Who's In?

If birding is a sport, I'm not very good at it, hampered as I am by imperfect vision, impatience, and the presence of two raucous dogs whenever I'm outside. But I believe there is some competitiveness among serious birders, and one could train to be better at it, surely. I tend to see the same dozen or so birds (I mean species, not individuals) over and over again. This must be comparable to the person whose workout consists of the same two-mile jog over and over again. Pleasant and familiar, but ... isn't there more? Got a hint of it yesterday, when I saw an indigo bunting for the first time ever. And this was on my usual dogwalking rounds, nowhere new and exotic. A lesson to keep one's eyes open!

Here's a picture, not taken by me (but by jec6). It's from a fun birding site called Birdpost. You can keep your "life list" online there, and also map where you spotted particular birds. That seems like it could have some interesting applications for those who study bird populations. Perhaps not academically rigorous, but a massive amateur data gathering, kind of like SETI but a bit more down to earth.

Happy birding, all.