Crushed It

And just like that, we’ve surpassed our goal of 100 unique bird species in 2025, in fact, I am sitting at 103! I am shocked at quickly I was able to surpass my goal of 100 birds. You may be wondering what #100 was, I’ll be sure to share that the end of the post.

Brown Thrash | Fujifilm X-H2S | 750mm | f/5.6 | ISO 1250

Some of my new lifers for 2025 include..

• Little Blue Heron

• Bonaparte’s Gul

• White Wagtail

• Snowy Owl

• Eastern Meadowlark

• American Bittern

• Horned Grebe

As you know, I am pretty new to birding but very also pretty lucky that I have been able to get on a large variety of birds so quickly. I feel that this year has unlocked passion I hadn’t known I had.

Sir Shoveler | Fujifilm X-S20 | 750mm | f/5.6 | ISO 400

As I have mentioned before, when I get into a new ‘thing’, I go 110%. Wildlife Photography, with a focus on birding, is hitting different. It’s forcing me to look at my yard differently, where I am now focused on bringing in native plants that support the local wildlife (birds and mammals). I am paying far, far more attention to the world around me and for me, that is saying a lot. You see, I am a pretty detailed person, I pay attention to my surroundings constantly - I suppose the one piece that was missing was the birds.

I have a lot of plans ahead of me and I am looking forward to sharing them with you. As I eluded to, my yard is going through a transformation and I am planning on sharing this journey with you. Additionally, I am seeking to get in front of more mammals. We have a Yellowstone trip coming up, Badlands too. On top of that, I can get in front of wolves, deer, smaller mammals pretty easily.

I am excited to share these experiences with you - we’re just getting started.

Now that 100 birds has been met, my stretch goal for 2025 is now 150 species. I think this is going to be very challenging, but we’ll see where the remainder of the year goes. As promised, #100, one of my favorite back-yard birds, whom I am excited to welcome back this year the lovely singer and quite common, Northern House Wren.

Thanks for reading, until next time…

-Nathan