The New Year has arrived and my big year travel adventure is now officially underway. I live outside of Chapel Hill, NC on a large tract of land (230 acres) that is mostly wooded, but also has at the center a dairy farm where they make artisanal cheeses from jersey cows. There are pastures, 3 streams and a pond. Since we began living here in 2000 over 100 different bird species have been recorded here on the property.
To kick off my big year, I birded our land this morning with 2 friends, my sister and my wife. The weather was overcast and chilly (40's). The bird count ended up at 32 seen and 1 more heard. It was a pretty good morning but we did not see 5-10 winter regulars. The highlight and a good omen for the year was a female purple finch which is a life bird for the "house/property list".
The rest of today will be spent watching some college football, drinking port and eating blue cheese--all New Year's day traditions for me. I leave early tomorrow morning to fly down to south Texas for some early year birding. If I am fortunate, a first ever bare-throated tiger-heron which showed up from Mexico about a week ago will still be at Bentsen State Park situated on the Rio Grande. Stay tuned!
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