Day 231 - What Happened to August
Here it sits, 19 days since my last post and the big year has not gone so well. To be perfectly honest there was a day I contemplated throwing in the towel. Not because I didn't think I could do it, or because I wanted to stop, but some real life issues took priority and really had me wondering if I would be able to put forth the effort from here on out. I still don't know if I will be able to and am just working on things 1 day at a time. I can't share much now but will reflect upon what I am talking about when the time is right.
Aside from this the birding has been good for me--I've had a blast the past few weeks, but new big year birds have been far and none between. This is turning into a bad drought at a time of year when I need some good things to start popping up. The birding community at large hasn't been much help (no offense to all you Narnians' out there), as not a single rarity has been reported to help on my quest. The lack of rarities being reported this year is odd. There are multiple prongs that seem to resonate with me as to why--but as more and more people start birding, with more information available, and ease of sharing one would expect more rare birds than in the past. But Narnia is a strange place and the birders here seem to be changing in their demographic, skill level, and interests. More on this later as well.
Comparing year over year to my previous quest August has thus far been very different. This worries me. Despite some striking similarities in my two big years, some of the stark contrasts are alarming. With certain species I expected to find completely unfindable at this point, the lack of rarities being reported, and days passing faster and faster the voice in my head has me questioning things. I constantly am running through my list, and looking at where I will/should/need to be at the end of each month and no matter how I look at it--it's going to be close. There are of course the great unknowns. What will show up this fall that I had no expectations of seeing? There are certainly going to be surprises--but will they make up for the missed expectations?
With 3 zero weeks in a row I'm anxious for some new year birds. I hope the coming days turn things upside down and start the count up again. At this point I'm not sure I'll get many birds the rest of the month, but perhaps with some luck I can tick off a few species before the 2nd third of the year comes to an end...
New birds this post: 0
Year List: 315
FOLLOW ALONG:
Next Post
Previous Post
