I am relatively new to Indiana. I moved to Bloomington in south-central Indiana in July 2003 from the Chicago area. One of the exciting things about moving to a new state is being able to start a new state list.
I had lived in Illinois for 12 years, and was able to build up a state list of 298. New state birds were getting harder and harder to find. However, when I moved to Indiana, I had a clean slate to start with. (I had traveled to Indiana several years ago to see the extremely rare Common Crane, but I never tried to start a list for the state then).
From July 2003 to the end of the year, I was able to add 170 species to my new state list, for a total of 171 (including the Common Crane). So far, I'm off to a decent start for the year, having added 12 new birds to my Indiana list, including a couple of rarities: Slaty-backed Gull and Green-tailed Towhee. However, even the common birds can be exciting when they're seen for the first time in a new state.
This year I'm going to concentrate on building up my Indiana list. My goal is to reach at least 250 species. I will chase rarities in neighboring states, though, and I may travel to southern Illinois to try to reach 300 for that state.
Posted by Birdingdave at March 12, 2004 02:12 PMHaving never made it further than Iceland (I live in Northern Ireland) your lists are fascinating. Some of the birds are familiar, and some are not, but with very interesting names.
Posted by: Dawn at March 13, 2004 08:33 PM