house at 7:15 after sleeping later than I wanted. To compound my frustration, there was an obnoxious amount of traffic on I-295 that caused me to waste another thirty minutes. I probably would have avoided this traffic if I left at my scheduled time. By the time I got to my first birding location it was 8:45 ( Firehouse Pond, near Charleston Breachway)

I got lucky there. I saw four Northern Pintails, they were the first I'd seen this year. I was quite happy since they were the hardest duck for me to find last year not seeing any until three weeks ago. From there, my plan was to bird my way down to Watch Hill and take a walk at Napatree Point. At each location I had target birds.

When I go to a spot or "on a chase" I really hope for fifty percent success. I figure the bird is either there or it is not. Even if a target bird is where you want it to be, you still have to find it and identify it. This is easier when it is a duck because if it is on a pond you'll see it. Not so easy with little song birds. Looking for a rare songbird or one that has been reported is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Next I went to Ninigret NWR. The main target was a Lesser Black Backed Gull. There has been one there consistently the last few winters (native to Europe but seen somewhat regularly in the states). I saw it last year. I walked out to Grassy Point and "think" I saw it. It looks like the common Herring Gull but has yellow legs. I saw it in the water then it flew off. When it flew, I thought I saw yellow legs, but I couldn't be sure, so I'm not calling it.

From there I went to Burlingame Campground. A Red Headed Woodpecker has been living there for a year now. They are not native to New England. For some reason this guy has taken up residence at one of the campsites. I opened my car door, looked up and there it was. Easiest target bird ever. I then walked down to the water. I was hoping for some ducks but it was so windy the waves made it impossible to scope the water.

Wind! It was very breezy today. It made birding very difficult. The small birds stay hidden in the brush. Another problem is using the scope. In a strong wind, it moves enough so it can't focus on  far away birds. I had trouble with this at Moonstone Beach, Beavertail and Frigate Road.

From Burlingame, I went to Napatree. I hoped to see shorebirds. I knew the wind would be howling, but I hoped that shorebirds would be at the little tidal pond. I saw everything I hoped for. There weren't a lot of birds. I saw one or two of seven species including Ruddy Turnstone.

From Nap, I worked my way back north. I stopped at East Beach. I was sure I'd see Red Breasted Nuthatch, Yellow Rump and maybe a Hairy Woodpecker. I saw all three in big numbers a couple weeks ago. Even in the wind, I thought I could call out one or two. That was until I saw the hunter!
It turns out he was rabbit hunting. I don't have a problem with this. He had as much right to be there as me. I talked to him for a minute and he was a nice guy. He told me to feel free to keep birding. "As long as you're not a rabbit, you're safe" was his quote. I still decided to leave. He has gotten a rabbit, which meant he fired his gun. This scared all the birds. I didn't see a single songbird in a half hour. I wished him luck and drove away.

Sanderling

As you can see, between my late start, the wind, and hunters, the cards were stacked against me today. I went to a few more spots birding right up until dark. I saw a total of thirty two species, which quite honestly is pathetic for a full day of birding. Of those eighteen are new for the year bringing my Rhode Island total to 47.  There were a lot of easy birds I just didn't see such as turkey vulture. There were also a lot of easy target birds that were not around. There are always Surf Scooters at Beavertail but not today. As for the harder "chase" birds, I saw the woodpecker and pintail. I struck out with many more including the gull at Ninigret and three ocean species at Beavertail.

Lastly, I did see some birds that I just can't confirm. I got buzzed by a small hawk at Moonstone Beach. I'm sure it is a sharp shin, but I didn't get a good enough look. I saw crows, but didn't hear them so I don't know if they are American or fish crows. Also, at Trustom, there were a lot of ducks on the pond. I bet there were five species I could have added, but the damn wind.

You win some, you loose some. Other than the Red Headed Woodpecker and Northern Pintail, Mother Nature kicked my ass today!

Snowshoeing- better than the exercise bike

Some of us got to go skiing on perfect powder today... Others had to work. I was part of the latter group. However, I did not want to work all day then sit in the house all night. It is no secret that I struggle to keep my weight down (I love food). So I have been trying to do cardio and core almost every day this winter. The logic being, I have nothing better to do. Unfortunately, cardio has meant riding my nemesis, the exercise bike. When it is really cold, or worse, the sidewalks are covered in snow, I have fairly consistently been riding the dreaded bike.

Well not today my friends! He finally got measurable snow. Would  I prefer seventy and sunny? Yes. However, we must work with the cards dealt to us. So today right after work I went to Wrentham State Forest for an hour of snowshoeing. I packed my warm clothes, boots, and snowshoes with me this morning before work.There was still a lot of snow hanging on the pines so my walk was pretty. I moved kind of fast and built up a good sweat, which is surprising since it was 22 degrees. We are supposed to get a warm up turning everything to slush before it melts away. I'm going to try to get out tomorrow if it isn't raining too heavy. Hey, today was better than sitting at home all night

Snow Birds at Trustom

I had big plans for today. When I got done skiing yesterday, I came up with a route to go birding all day today. I was going to get up at the crack of dawn and see how many species I could see. It is a new year which means what was old hat a week ago is a new species for a new year list. I dare say, some of the more obsessed birders look forward to birding on New Years Day more than they do Christmas morning. Last year New Years Day fell on my day off. This year it was Sunday, and I always work Sundays. So needless to say, I was looking forward to starting my new list.

I have not checked the weather in a few days. Last I read it, today was supposed to be cold and sunny (high of 31). So I was quite surprised when I woke at 6:45 am to see a blanket of snow on my car with more coming down. I scratched my plans and put in a movie to watch. I checked the weather and the snow was supposed to stop around 11 am.

Considering there is only about nine hours of daylight right now, leaving the house at 11:30 meant I wasted almost half of it. Instead of driving from place to place, I decided to concentrate on Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge. There are two reasons I chose to go there. There is a variety of habitat and a very busy bird feeder at the parking lot. Secondly, I could go for a hike. I planned on making at least one of my stops a place to get some exercise anyway.

At the bird feeder, I picked up my first ten species within seconds. There are always plenty of blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and downy woodpeckers at the feeder. I put my waterproof boots on, grabbed my ski poles for walking sticks and went looking for birds.

I only ended up seeing 29 species for the day. I easily could have seen fifty if not for a wasted morning. However, I saw two species I did not see in Rhode Island in 2016. They were brown creeper and golden crowned kinglet. I never saw a creeper anywhere last year, so that was good news.

I did get some exercise. I walked the snow covered trails at a fast enough speed to sweat. I did all the trails, I guess they cover about two miles or so. It really didn't matter though, when I got home I rode the exercise bike (yuck).

If the weather is nice next Friday, I'm going birding again. There are still plenty of easy birds left (such as gulls, many ducks, and even robin) that I should be able to double my number. The smart play would be to chase the rarer birds and find the common ones as I go. Either way, I should probably check the weather Thursday night, that way I won't wake to a surprise of white.

Author's note. As of right now, the person that has seen the most species in Rhode Island is up to 94. Total number of species seen by all participants, 125.

Saying Goodbye to Cheap Skiing

I went skiing for the second time toady. I went back up to Wachusett. When I went skiing the first time, I went through the growing pains that everyone must go through just to learn. I started walking a little way up the bunny hill and progressed to the top of  it. There was a lot of falling and getting back up. I knew going in there would be a lot of learning. I tried to keep patience and because I mentally prepared myself, I accepted there would be more failure than success. However, when you fall three runs in a row, it is impossible not to get frustrated. The only thing that really kept me from thinking the sport wasn't for me was watching others fall doing the exact same mistakes.

Near the end of the day, I could turn and I was going slightly faster. I didn't fall at all on my last six runs. When I left, I built up some confidence. For the next two weeks I have thought about skiing every day.

Today I got my chance to go again. The plan for today was to hopefully move from the smaller magic carpet hill to the bigger magic carpet hill. The good thing about that would mean a longer run. Even at my slower speed and working on turns it only takes a minute to come down the smaller hill. Without turning, its only a few seconds. Needless to say, I was eager to move up to the bigger hill.

On my first run on the small hill...I fell. It took me a couple of runs to get back to where I left off last time. Dave left me to practice for half an hour. In that time, I was getting better on each pass. The key to controlling your speed is turning. Before Dave left me I was still "surprised" when I made a turn. By the time he came back I finally felt if I wanted to turn right or left I could without being surprised  by it. We did a couple runs where I followed his track then had lunch.

After lunch we went to the bigger slope. It is at least twice as long. The carpet is twice as long also so each time I had to go back up took three or more minutes. Walking over to the hill, I knew I could do it. I finally have enough confidence that I believe my skis will do what I tell them.

Sure enough the first time down just felt like a longer version of what I had been doing. I could turn and control my speed. Dave had me working on trying to do more parallel skiing and less wedge skiing. For the most part, I was getting more parallel, but not quite there. I got more pointers, but mostly I kept working on carving on the edge of my ski.

The best news of the day was I only fell on that first run in the beginning of the day. I got to the point where I could weave in and around sitting snowboarders ( This wasn't me getting cocky. To get down the hill it impossible not to come across sitting snowboarders). I was watching others make the same mistakes I had made. Of course there were five year olds that were way better than I am. Still, I am very happy with the progress I have made.

Before I even started skiing, Dave had said I could probably take a chair lift my third time skiing. I thought he was crazy. Sixty minutes into my first day, I didn't think I'd make it to the top of the bunny hill. It turns out he is right. There was a beginner slope right next to the hill I was practicing on. I'm sure I can ski it. Maybe I might fall, but it just looks like a longer version on what I was doing. I do know I'm ready for the challenge. So unbelievably, he was right. I will be buying a lift ticket next time I go.

The price of a magic carpet ticket that I have bought these first two times is eighteen dollars. I think that's a hell of a deal for all day skiing. I'm done with the carpet and have graduated to the lift. Unfortunately, that means my new cost to ski just skyrocketed to $63. On top of that I need to buy a helmet. I didn't need one on the carpet hills. There wasn't any trees to hit and falling wasn't very fast or hard. So, I'll be investing in a helmet also.

Last author's note:

I am very happy in my progression on the learning curve. One thing that I am even happier about is I'm learning the right way. Each thing feels like a graduation. At first I learned about the wedge. Then I walked part way up the hill over and over just to ski (fall) back down. After that I got to take the carpet up to the top. I worked on turns until I felt comfortable. Then I kept working on them until I felt confident in them .Next I got to move up to the bigger carpet. Lastly I'm working on skidding to start going parallel.

Of course I have a couple things going for me. One, my friend Dave is a ski instructor. I recommend that anyone that wants to learn to ski should take lessons. Of course they are expensive, so if you have a friend that is a very good skier AND can communicate their skills, learning from them is much better than figuring out on your own. I wouldn't have wanted to learn on my own. There are way to many bad habits that can hinder you from improving or learning skills. I'm sure I'm still doing bad things such as leaning. But having a friend point them out each time makes you conscious of them.

Secondly, without question practice makes you better. We spent hours skiing. I spent a lot of time alone today working on turning. Dave came by every few runs to work on something new or tell me what I was doing wrong. In my two times I've gone I've seen a lot of people taking group lessons. After the lesson, some of them stay on the hill to practice. However, after the lesson was over more than half would be gone never to be seen again. I have no idea where they went. I know that after one lesson no one is getting on the lift (except seven year olds, because apparently they naturally can ski without instruction, where as adults take forever to learn. Bitter? maybe a little)

Anyway, I don't know where a lot of these people go. If they leave after the lesson and a couple runs they will never improve. On the other hand if someone goes up the lift after one lesson, I can imagine that is an exercise in frustration and they will hate it. So as I said, I'm glad to be graduating one step at a time.

Goals for 2017

Update- I was sitting around the house the other night thinking of things I'd like to accomplish this year. It turned into a year "Bucket List". Since many of these things were/are goals, while others are just things I want to do, I combined it and updated my original list. Goals 1 and 2 are still the most important, however some things like catch a pike have been on my mind a lot. 

Original post below with other goals added

I have two goals that I really want to accomplish. These are the most important to me. I'm not going to try to my break my record for number of birds species I can see. If that becomes a goal every year then it is no longer about the experience. Maybe I will see more, maybe less. I suspect the number of birds I see will coincide with the number of stripers around ( good fishing will mean less birding). Also I'm not going to try to accomplish things I can't control. I can't say I want to catch a bunch of fifteen pound blues. I can only catch them if they show up again.


1. Finish the mountains in New Hampshire over 4000 feet. I have six left that can be done in four hikes. They are Adams, Madison, Wildcats, Cabot, Carrigain. I had planned on saving Carrigain for last, but since Adams/Madison is harder, I'll use Carrigain, which isn't an easy one anyway, to get in better shape for Adams.

2. I don't want to break or loose anything this year. I also don't want to loose any money. This goal is going to take diligence the entire 365 to accomplish. As I brought up a couple of times I had money stolen out of my car. It was money DJ paid me back for paying his car insurance. Since then, I lock my doors every time I get out. I don't want to misplace any paychecks or loose a twenty falling out of my pocket.

As for things breaking, sometime it happens. Sometimes a camera will just stop working. If it is no fault of my own, I can deal with that. I don't want to have to replace something because of my own stupidity. An example of my own stupidity would be, when the money was stolen so was a small point and shoot. I had no choice but to replace it. I need a small camera for hiking and long walks fishing. I don't want to take my SLR near saltwater.  After I replaced it, I brought it with me fishing. I took a picture of a small blue. Instead of putting the camera back in my pocket I put it on my surf bag ( I was sitting next to it)... then forgot about it. When I picked up my bag to fish another spot, the camera fell, and I watched it bounce into the drink. So I replaced that camera.

I need to buy a new surf rod this spring. I asked for BPS gift certificates for Christmas to help cut the cost. Other than that rod, I am trying not to make any big expenses this year. I don't need any big camping supplies. I have all I need for birding and picture taking. I need to replace some fishing gear I lost during the season, but other than the rod, nothing expensive. I'd have quite a bit more money in the bank if I didn't loose or break money, cameras, and my rod. This year, I'd like to leave it in the bank.

3.  Continue to learn to ski. Hopefully next winter I will be taking the lift and feel comfortable on intermediate slopes. That said, I just want to enjoy skiing. I don't want to get injured and I'm not going to rush the learning curve. If I need to keep practicing my turns for two more times, then I will. This sport is too dangerous to get overconfident.

4. Try fishing for Northern Pike

5. I'd still like to see a sea turtle and photograph a bull moose (two failed goals from 2016)

6. This one is actually going to happen because I bought tickets. I want to see Dropkick Murphys play "I'm shipping up to Boston". I'm not the biggest fan of theirs but listening to that song with a bunch of Bostonians around St. Patrick's Day must be incredible. It's on my life bucket list

7. Do a fifty mile bike ride. Just for no other reason, just to see if I can

8. If Don Henley comes to town I want to go to his concert. I can't see the Eagles without Glen, ( I did see them once in Foxboro). I want to see Don Henley one more time.

9. Go to New Hampshire as many times as I can (reoccurring goal)

10. Catch a Channel Catfish

11. Catch more carp than last year

12. Fish more for trout

13.  Go to Sachuest in June to see if the fawns are easily photographed. I go to Sachuest a lot mostly in the winter. I've never taken the trip when the fawns should be out

14. Go to Southwick Zoo

15. See the AC/DC tribute band Dirty Deeds

16.  Daytrips that I do every year or try to (that I want to do again this year) include:

        a.  Fish for Golden trout

        b. Plum Island Overnight (birding and Shad Fishing)

        c. Charlestown Mudflats Birding

        d. ALBIE FISHING (of course)

        e. Mt Wachusetts Hawk Watch

        f. Race Point looking for whales and seabirds

        g. Newport Stripers in June

     

How did I do on my goals from last January

Every year I put a list together of things I want to accomplish. Ideas and thoughts change, so sometimes so do my beginning of the year goals. Some I really stick to, while others become less important and even irrelevant. That said, if I write a goal in January, it means it was important to me at that time. Within a day or two, I'll post my goals for 2017. For now, here is how I did on goals I wrote out last year. Regular script is my original goals., I just copied and pasted them. Italics script, is how I did.

1. I want to do a three day/fifty mile hike in June. Actually it is three different hikes, but they are over 4000 footers and honestly I want to finish them. These hikes are- Owls Head (18 miles), Isolation (14 miles) and a loop over all three Carters, Carter Dome, and Wildcats in one day. The last hike is by far the hardest. It is really three different hikes but since these mountains are so far from home, I want to get them done in one day even if it exhausts me. I choose June because it has the most daylight. Short of doing all three of these mountains in three consecutive days, I still want to wipe these hikes off my list sometime during the summer.

Owls Head's wooded summit

Although I didn't do so in a three day period I did all these mountains except Wildcat. Doing the Carters and Carter Dome was all I could do in a day. By the time I got to the base of Wildcat it was 5:20 and I still had 4 miles to get to the car. Calling this one a win anyway. Owls Head sucks!

2. There are a few expensive daytrips  and overnights I want to do. Money might be an issue so I might not be able to do all of them. The reason that they are lumped together is, I don't want a few daytrips/overnights to define my year.

                      A. Go on a Pelagic trip out of Chatham. These trips go out to see seabirds. They are scheduled infrequently, so I would need a day off to align with a trip

I tried three times to go on a pelagic, each times the weather didn't cooperate and they got cancelled
                 
                     B. Go up to New Hampshire for another snowshoe hike the week daylight savings time begins again. The only issue is, I have jury duty scheduled that week

I didn't go. The jury duty did screw me up. By the following week I was thinking spring and trout fishing

                      C. Cuttyhunk Seal Cruise in the Winter

The Cuttyhunk Seal Cruise actually fell on the day of one of my cancelled pelagics. I called that morning, but the boat was sold out. Bummer

                      D. May overnight in Newburyport. I want to stay up there Wednesday-Friday. I want to do a couple of Audubon walks.

I did an overnight at Plum. I stayed at Salisbury Beach. I birded hard for two days but found time to go shad fishing also. It was a great two days

                   
3. Spend more nights outdoors. Whether in New Hampshire or Mass, I want to camp more than last year. I'd rather sleep in my tent than my bed

Absolutely, between eleven days in South Dakota and seven trips to NH, I spent  25 nights in my sleeping bag. 

4. This one is strange and doesn't seem outdoorsy, but bear with me- I want to go on more picnics this year than go out to eat at restaurants.  Here is why, I love picnics, I simply want to do them more. Secondly, I don't really love going out to eat. It is more of a something to do thing. However, it is a complete waste of money. There are so many other things I can do with thirty dollars that I consider way more fun than eat. I can do an all day fishing trip or fill my tank for a weekend in New Hampshire for the same money as an hour meal. Much more importantly, I want to go to Key West this November. Any money spent at a restaurant here, is money not spent on fun there.

Rules- food has to be homemade, Subway does not count. Picnics can be eaten anywhere outside, they don't have to be on a blanket or a picnic table. Also eating less than $5 worth of fast food does not count as going out to eat, but I rarely get fast food anyway.

I was trying to keep track of my picnics. I stopped doing the tally half way through the year. I'm sure I ate outdoors at a 3-1 ratio to going out to eat.

5. I signed up my Rhode Island bird list on ribird.org .I  have absolutely no chance of placing in the top 5. It is not a competition anyway. The list is just an easy way to keep track of your own list. It only counts for birds seen in RI, which is another reason why I won't place high. I like going birding in too many places in MA. Of course there is a little competition in all of us, so if I can, I want to place in the top 10. I saw 144 species of birds last year. My other goal is to see 144 in RI. If I see 144 in RI and place dead last, then it doesn't matter, because that would be a hell of a feat for me.

I crushed my old record of 144 species. I saw a total of 182 species. Of those, I saw 161 in Rhode Island. I did not count my birds in South Dakota in that number. I could have seen over 200 birds locally if I spent more time birding and less hiking and fishing. More on this in another post. 

6.  Go to New Hampshire as much as possible.

I went seven times. That is the most I've gone ever. This is easily attributed to owning a car without 300,000 miles and the confidence it won't break down.

7.  Write two  fishing articles. I already have one planned. I need another idea. I can get lazy with coming up with ideas. So the plan is to spend some time thinking of something up to pitch to editors.

Only wrote the one article

8. I would like to see a sea turtle of any species

I wish

9. This one will take pure luck. I'd like to get a great photo of a bull moose. I have a lot of really good close ups of cow moose, the problem is, female moose are ugly. I want a good picture of an antlered male

I saw one moose all year. It was a big bull. Unfortunately it was across a huge pond and walked into the woods

Percentage wise, I didn't do so well. If you count each letter in my second goal, I went 7/12. Not exactly killing it. Some of the failures are completely my fault such as not writing any other articles. Other things I couldn't control such as finding a big bull moose or sea turtle. Also, goals change. I got so fixated on hiking mountains and catching stripers, I barely birded the last half of the year.

End of the Year Post 2 - Birding, Daytrips, and anything else

In case you wonder why I write these reviews, it allows me to look back on my year. It is not to brag. I really appreciate you reading this, but I know most of you are not going to try to see 180 species of birds. If you are a freshwater fisherman, you are not going to be impressed by how many blues I caught.

 I enjoy my life. I am single. My son is grown up and for now he has moved away. This gives me all kinds of time after work to play. When he was young I coached little league and the summer traveling team. We did as much as we could but baseball took up a lot of our time. Now that I live alone and get out of work pretty early, I usually have plans to be outdoors most evenings.

 I get bored very easily when I'm not doing something. I don't watch much television and I don't enjoy sitting around "relaxing". So I fish, hike and go birding. These are things I really love to do. Writing these posts really lets me relive memories. I usually keep any personal problems out of my blog. Unless a problem hinders my chances to go outside (such as an injury) I don't write about it. Why? because that way my blog is a source of enjoyment for me. I don't want to read about money getting stolen out of my car or when I need to get my car fixed. Besides being boring, it is depressing.

Keith Lockhart, The Boston Pops, and the Fat Man in the Red Suit

Daytrips

I went on 68 daytrips this year. I don't have a set rule on what constitutes a daytrip. Usually it has to last more than a few hours. However that rule can be changed if the "daytrip" is expensive such as a concert or a play. If it is something I look forward to, it basically counts. Each of my trips to New Hampshire count as one even though I was up there 2 1/2 days each time.

I broke it down. The numbers do not add up exactly to 68. Sometimes I did more than one thing. An example would be I went birding all day Feb 26. That night I saw Garth Brooks with my brother, Also, if I count fishing as a daytrip, it is an all day event. Fishing after work does not count as a daytrip.  The one trip I try to do a couple times a summer I never made it to was Prudence Island. I just never found the time.

Birding                                  20
Oudoor fishing shows           2
Fishing                                  14
Concerts                                 3
Sporting Events/Fireworks    5
Guided Walks                         2
Overnights (including NH)     9  (added together these 9 trips are all or part of 26 days)
Local Hikes                            5
Plays                                       5
Aquarium/MFA                      2
Christmas Themed (not plays) 3
Skiing                                        1

It is amazing rereading. The early part of the year was dominated by all day birding. As the weather got warmer, those trips were replaced by overnights to NH followed by all day fishing trips.

Birding  (and animal species)-

Marbled Godwit and Willet

As I mentioned I destroyed my old record of species I've seen. I saw 182 species of birds. My old record was 144. The 182 species are only birds in New England. I didn't count the other 17 species from South Dakota. The reason being, I don't live there so I can't add them to next years list.

If I would have put in more effort later in the year, I possibly could have hit 200. I chose to stop chasing rare birds for the most part. It was putting too many miles on my car. The easiest bird that I missed was a Carolina Wren.

I saw 161 species in Rhode Island. I broke my previous record in RI alone. There is a website that many local birders keep track of there tally on. There's roughly 25 people that sign up. I came in thirteenth place. I was in that position basically from Jan 1 when everyone was out counting new birds for the year. The guy in front of me saw 30 more species than me, so I wasn't going to move up the ladder. I could have seen another ten or so species very easily if the three pelagic (offshore) trips I signed up for didn't get cancelled. I was really looking forward to those trips.

As I said above, I saw 161 species in RI. There were a total of 302 seen. The leader saw 285 of those species!!! There were eleven people that saw over 200 species in RI alone. I still have a long way to go. The best bird I saw all year was a Yellow Billed Loon in March at Race Point. I met people from as far away as Toronto and New YorkCity who were looking for it.

Other Animals

I saw eight species of combined reptiles and amphibains not including my South Dakota rattler. I saw fifteen species of mammals in New England and another nine in South Dakota. I caught fifteen species of fish. I usually get between 25-30 species.  This year I only caught fifteen because I spent so much time chasing stripers and less time trying to catch weird fish like golden shiner, common shiner, and green sunfish.

Random thoughts about the year

-Obviously my early summer was about my South Dakota vacation. I saw so many wild animals. I won't relive it here because I broke it down in so many posts in July, but it was awesome.

-I have two "bucket lists". One is what I try to get done in a year such as hike a certain number of mountains, or write a fishing article. The other is my life list. These are big things I really want to do, but couldn't possibly do in the same year. I knocked four of them off the list this year

1. See a rattlesnake
2. Listen to coyotes howl from a campsite (not a campground)
3. See the northern lights
4. Go to the Boston Pops

The northern lights were around one night last winter. DJ woke me up to see them. They didn't dance around the sky but the sky was streaked with pinks and blues.

-I made it a point to do a bunch of Christmas themed things this year. I hate the short days of December and there hasn't been many stripers around the last few winters. Making plans to see plays, church bazaars, and the Boston Pops always gave me something to look forward to. This was a great December despite my son moving to the Grand Canyon.

- I went to five plays this year and saw fireworks four times.
I assume this trend will continue. I really enjoy seeing plays. It doesn't matter if it is a small community theater or a big showing of A Christmas Carol. I usually get lost in it.

- I am quite sure next year when I write this, skiing will have its own paragraph. I can't wait to go again.

-By far the celebrity death that bothered me the most was Eagles singer Glenn Frey. The Eagles songs mean a lot to me. I played Peaceful Easy Feeling many times when we drove through the desert many years ago.  Everyone talks about Prince, but I'll Take it Easy anyday!

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