If quality of blog output is any indicator, Minnesota stands out as one of the epicenters of American birding brilliance. The quality and quantity of outstanding nature blogs out of the North Star State never fail to impress. Case in point is Kirk Mona’s Twin Cities Naturalist blog, a consistently creative and enjoyable read. Of course, a birding blog is often at its best when home to the newest edition of I and the Bird; if you’ve never visited Kirk’s site before, his autumn-inspired edition of I and the Bird #111 offers the perfect introduction!

Will I and the Bird be relegated to the dustbin of blog carnival history?  The online birding community may boast the longest running natural history carnival going but we cannot go on without hosts. Our next host will be Thomas of Walk the Wilderness, but after him, we’ve got nada, nothing, a veritable tabula rasa as far as future hosts are concerned. So raise your hand and pick a date to host IATB anytime in 2009 or early 2010. Let’s lock in a calendar of curators to carry us into the new year and beyond. While you’re thinking about your next hosting gig, send your link and summary for the IATB #112 to me or Thomas (suresh_anand AT hotmail DOT com) by 10/27 for the 10/29 edition.

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.