Happy New Year from Seabrook Island Birders!
Many birders play a New Year’s game called “Bird of the Year.” The first bird you see on January 1st becomes your theme bird for that year—one to bless your perspective, your imagination, your spirit. So look out your window and maybe that first bird will give you a clue to your year.
Several blogs provided insights to what the first bird seen may mean.
Chickadees: promise a year marked with civility and good cheer. Another author said it signified a year of friendliness.
Photo: Bob Hider
Blue Jays: promise a year marked with intelligence and good humor.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Great Horned Owl: a year of steadfastness and singleness of purpose.
Photo: Glen Cox
American Goldfinch: a year marked with either vegetarian dining or one in which you change your plumage a bit more than normal. Goldfinches are one of the only vegan species in the avian world, and they undergo a complete molt twice rather than the typical single time each year.
Photo: Dean Morr
House Finches: are originally from the Southwest and Mexico, but those released on Long Island back in the 40s have spread throughout the East, many living as far north as Duluth and beyond. So seeing them first may predict that this year, someone is going to pluck you out of your normal environment but you’ll thrive anyway.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Crow: a year marked by intelligence and clear communication.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Cooper’s Hawk: the year will be filled with ruthlessness and focus. Another author said you will be clear-eyed and have good foresight this year.
Photo: Marie Wardell
Downy Woodpecker: a year of cleverly adapting to more powerful neighbors and co-workers. This is based on the fact that downies often follow Pileated Woodpeckers to peck into the deep holes Pileateds dig. That gives the little guys access to bugs way too deep in the heartwood for them to reach on their own.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Wild Turkey: may foretell a need for wariness this year, but also indicates that you’ll have the skills and strength to defend yourself.
Photo: Ed Konrad
Northern Cardinal: foretells a year filled with song and grace or, for baseball fans, a year when the St. Louis team will do really well, like it or not.
Photo: Dean Morr
Bald Eagle: you may develop an unexpected interest in fish, or fall in love with a Pisces. Whether or not either of those things happen, you’ll certainly have a year marked with strength, tenacity, and resourcefulness.
Photo: Jackie Brooks
American Robin: a year filled with interesting travel that will prove enjoyable even though you won’t have an itinerary. Part of the time, expect to feel convivial and sociable, but part of the time you’re going to feel very prickly about others invading your personal space.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Turkey Vulture: the author predicted a year of soaring to great heights. You might occasionally find yourself dining on items that other people don’t have a taste for, but you’d seldom dine alone. It may also indicate a year of sleeping late every day. When skies are clear, Turkey Vultures often sit on rooftops or bare branches with their wings held out, soaking in a few rays to drive off parasites and dry their feathers, so the author predicted that this year you could enjoy relaxing in the sunshine whenever you feel like it.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Tufted Titmouse: expect that this year when you see something that arouses your curiosity, you’ll not be able to stop yourself from fully investigating. You may spend more time with close family members than with others this year. But unlike some relatives, when you’re headed somewhere, you go straight there, no undulating about it.
Photo: Dean Morr
Double-crested Cormorant: a year in which you’ll explore your world more deeply than usual. Some people may not recognize your true character and attractiveness, but those who know you best all see how wonderful you really are. You’ll have a good year working with your team.
Photo: Charlie Moore
Mourning Dove: A year of Abundance.
Photo: Valerie Doane
Gull: Remember to be generous with others.
Photo: Gina Sanders
Pigeons: signify a year centered on home and hearth. You are far more intelligent and interesting than most people suspect, but you don’t care in the least that you are underestimated. You thrive no matter what.
Hummingbird: you’re going to zero in on the competition this year and not give an inch. Your year will be marked with feistiness and high energy levels, and also with beauty. Your year may be exceptionally sweet, but more with regard to your diet and surroundings than your character.
Photo: Dean Morr
Sparrow: Your year will be filled with harmony.
European Starling: You will thrive in a new environment.
The first bird of the year may or may not be an auspicious event in the classic tradition, but if we pay attention to the birds around us, we’re guaranteed a year of visual and auditory delights. And that’s a good thing no matter what species is our first.
Sources:
Kelly Leah Redding: My New Year’s Bird
Laura Erikson’s: First Bird of the year – What does it mean?
Elizabeth Pagel-Hagan: What Your First Bird of the Year means
Bird of the Year from Lyanda Haupt