Welcome! (Not to be confused with any of my previous posts entitled "Welcome!", despite obvious similarities)

Hello, there.
    
     As one might guess, this blog is dedicated to the subject of birding (for those of you not yet familiar with the lingo, "birdwatching"). I recommend that you start your whirlwind tour by reading Evolution of a Birding Evangelist and Be Patient... Or Not. These posts should give you a decent introduction to this blog and birding in general. Of course, you're not restricted to reading just those. You should really read all of the posts. Here's a briefing on what you might expect to see in the future as far as posts:

     Reviews: I'll be writing posts discussing local birding spots in terms of what an inexperienced birder might see there, and take into account issues such as accessibility and ease of viewing. These posts will be a bit more detailed than the info on the Local Birding Sites page.
     Birding Stories: It's kind of like fisherman telling each other about the one that got away, except it's usually more exciting when the bird is actually found. Check back after winter break for tales of coastal birds taking advantage of the surf in sunny southern California.
     Tips & Advice: What's a good birding blog without teaching people about birding? These will (should) be the main focus of the blog, with everything from where to go to how to identify birds to setting up feeders in your backyard.
     What Is It?: Everyone loves to be hypercompetitive. That's why there's "What Is It?". In these posts, I show you a photo (or two, or three) and you get to try to identify the bird shown. The full rules will be reposted in the next "What Is It?". You might notice as well that there is a leaderboard for those who obsessively identify the most, which I will reset to 0 for everyone once I put out the next "What Is It?". Until then, the Nonfiction Writing students who tried it last year can bask in their glory as birders-in-training.

     Also be sure to read previous posts and check out the Recent Sightings, Local Birding Sites, Birdlists, and Photos pages, accessible through the navigation bar below the big blue rectangle with the title of the website.

     If you have questions about birding or birds in general, either email me or post them as comments. I'll be answering your queries on my secondary blog, Flyway Truck Stop Q&A.

Happy birding!