New Year, New Hopes

Good evening,

It is a tad late to jot down a blog post today. Currently, I am in my office. I finished new consults that came in late. Notes are done, and recommendations for the inpatient teams have been given. Now, I’m preparing to go home.

Today, I didn’t see a single bird. Other birders on the Discord server have been sharing their first-of-the-year (FOY) birds. We attach meaning to the first bird we see on New Year’s or at least the first day of the year that we’re actively birding. The worst scenario would be to see an introduced European Starling, Rock Pigeon, or House Sparrow before other native birds. (Technically, House Finches would be considered introduced in this part of the country.)

My hopes remain high for seeing a wonderful bird to set the tone for this new year.

In contrast to FOY birds, I don’t see as much excitement about last-of-the-year (LOY) birds. My LOY bird yesterday, 12/31/2025, was a Peregrine Falcon.

The falcon is quite fitting as a mascot for 2025, given all the craziness in the world over the past 12 months. Hopefully, his or her fierceness will bring me luck in facing each new day.

In two weeks, I will be heading to Hawaii and American Samoa for birding and hiking. I’m excited!

But first, I need to get through another week of work, and to see my first bird.