A new month brings a fresh start for those who decided to join in on the Bird-a-Day Challenge. The official challenge, taking place on birdaday.net began on New Year's Day. Since then I have been trying to play along, just for fun, counting how many days in a row I can find a “new” bird. (New = recorded for the first time in this game.) So far, I’ve lasted five weeks. Making it this far has already been tough, and it’s only going to get harder.

Plenty of people are playing along, some from as far away as the UK. And a number of new people recently started counting from Feb 1.

Tom Munson, Idaho Fish and Game
They never said it would be easy, counting the days by birds. With four weeks in on the Bird-A-Day Challenge, I’m already feeling the pressure to hang on for at least one more day, another week, possibly another month.

If you haven’t heard of it before, the Bird-A-Day Challenge is a game played every year by birders from around the country. The objective: Count how many days in a row you can find a “new” bird. (New = recorded for the first time in this game.)

“That was the thing about Levantin: He loved the birds, but he really loved the places they brought him. When you spend your career in the confines of a gray suit, the pipits at dawn above timberline are even more wondrous,” wrote Mark Obmascik, author of The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession.

I am not obsessed—not even a little. But I get what Obmascik was saying. For some birders those little feathered creatures fluttering in the bushes are a tick in their notebooks. For others, they are a reason to take in the spectacles that most of us miss.

Razorbill, by John James Audubon

Birds must hibernate, said the naturalist and ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle when he observed masses of birds disappearing each winter. Centuries later we have advanced enough to know that birds do not overwinter beneath swamps and earthen valleys, waiting for the spring thaw. They migrate, of course.

Still, sometimes it can seem as if all the birds must be tucked away in a warm winter hideout, far from view. That has been the case lately. Spare movement among the trees in nearby woodlands and sparse scatterings of ducks on local ponds, lakes, and rivers are making me wonder how on earth I could have lasted 80 days in last year’s Bird-A-Day Challenge.  

Despite my tradition of renouncing New Year’s resolutions, I’ve made several this year. Yes, the normal lose five pounds, get organized, consume less caffeine, exercise more often… but also to beat last year's record: 80 days. That’s how long I lasted in 2011’s Bird-A-Day challenge, a contest to see a new bird species for every day of the year.

The Bird-A-Day Challenge is off to a strong start. A New Year's Day trip to the coast yielded one of the birds best known for its haunting calls. Day two produced a bird nicknamed the bluebill. Can you id these birds?

Whether you fancy yourself a serious “lister,” a novice birder, an outdoor enthusiast, or a hard-core competitor, you may be interested in a challenge that is about to begin when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.

It’s called “Bird-A-Day.” The objective: Count how many days in a row you can find a “new” bird. (New = recorded for the first time in this game.) The rule: You must never repeat a species, nor go a day without seeing a new one. If you do, you are out of the challenge.

Donna Trussel

The chilly winds of winter are settling in and many birds are searching for feeders that will provide them sustenance to survive the cold months ahead. Audubon biologist Steve Kress offers 11 of his top tips for attracting birds to your backyard. 

Twice crowned “The Sexiest Man Alive” by People, actor Brad Pitt is famous, in part, for his divorce from Jennifer Anniston and his thus far six-year relationship with Angelina Jolie. But he is increasingly in the news for another love: living an environmental lifestyle and helping others do it too.

Illustration by James Joyce

Enticed by state and federal energy incentives, a utility rebate program, and falling prices for solar panels, a Colorado couple hooks their home up to the sun. Author Susan J. Tweit shares her story.