Greetings all, Yesterday morning I walked my 6.25 mile Penacook bird survey for the last time in 2006, as good a way as any to end the year. It was especially fitting because I started 2006 in the exact same way. I'll spare everyone the details, but the Jan 1 survey turned up 29 species and 467 individuals, while yesterday the respective numbers were 26 and 336. For many species the numbers a year apart are remarkably similar (although I wouldn't posit this actually MEANS anything): Mourning Dove = 28 and 27 American Crow = 16 and 14 Tufted Titmouse = 14 and 11 Cedar Waxwing = 38 and 30 Northern Cardinal = 6 and 8 While in contrast some are very different: Mallard = 0 and 31 (the river hasn't frozen) Blue Jay = 53 and 12 Black-capped Chickadee = 136 and 34 Dark-eyed Junco = 19 and 74 Common Redpoll = 42 and 0 Including and in-between these two walks I calculate that I walked a minimum of 550 miles and biked a minimum of 150 miles, covering mostly Concord, but with regular incursions into Boscawen and single trips into Hopkinton and Canterbury. In the course of all those miles (and just by being in my yard!) I found 162 species, which might be my best human-powered year to date (and perhaps better than many car-powered NH year lists!). In contrast, I "only" found 145 species in 2005, but that was before the initiation of the "Great Penacook Walkabout." There were three somewhat embarrassing misses in 2006: Merlin, Wilson's Warbler, and snow Bunting, but such is the nature of birding. Perhaps I can reach 170 in 2007 - still largely restricted to the city of Concord. And on that note: Happy New Year Everyone, and Good Birding, Pam Hunt Penacook, NH **************************************************************** To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html ****************************************************************