Hit exactly 47 unique bird species in my backyard this spring

I started keeping a little notebook back in March, just listing every bird I saw from my porch in Portland. No app, no algorithm, just me and a pair of binoculars. Yesterday I counted up my list and it was 47 species exactly. That number surprised me because I only expected maybe 30. I got a Cooper's hawk around week two and a Western tanager last Tuesday that really pushed things up. It matters because I found every single one on my own, no eBird alerts or Facebook groups telling me what to look for. Has anyone else just sat outside and tracked something random like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_knight1mo ago

Honestly, 47 is a solid number but are we really calling this some kind of achievement? You sat in a chair and looked up. Like, birds exist, man.

parkerrodriguez1mo ago

@angela_knight people count steps on a phone all day so looking up 47 times is fair game.