We see more birds in 2015, so on to 2016

After some 33 years in Kansas City, I’ve adopted a simple approach to dealing with life at the northern reaches of the border between Missouri and Kansas:

I’m always glad to see the snow.
And equally happy to watch it go.

I’m interpreting this as Lucy’s “I’m upset because the sidewalks are icy” look. But I’ll consider other opinions.

We haven’t had all that much of the white stuff this season, but what we have had – maybe two inches around New Year’s Day – stayed too long, thanks to an Alberta Clipper that dropped temperatures into the single digits.  This situation upset our dog Lucy, who is used to a 45-minute walk each morning without the hazards of ice on the sidewalk. At least, I think it upset her. It’s kind of hard to tell.

Anyway, we ended our second attempt at a Big Year in 2015 with 202 species. That’s 23 better than 2014. And yes, we’re going to try again this year. However, I’m not going to call it a Big Year. That seems somewhat overblown, not to mention redundant. It’s a little ridiculous to call every year a Big Year – kind of cheapens the whole concept.

As of today, January 12, we’ve built a list of 30 species. At this rate, we should end the year with 780.

Ha, ha.

It’s always so exhilarating in the beginning. Every day brings several new birds, mostly seen hanging around the feeders – Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, American Goldfinches, House Sparrows, House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Mourning Doves and on and on. We’ve even had a Northern Mockingbird at the heated birdbath.

Then it starts to slow down and slow down some more. Brother Phil’s backyard additions – a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, for instance – stop coming. Brother Terry in Colorado helps with western birds like a Common Raven, but the drought ensues. Finally, we actually have to leave the house to see something new. So we begin to venture forth into the cold, hard winter.

Surf Scoters have been reported on the lake at Shawnee Mission Park on the Kansas side of the state line. Maybe we can catch them before they leave. And maybe we won’t have to get out of the car to see them.