My Empty List

The holidays were too hectic with packed schedules, illness, and deadlines, and unfortunately birding and birds fell by the wayside more than I would have liked. But as I settle in to 2013, I just know this will be a lucky birding year, despite the less than lucky connotations many people give to this year's numerals.

I'm going to make it lucky, and that starts with a list. I have a beautiful poster - The Birds of Utah Checklist - from the Utah DNR that I won for a great bird sighting (red-breasted merganser) during a field trip with the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival several years ago. That poster is framed without glass in my office, with the idea that I can use the checklist to mark off the species I've seen. Granted, it won't be a complete life list - there is no record of the Jamaican tody, green jay, or black vulture ever in Utah - but it will be a fun way to keep track of how many of Utah's birds I've seen, even if I haven't seen them in Utah.

Beginning the year I have a meager (or at least I consider it meager) 333 birds on my life list; as I haven't yet filled out my poster Utah list, I can't count those (watch for a future update) quite yet. But how many will I end the year with?

Let's get lucky, '13!

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