So It Begins As I write this before settling in for the night on New Year’s Eve, I am confronted by the exciting reality that the trip I have spent the last year and a half looking forward to is finally here. Tomorrow morning when I wake before dawn and head
Return To Form July would prove to be a unique month, only bringing in four year birds: all four were Lifers, all four were shorebirds, and two were exceptionally rare birds. The first actually came in late June, though some documentation has it having arrived in Michigan in May
Recovery While June would prove to be a month of recovery, I wouldn’t have guessed as much on June 1st when a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was found at Gallup Park in Washtenaw county. I made the drive for the bird, which was not a Lifer but did bring me to 304 for
Right Out The Gate If April was the month when my Big Year truly became ‘big’, then May was the month where it became silly. Make no mistake, through April I was having an incredible year. I ended April at 235 species for the year, though that 235 was largely a
The Question Reflecting on my 2022 Big Year, it really wasn’t until April that the year became big. Of course, as with the first three months, I still adamantly maintained that I wasn’t doing a big year, but by this point I definitely had myself set on the goal of breaking
Hello Everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. As this post comes out on Christmas Day I will likely be spending time with my Grandma at her house in Saginaw, and she will undoubtedly be asking me a million questions about my plans for next year, worried beyond measure. To be
A Slow Start As with January and February, March began with some local birding at Orion Oaks County Park, Kensington Metropark, and a few other local spots. March 7th saw a short trip into St. Clair county and I spent a good deal of time birding around Lapeer county, but overall
What is “People, Places Birds”? Beginning January 1st, 2025 I am going to be embarking on, well, a bit of an insane endeavor; put simply a year-long, cross-country birding road trip. The purpose of this trip though isn’t just to go birding and it’s not a “Big Year”, but rather an
With my crazy January behind me, instead of doing the rational thing and easing off the travel and getting back to “staying local” as I had originally planned, I decided to run it back and challenge myself to see 100 species every month for the entire year – and as February progressed I started setting my sights even higher.
I entered 2022 with absolutely zero intent of doing a Michigan Big Year, but in hindsight began sliding down the slippery slope pretty much from the jump. Despite my Big Year really not getting going for another several months, the in January the framework was built and the foundation laid.
First and foremost - thank you to anyone who chooses to support me in this insane adventure of mine. When I initially had this idea and began planning I didn't even consider the possibility that others would want to support me, but I am extremely grateful to those who have reached out to do so. For those who are interested in supporting me, I have set up a Patreon, which can be accessed by clicking the logo to the left (or you can send me a message via the contact page). Again, thank you for your incredibly generous support!
All Patrons will receive my "Daily Notes" 12-36 hours after the end of each day, and Patrons subscribed to the "Sponsor" tier will receive monthly postcards, mailed out between the 25th and end of each month.
For anyone who wishes to support me without using Patreon, clicking the "$" Icon will link you to my Venmo as well. There is also an option on Patreon to purchase my Daily Notes Collection for a one-time $10 payment without becoming a paid member, which will give you access to the Daily Notes without having to subscribe to a monthly subscription. For those who it requests the last four of my number for, it's 1403.
Following recent suggestions I went ahead and created a GoFundMe in order to help ensure I can keep this adventure going and afford the costs of gas, vehicle maintenance, and food (including, with enough support, some more diversity in my diet). The GoFundMe can be accessed by clicking the image link with the coin going into the donation box. (If anyone knows how to add a custom icon on Elemetor to make the Venmo and GoFundMe Links their respective logos, I'd love to hear how to do it!)
Thank you again to those of you who have supported me so far, it's tremendously generous and greatly appreciated.
Follow me on my journey to see 100 species in every Lower-48 State during 2025, experience some of the incredible places and events in American birding, and meet and bird with as many local birders as possible along the way.
Posts will be made every Wednesday (I will try to have them out by 5pm, but situationally they might be a bit later) and will cover the previous Monday through Sunday. Additional posts will be made periodically with no set schedule.
