Year-in-Review Meme: 2006

I picked up this meme from *statgirl*, who got it from Abbey, who got it from luckybuzz, who got it from Dr. Brazen Hussy, who got it from Faux Real (the apparent originator).

The rules are simple: go to your monthly archives and post the first sentence of the first post of each month of the preceding calendar year.

January: Although never as popular as dogs, birds of various kinds have resided at the White House off and on since the very beginning, though they seem to have fallen out of favor with recent administrations. (more)

February: This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but counting albatross nests (511,612 in all) on tropical Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge seems to me like a heavenly way to spend a winter vacation. (more)

March: I discovered this book in a local used-bookstore. (more)

April: Birders are robbed out of an early-morning hour to spend along with the birds without interference from other people (anglers, boaters, hikers, joggers, etc.) and traffic noise. (more)

May: Authors of bird guides and other texts have long struggled in trying to describe the songs and calls of birds in human terms. (more)

June: I believe that I initially became aware of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s interest in birds through this 1998 story from BirdChat, which describes a brief birding foray by Jimmy and wife Rosalynn in Harare, Zimbabwe, to track down an African Hoopoe. (more)

July: Zipping down Interstate 70 in western Washington County, Maryland, last weekend at 70 mph, I spotted and easily identified a Green Heron as it flew across the highway in front of my car and landed in a tree in the right-of-way. (more)

August: A fascinating story about the Wild Turkeys that have taken to attacking cyclists in downtown Pittsburgh. (more)

September: I have posts featured on two blog carnivals this week. (more)

October: The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), an ultra-conservative right-wing think thank, is about the last place I would expect to find an article on birding. (more)

November: Dorothy Borders of the Backyard Birder blog recently posted an entry entitled “Checking out the competition,” wherein she reviews some of her favorite blogs about birds and birding. (more)

December: Elk were once native to West Virginia but disappeared soon after the arrival of European settlers. (more)

In skimming through this 12-sentence snapshot of Birds Etcetera 2006, one word comes to mind: eclectic.