Well… its been a long time since I have written anything here. I had my absolute best year in 2020, but became disillusioned with a few things and actually quit birding since that time. I would occasionally look out for birds on my trips around the state, but no serious birding for me at all. I even sold my Zeiss spotting scope, and my beloved Zeiss Victory SF bins, which I could kick myself about. But with the opening of 2024, I’m back to birding, and I don’t really care about max numbers of species seen or any competitive stuff, I just want to see the birds.

I recently got a new pair of bins, the Zeiss Conquest 10×42’s, and also a new birding camera, back with the ole reliable Nikon Coolpix 950; it’s really a beast in the field and I’ve taken so many great images with it, like the lemon below:

So, now I’m kind of back with a vengeance, and looking forward to mid-May, when all of the beauties return to our landscape to show off their colors. I’ve already scheduled an overnight to Grayling, Michigan to observe the rare Kirtland’s Warbler in its breeding habitat. Hoping that maybe I might get lucky and catch a Cerulean as well… who knows?

I’ve already begun birding at all of my old haunts, notably Portage Lakes, Summit Lake, and Fairport Harbor thus far. I’ve seen tons of Coots everywhere, and Red-breasted Mergansers appeared in notable numbers in mid-January, but have seemed to disappear. I’m not seeing anywhere near the numbers of ducks as in past years, and have yet to even see a Bufflehead, though yesterday I did catch Canvasback and Redhead individuals.

So, here we go again… lets see if we can have some fun and see lots of birds this year. I feel that everything is coming earlier than usual, and that ranges may be changing, as there had been a fair number of rares seen over the past couple of months… the Ancient Murrelet in NE Ohio-Lake Erie, and there’s still a Red-flanked Bluetail being observed in New Jersey!

Please feel free to say ‘hi’ and I’m always looking to bird with others, if you live in NE Ohio. Also please note: this website is “KeriBirder.life,” not to be confused with KeriBirder.com.