As of today, the first of March, 2009, I have been a denizen of the best city in the world for exactly one year.  Of course, this post was written in advance and I am actually celebrating my first anniversary of being a resident of The Big Apple from Honduras.  Though my body is in a rain forest my heart is beating to the rhythm of the F train.  Or some such claptrap…

Though I have lived almost my entire life in upstate New York (with the exception of a couple of years of school in Pennsylvania) I have managed to adapt from the slower pace and open space of upstate and am quite content bullying my way down a crowded sidewalk or cramming into a stuffy subway car.  Of course living with Daisy and our cats again as one happy family helps a great deal (the therepuetic value of curling up on a couch with loved ones is as great in a city as it is in the country).

In addition to reuniting with my lady love the marvelous parks in my fair city make Gotham a birder’s dream.  Whether I am exploring da Bronx or Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan (even Staten Island) there are birds and nature in general to be observed.

While I was reminiscing about my year in New York City I realized that I have had some great birding experiences this past year (duh!).  So I figured I would share my five favorite birding adventures that took place in the five boroughs.  Here they are, in no particular order:

• Rescuing a Virginia Rail from a vacant lot in Manhattan (I feel bad I never updated everyone on this story.  The rail recovered and was eventually released in Jamaica Bay).
• My Big Day in Queens this past May that netted me my life Kentucky Warbler and 120 species total.
• Seeing two lifer shorebirds that would be more at home in Siberia at Jamaica Bay on the same day.
• Dipping on two target birds on a long expedition along the coast of Staten Island (but getting them nearly a year later).
• The simple pleasure of watching and photographing a fledgling House Sparrow getting fed.

Of course, there are many more memories but I didn’t want to overload everyone with a ton of links to posts you’ve probably read already…you have read 10,000 Birds regularly, haven’t you?  I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I have…and I hope the years to come are as rewarding as this one has been!