Global Big Day

Day 208: You don't have to be as crazy about birding as the characters in the movie "Big Year," but being a little bit cracked on the subject helps. Basically, this project helps document bird species worldwide through the eBird website. For full details, go to https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-2023. I do not submit my species records to them because you must give a location, and of course mine are all from my yard. If I should happen to spot an anhinga, I don't want Bostick showing up in my garden!

Checking my records, last year I tallied up 25, the last visitor of the day being a single Goldfinch, a species I had expected to see throughout the day. Over the next 10-14 days, several other notable blanks were filled in, but of course they didn't add to my count because they showed up late for the party. I made a master list last night, showing 52 possibilities, all of which I have seen from my living room window at some point in the last 30 years. Admittedly, the Snow Geese were in the pasture across the road, but since I didn't need to leave my property to observe them, they count as a "yard sighting." Temperatures in the upper 80s may swing the tally either way. Can I beat last year's count? Given the current number, I think I'll be lucky to hit 20.