Sign up or My 200 Bird Year 2021
It’s fun and flexible and you can set your own rules, so why not sign up to our 2021 birding challenge? We’ll give you all the help you need!
It’s fair to say that, this time last year, not one of us would have predicted just what an extraordinary 12 months was ahead, and it would be a brave person who stuck their neck out now and said they know what to expect in 2021.
But we do know that birdwatching has played a big part in getting many of us through the difficult times, providing a focus for vital exercise, a connection with nature, with all the rewards and consolations that brings, and a sense of achievement at a time of almost overwhelming circumstances.
We hope our #My200BirdYear challenge has played its part. Many of you reached the 200 species mark despite the restrictions placed on travel, to which there is only one possible reaction – BRAVO!
That’s even more of an achievement than usual, because recording 200 species is never easy.
But others tweaked the parameters of the challenge a little to keep things interesting, and that’s the beauty of #My200BirdYear.
Because it’s really very simple – we challenge you to see 200 species of bird in 2021. The rest is entirely up to you. Good luck and enjoy it!
● You can set whatever geographical restrictions you like – on your local patch, in your county or bird club area, or across the whole UK, and beyond.
● You can decide what’s tickable and what isn’t.
● You can include ‘heard’ birds, or just those you’ve seen.
● You could even, as one reader suggested, count subspecies, which would certainly be a great way of sharpening up your ID skills.
Whichever rules you choose, we can guarantee a few things. We’ll be with you all the way, providing expert advice and tips in the magazine, on our website at birdwatching.co.uk and at our dedicated Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/My200BirdYear
You’ll finish the year with a better knowledge of birds than you started with, no matter how many you ultimately see. You might also find that you shed a few pounds, and get fitter, too!