Hello! Each January, many birders in Ohio participate in the "January 100" challenge: the goal is to observe 100 species before the end of January. It's a fun way to get a jump on your year list, and it adds a little extra incentive to go birding despite the Ohio winter weather. Last year, a few of us took on a similar challenge: *The goal of the "July 120" is to observe at least 120 species in Ohio during July.* It was pretty darn fun! Why? July is an EXCELLENT month for finding uncommon local breeders, early migrants (many shorebirds, for example, are already heading south from their high arctic breeding grounds) and rarities who find their way to Ohio after dispersing from breeding grounds. July is also where we a big dropoff in eBird reporting, which means birders are probably out birding a lot less (which probably means some great birds are being overlooked because nobody is out to find them!) And let's face it, it is pretty darn hot and buggy in July, so a little extra push out the door can really help! ;-) eBird users: Feel free to "double dip" on birding challenges this month, and do some birding with your favorite birding buddies! The "July eBirder of the Month Challenge" details can be found at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/zeiss201507/ Good birding, Paul Hurtado Reno, NV (formerly Columbus, OH) PS: eBird users, you can't find this link via the eBird website, but you CAN view your state total for the current month by clicking here: http://ebird.org/ebird/MyEBird?cmd=lifeList&listType=US-OH&listCategory=allStates&time=month PPS: You can see how you did last July (2014) with this link: http://ebird.org/ebird/MyEBird?cmd=list&rtype=subnational1&r=US-OH&time=month&year=2014&sortKey=obs_dt&o=asc ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]