Greetings to all!

It's that time of year again. Time to start
the new year with a new year list and what better way then trying your
hand at 100 species for the month of January.

Last year was a great one and I had my best year yet with 106, but I was amazed by the number of people who found 100 or more species and shocked by the number of folks who went over 120!  Numbers in 2009 ranged from 101 to 124 and Ryan Steiner's record of 138 species still stands, so we've all got a good number to shoot for! I'll always remember how a good friend
once said how a little friendly competition during the cold, dark
months of winter helps to keep us all energized and in-touch with our
friends...passing along lots of helpful information. This is also a great
way to scour the country-side in search of rarities and unusual winter
records which adds great info for publications like the Ohio Cardinal,
the Bobolink. the Cleveland Bird Calendar and others. And...think of all of the breeding bird information
 that might be obtained discovering nesting raptors and such.

As
for me...this is about year 12 or 13 participating in this bit of
organized insanity...I believe...and I'll be
heading out with three of my good friends for four, straight days of hard-core birding in the morning, all over the
state, before heading back to classes, PhD research, RA duties and the start of winter quarter
at OU.

So...for
whatever reason you may try your hand at 100 Ohio birds, in the month
of January, just remember to be safe and have a great deal of fun in
the process. Good luck to any first-timers and to all of you who have
tried before...I know that you can do much better this year! :)

I'll
keep everyone posted if we find anything good and try to keep
information on unusual rarities going as best as I can. Keep an eye on
the list-serve for sightings and don't forget to check your local
hotlines!

Have a safe and happy new year of birding, everyone!

Good birding,

Jason

Jason S. Larson

Graduate Student

Ohio University

Department of Environmental and Plant Biology

315 Porter Hall

Athens, Oh  45701

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740-593-1126







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