Happy New Birding Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope 2015 is a great birding year. I’m feeling ambitious and excited to give it my best.

I went hiking at Cape Horn in Washington with some friends on the first day of the year, but it was so cold (at or below freezing – especially with the wind chill) and late in the afternoon, so we only saw a few species. The interesting thing about this hike is that it is closed for a portion of the year (Feb 1st-Jul 15th) for Perigrine Falcon nesting. We were hopeful we might spot one.

Alas, there were a couple of larger birds that flew overhead, one with a white tail (eagle?) another a possible osprey (?), but the only confident sightings were of a Northern Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, a Black-capped Chickadee, American Crow, and a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos. There were some sparrows (song?) along the road we followed back to the car, but I wasn’t confident of the species.

Even though it wasn’t the best birding conditions, it was good practice and a reminder I have a lot to learn.