So, its not not a Big Year, but also…

Well, here we are—26 days into 2025.
This year got off to a rocky start for birding. At the end of 2024, the grand plan was to head out at midnight and kick off 2025 with some nocturnal species. Tossing sleep, my hatred of the cold, and all caution to the wind, we plotted and planned.

Turns out, the only thing being tossed was my sister… straight into the hospital. Without her, it was hard to muster the same energy to throw sleep and cold-weather aversion to the wind. I failed. It’s on me. I lost 10 whole days of birding this year because, as it turns out, I am human—and weak.

After her recovery from minor surgery (thankfully!), we finally got started on January 11th. I mean, 1/1/2025 and 1/11/2025 are practically the same, right?

Wrong.
There was about a 20-degree difference. Our first birding day of the year clocked in at a frosty 13 degrees before windchill. We weren’t out at the ideal time of day, we were wildly unprepared for the wind, but—wow—we were as joyful as could be. Finally, we were starting our year list.

This is the first full calendar year of birding for us. We started back in May 2024, and by year-end, my sister and I had each racked up around 150 species. (And let me emphasize: this is not a competition. But… if it were, I might have been ahead by a duck or two.)

For 2025, we’ve set a modest goal: 300 species. Not a “big year” by birding standards, but definitely a big year for us. On our first outing, we netted nine species! That’s 3% of the goal down in one go. It also marked a new chapter for me: embracing the birding wonderland that’s just a five-minute walk from my front door.

I’m lucky to live near a park along Lake Michigan that happens to be a birding hotspot. And yet, there I was—weak, living mere minutes from a spectacular birding site, staring at it from the warm comfort of my home. Believe me, I’ve beaten myself up about this. What is wrong with me? (Spoiler: nothing, it’s called being human.)

Anyway, scattered throughout this post are my favorite photos of the day.

A quick note about the photography:
I’m a professional photographer, but I’m new to bird photography—and let me tell you, it’s one of the most difficult types of photography I’ve ever attempted. Each blog post, I’ll leave you with a tip, trick, or discovery from the trip.

Trip #1 Tip: Just get out there.
Yes, it might be the wrong time of day, freezing cold, or a solo trip, and that’s okay. No birding goal is going to be reached from the comfort of my warm, cozy home.

Oh and hey how about the heartbreaking picture of the day? Here you go!