2013 Bird of the Year

OK, not the ABA Bird of the Year, but my personal first bird of the year was...

Tufted Titmouse.  I had tried for owls at midnight, but the wind or who knows what else conspired against me.  I was up until late and didn't get an early start.  While making breakfast for the kids, we watched the feeder together and my personal first was a Tufted Titmouse right after my son got Black-capped Chickadee for his first.  While we were watching, a Red-breasted Nuthatch--only the third one we've seen in the yard--came in to the suet feeder and my youngest daughter identified it right away.

So, one of the most common birds around here is my 2013 Bird of the Year.  Usually this probably isn't the most auspicious bird, but perhaps it foretells more time birding with my kids and focusing on the close and familiar, rather than the rare and exotic.