Day 350 - December Slumping
Well, that didn't take long--half the month has passed me by already. With just 16 days to go, I am in the midst of yet another slump. Take away the provisional December Freebie from September, and I've only added 2 species this month. Worse, it's been 10 days without a real life in the flesh new year bird. Is this a mid-December Slump? The timing couldn't be worse for another slump--especially coming off the sizzling hot November here in Narnia. If my goal is to just get to 360, then I still need 4 species in the next 16 days, making for a 1 every 4 days rhythm I need to slide into. This will be tough.
I have missed one reported bird in the past 10 that would have been a new year bird. I am hoping that in the coming 10 days I will still pick one up, plus a close relative for 2 of the last year birds I expect to see. Yes, there are still birds I expect to show up based on historical norms. Aside from those 2, I may be done though. With time running out, chases to the extreme corners of Narnia may not be feasible. There is also the chance that with the Holidays right around the corner, I may not be in Narnia for each of those remaining 16 days. My hope really does lay on the shoulders of the CBC's I mentioned in my last post. It should be no secret that some of Narnia's biggest CBC's are happening this weekend since Christmas lands on a Sunday this year, and most chose to avoid conflicts with the holiday weekend.
In fact, 4 major CBC's will be happening Saturday or Sunday, that could all provide a chance for some much-needed end of year love. I am already planning on taking a day during the week after the CBC's to chase down anything I think I can relocate. There is also one more major CBC focused around the holiday weekend. The truth is my only opportunity if something really good shows up, is to chase in the final days of the year. Or there is the chance that nothing will come of these events this year, and 356 is where it ends. I really hope that's not the case, and I can put up a few more birds before it's over.
For now, I sit and wait, no new year birds seen in the last 10 days. Yesterday I managed to spend a few hours trying to turn up something--I don't really know what--it was more of just a nice couple hours birding. I maybe hoped for something random to pop up, but more or less it was revisiting some of my favorites hot spots from the year, where I saw some great birds. I kind of just sat back and remembered how much fun 2016 has been birding wise. Regardless of how the year ends, I had fun.
New birds this post: 0
Year List: 356
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