I’m going to give the Bird-a-Day Challenge a go in 2026. I’ll try to find and list a new bird for each day of the year for as long as I can. I can’t reuse birds and I can’t go back and make changes. I previously did this in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
I haven’t been birding lately, so this is more to motivate myself to get back out there. I hope to make it to mid-February, when I’ll visit the Netherlands. I thought I’d have a good first few days with a Caribbean cruise to start the new year, but that lone Brown Booby on day 2 was hard to come by, and I didn’t manage to find anything out of the ordinary when we made a birding pit-stop at Gumbo Limbo in south Florida before heading home. Anyway. My all-time Bird-a-Day record is June 4th, which I reached in 2015 (at 154 days, beating my previous record by 10 days).
| 4/9/2026 | Snowy Egret | Gemini Springs |
| 4/8/2026 | Sandwich Tern | Clam Bayou Nature Preserve |
| 4/7/2026 | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Clam Bayou Nature Preserve |
| 4/6/2026 | Black Skimmer | Fort de Soto |
| 4/5/2026 | Loggerhead Shrike | Cypress Point Park |
| 4/4/2026 | Least Tern | Lake Monroe Boat Ramp |
| 4/3/2026 | Tricolored Heron | Gemini Springs |
| 4/2/2026 | Great Crested Flycatcher | Audubon Center for Birds of Prey |
| 4/1/2026 | Ruddy Turnstone | Titusville |
| 3/31/2026 | Caspian Tern | Gemini Springs |
| 3/30/2026 | Purple Gallinule | Lemon Bluff Boat Ramp |
| 3/29/2026 | American Bittern | Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive |
| 3/28/2026 | Marsh Wren | Mill Lake |
| 3/27/2026 | Black-necked Stilt | Gemini Springs |
| 3/26/2026 | Brown Pelican | Audubon Center for Birds of Prey |
| 3/25/2026 | Greater Yellowlegs | Gemini Springs |
| 3/24/2026 | Brown Thrasher | Dewey Boster Park |
| 3/23/2026 | Pine Warbler | Bill Keller Park |
| 3/22/2026 | Eurasian Collared Dove | Epcot |
| 3/21/2026 | Roseate Spoonbill | Orlando Wetlands |
| 3/20/2026 | Muscovy Duck | Blue Heron Nature Park |
| 3/19/2026 | Wilson’s Snipe | Gemini Springs |
| 3/18/2026 | Glossy Ibis | Gemini Springs |
| 3/17/2026 | Palm Warbler | Gemini Springs |
| 3/16/2026 | Northern Cardinal | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/15/2026 | Red-tailed Hawk | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/14/2026 | Northern Mockingbird | Fantasia Gardens |
| 3/13/2026 | Northern House Wren | Gemini Springs |
| 3/12/2026 | Swallow-tailed Kite | Winter AMKE Spot (I4 in Seminole) |
| 3/11/2026 | Fish Crow | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/10/2026 | Osprey | DeBary |
| 3/9/2026 | American Crow | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/8/2026 | Red-bellied Woodpecker | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/7/2026 | Black-bellied Whistling Duck | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/6/2026 | Carolina Wren | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/5/2026 | Anhinga | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/4/2026 | Northern Parula | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/3/2026 | Mourning Dove | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/2/2026 | Boat-tailed Grackle | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 3/1/2026 | Great Cormorant | Stationstraat |
| 2/28/2026 | European Stonechat | Rucphense Heide |
| 2/27/2026 | Eurasian Kestrel | A4, Bergen op Zoom |
| 2/26/2026 | Brant | Rammegors |
| 2/25/2026 | Eurasian Curlew | Schakerloopolder |
| 2/24/2026 | Tufted Duck | de Efteling |
| 2/23/2026 | Eurasian Jackdaw | Roosendaal |
| 2/22/2026 | Common Firecrest | Oostvaardersplassen |
| 2/21/2026 | Common Buzzard | A12, Stabroek BE |
| 2/20/2026 | Eurasian Wren | Emile van Loonpark |
| 2/19/2026 | Eurasian Siskin | Emile van Loonpark |
| 2/18/2026 | Great Spotted Woodpecker | Emile van Loonpark |
| 2/17/2026 | Short-toed Treecreeper | Emile van Loonpark |
| 2/16/2026 | Gadwall | Port of Rotterdam |
| 2/15/2026 | Eurasian Blackbird | Roosendaal |
| 2/14/2026 | European Robin | Emile van Loonpark |
| 2/13/2026 | Gray Catbird | Mom’s House |
| 2/12/2026 | American Kestrel | Winter AMKE Spot (I4 in Seminole) |
| 2/11/2026 | American Coot | Mill Lake Park |
| 2/10/2026 | Green Heron | Gemini Springs |
| 2/9/2026 | Painted Bunting | Gemini Springs |
| 2/8/2026 | Bonaparte’s Gull | Gemini Springs |
| 2/7/2026 | White-winged Scoter | Gemini Springs |
| 2/6/2026 | Orange-crowned Warbler | Gemini Springs |
| 2/5/2026 | Limpkin | Audubon Center for Bird of Prey |
| 2/4/2026 | Belted Kingfisher | Gemini Springs |
| 2/3/2026 | Pileated Woodpecker | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 2/2/2026 | White Ibis | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 2/1/2026 | Bald Eagle | Trader Joe’s |
| 1/31/2026 | Cattle Egret | Home Depot |
| 1/30/2026 | Northern Flicker | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/29/2026 | Blue Jay | Audubon Center for Bird of Prey |
| 1/28/2026 | Black Vulture | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/27/2026 | Sandhill Crane | Blue Spring State Park |
| 1/26/2026 | Great Egret | Lake Monroe Park |
| 1/25/2026 | Red Knot | Tomoka State Park |
| 1/24/2026 | House Sparrow | Hollywood Studios |
| 1/23/2026 | Prairie Warbler | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/22/2026 | Downy Woodpecker | Audubon Center for Bird of Prey |
| 1/21/2026 | Forster’s Tern | Gemini Springs |
| 1/20/2026 | Double-crested Cormorant | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/19/2026 | Common Grackle | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/18/2026 | Wild Turkey | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/17/2026 | Carolina Chickadee | Plantation Estates |
| 1/16/2026 | Blue-winged Teal | Gemini Springs |
| 1/15/2026 | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Audubon Center for Bird of Prey |
| 1/14/2026 | American Robin | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/13/2026 | Yellow-rumped Warbler | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/12/2026 | Red-shouldered Hawk | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/11/2026 | Cedar Waxwing | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/10/2026 | Ruby-crowned Kinglet | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/9/2026 | White-eyed Vireo | Wolfstad Manor (home) |
| 1/8/2026 | Pied-billed Grebe | Audubon Center for Bird of Prey |
| 1/7/2026 | Eastern Phoebe | Gemini Springs |
| 1/6/2026 | Black-and-white Warbler | Gemini Springs |
| 1/5/2026 | Blue-headed Vireo | Gemini Springs |
| 1/4/2026 | Wood Stork | Gemini Springs |
| 1/3/2026 | Royal Tern | Gumbo Limbo Nature Center |
| 1/2/2026 | Brown Booby | Caribbean cruise ship off Cuba |
| 1/1/2026 | Cozumel Vireo | Planetario Cha’an Ka’an de Cozumel |


