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 [log in to unmask] 740-593-1126 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]