Some of you may have seen my grand plans for 2024 over on the Instagram. I will be turning 50 in March (what on earth??!!??) and have decided to focus this year on my love for birds and birdwatching and cross stitching All. The. Birds.
Hopefully 50! You can follow along on my quest to cross stitch 50 birds for 2024 on Instagram. I'd love for you to join in too with #AnnLovesBirds50
And fyi, I am NOT stitching 50 different patterns, only 4 or 5 with a total of 50 birds on them!
I am also planning on tracking the birds I see around my town
and hopefully reach 50 as well.
I would LOVE it if you would join me in this adventure.
If so, I have created a free journal page for you to use.
Normally I just scribble down my sightings in a notebook, like so...
Wow, that page is from nearly 20 years ago! Yikes, I'm old!
Then I would try to remember to enter them into the eBird app. The app is great because it tracks how many different species you see each month and year. And it helps Cornell University track migrating birds. Win win.
Hmmm... looks like I'm missing a few hundred checklists.
If you click on "Explore," you can even search other people's checklists for a bird you are trying to find.
So here are the journal pages...
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I designed these to be 2-up (2 on a page in landscape mode) on a regular sized letter page. If you print it on both sides of the paper, then cut in half, they will fit in these mini binders (click for amazon affiliate link)! I have my weekly calendar and blank paper in here as well to keep me focused and organized in 2024! I also use these durable dividers to keep my planner organized. I've had them since 2014!
And if you are new to birding, here are some of my favorite books that helped me learn to ID birds in my area.
The Stan Tekiela books are so great because the birds are sorted by color then size so if you spot something and are like "what is that tiny yellow bird?" you can quickly flip to the yellow section and start with the smaller ones in front.
Which ones do you want me to add to the list?? He also has some great field guides to wildflowers and wildlife!
"Merlin" is also a great app to have. It can detect bird calls/songs in your area and ID them for you.
Looking through my journals was really special. I forgot I did a "big year" in 2013. My goal was 100 species and I got to 87 all from the Toledo, Ohio, area! Oh the stories I have to tell about chasing birds during that time!!!
Thank you for reading and following along. I hope to see you out birding! Let me know if you are joining in!
Be full of peace and joy in 2024,
:) Ann
"Consider the birds of the air,
how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of much greater value than they are?"
Matthew 6:26
