Before it gets too far into the new year, I want to take a look back at my birding highlights from 2023. It was a good year all around with birds small and large. Thanks to you all for being a part of another year of sharing birding adventures.

Here is my annual top 10 list of birding highlights from the past year.

10. The Christmas Bird Count never fails to be a highlight of the year. Whether the birds are plentiful or not, it’s always a good day spent in the field with friends. The weather was cold, gray and damp, and the birds were fairly scarce, but our spirits remained high.

9. Along the same lines, I contributed to eBird more in 2023 than in years past. Checklists from eBird are entered into a massive database that scientists use to track bird populations. Millions of lists are submitted, so my contributions are pretty insignificant, but it all adds up. Anything to help the future of birds. Anyone can participate, regardless of skill level. Sign up through the eBird app or website.

8. I watched a flock of mallards at a park in Baltimore while I was in the city visiting my son at school. It was early in the fall duck migration, but something told me to look carefully at the dozens or hundreds of mallards that dominated the pond. Sure enough, three or four ring-necked ducks swam and rested among the mallards. Not an earth-shattering sighting, but I love my ducks and always love seeing them.

7. One of my favorite birds (one of my many favorites, that is) is the American oystercatcher. The large shorebird with sturdy orange bill may be found along the coast of Long Island Sound. Imagine my surprise when I visited a conservation area in southern Connecticut and saw dozens of them gathered along the Sound. I had never seen more than three or four together at once prior to that experience.

6. Warblers are always a highlight of the year. I didn’t have a great warbler season, I must admit, but seeing even the few that I did is enough to make this list. Is it almost late April?

5. I saw a large bundle of sticks and leaves in the crevasse of a tree at work. I watched it for a few minutes thinking it might be a hawk or owl nest. Just as I was about to give up and pass it off as just another squirrel nest, two fluffy red-shouldered hawk “toddlers” poked their heads up. Not long after that, mother hawk landed on the nest with some treats for the youngsters.

4. Similar to the warblers, it’s always a good year when I see the vibrant colors of scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles. There were a few walks this year when I saw all four of them. I can’t wait to check in on that spot again this spring to try to repeat that feat. 

3. My son Andrew and I spent a few days in early May camping in southern Vermont. Loons and moose are always the main wildlife goals when we camp in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine. While the moose eluded us, as usual, a pair of loons did keep us company throughout our stay.

2. I saw more wild turkeys in 2023 than I can recall seeing in another other year. I saw dozens of flocks at various spots throughout the year, but my favorite flock is the one I see regularly at work. I take short walks throughout the day, and I can’t even count the numbaer of times I’ve seen these turkeys. It’s an uplifting sight in the middle of a workday. On a sad note, shortly after my Thanksgiving column came out, I learned of the passing of Ted Walski, a New Hampshire Fish and Game biologist who is largely responsible for the successful reintroduction of wild turkeys into the Granite State. Thanks for your dedication, Ted.

1. Similarly, it was a great year for bald eagles. I saw them in several different places, including some unusual spots like near parking lots. Just the other day, I saw a few soaring over an unfrozen pond in New England, so 2024 is off to a good start for eagles as well. It’s great to see the eagle conservation success story. I look forward to even more sightings in 2024.

Thanks again for your support of For the Birds. Feel free to send along a few of your birding or wildlife highlights from the past year.