Day: January 1, 2026

2026 Goals for Panorama of the Mountains

~ Liam ~ 2 Comments

Happy New Year! I feel a bit liberated now that I’ve completed my 2025 goal of watching a movie for every day of the year.  So now I can set some goals for 2026 that will probably have me pulling my hair out by the end of April.

  • My first big goal for the year is to move Panorama of the Mountains to a self-hosted platform.  This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time but have been anxious about whether it’s possible to migrate nearly 20 years of posts and finding a simple platform for blogging (without all the CMS bells and whistles) that can be managed by a technological novice like myself.  I’m looking into WordPress.org, Ghost, and Joomla but I am open to suggestions.
  • Movies – I’m planning two movie projects this year:
    • 100 Years of Movie Musicals – 2027 marks the anniversary of the first movie musical (and first talkie) – The Jazz Singer – so for the next two years I’m going to watch one movie musical every week in chronological order.  I did consider trying to watch one musical from each year 1927 to the present but some years are just better than others for musicals.  Still, I’m hoping to get a good balance of Hollywood spectaculars and indie musicals, Broadway/West End adaptations and original movie musicals, and a variety of musical styles and national origins.
    • Anniversary Year – This project will be to simply watch movies that are celebrating a special birthday this year.  Each month I will watch 3-5 movies from a particular year: 1916/1926 (January), 1936 (February), 1946 (March), 1951-75th Anniversary (April), 1956 (May), 1966 (June), 1976 (July), 1986 (August), 1996 (September), 2001-25th Anniversary (October), 2006 (November), 2016 (December).
    • As I often do, I will try to watch some Boston movies for Patriots Day in April, horror movies in October for Halloween, noir movies in Noir-vember, and holiday movies in December.
  • Music – I’m rethinking how I go about writing about music on this blog.  I’ve been trying to keep up with new releases and then writing about songs and albums but it feels forced and repetitious of what more professional music writers are doing.  I don’t like giving negative reviews to music because it’s often not that the music is bad but it’s just not to my test.  So my goal for this year is to continue to listen to a lot of music – new music, new-to-me music, and especially local music from the Greater Boston area.  And when I find something I really love, I will write not so much of a review but a “Hey, check out this great music!” post.  I’m hoping with this approach that I can use my small platform to give a little attention to some artists who need it instead of just regurgitating the same songs and albums being promoted by bigger platforms.
  • Star Trek – My project to watch every Star Trek tv show and movie was warping along for the past couple of years but has recently run out of dilithium.  The big snag is that I’ve been watching everything on Paramount + but as that company has aligned itself with the fascist regime I can no longer use it in good conscience.  So here’s my plan going forward.
    • I finished watching Star Trek: Voyager (months ago!) but have been procrastinating posting my summary of the final season, but I hope to have that up soon.
    • I will watch the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis (on DVD) and the two seasons of Star Trek: Prodigy (on Netflix) at some point in 2026.
    • I could also get all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise and the three J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek-reboot movies on DVD, but I honestly have no enthusiasm for watching them, so I’m going to put them on indefinite hiatus.
    • I also have little interest in the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy or even future seasons of Strange New Worlds (after a mediocre third season) so there’s no great loss in canceling Paramount +.
  • Other than that I will continue to write about Books, Theater, Birds, and my other interests as I have been!

Here’s hoping for a joyful and satisfying 2026 for all!

Bird Nerd 2025 Annual Report

~ Liam ~ 2 Comments

It was a great year in birding with lots of great field trips in Greater Boston, a trip to the Pacific Northwest which ticked off many new lifers, and a lot of fun observations at the feeders outside my home.  Here are the big stats for the year:

Life List = 146
2025 List = 130
New Lifers in 2025 = 55

My goal for 2025 was to notch 100 birds after seeing 82 in 2024.  As you can see I surpassed this goal by a lot!  In 2026, instead of a total bird goal, I’m going to set a (hopefully) modest goal of adding 60 new birds to my life list.

December 2025

It was a quiet month for birding in Boston with most of my observations at my feeders or while walking around the neighborhood.  Nevertheless, I had encounters with 24 different species of feather friends.

 # Common Name
1 American Crow
2 American Herring Gull
3 American Robin
4 Black-capped Chickadee
5 Blue Jay
6 Canada Goose
7 Common Merganser
8 Downy Woodpecker
9 European Starling
10 Golden-crowned Kinglet
11 Hooded Merganser
12 House Finch
13 House Sparrow
14 Mallard
15 Mourning Dove
16 Mute Swan
17 Northern Cardinal
18 Red-bellied Woodpecker
19 Red-tailed Hawk
20 Rock Pigeon
21 Tufted Titmouse
22 White-breasted Nuthatch
23 White-throated Sparrow
24 Wild Turkey

2025 Year List

And here’s my complete 2025 list with the place and date I first saw each bird species.

 # Common Name Location S/P Date
1 Northern Cardinal Roxbury Highlands US-MA 1-Jan-25
2 House Sparrow Roxbury Highlands US-MA 1-Jan-25
3 American Robin Roxbury Highlands US-MA 1-Jan-25
4 Mourning Dove Roxbury Highlands US-MA 1-Jan-25
5 Wild Turkey Roxbury Highlands US-MA 1-Jan-25
6 European Starling Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 17-Jan-25
7 Carolina Wren Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 17-Jan-25
8 Northern Flicker Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 17-Jan-25
9 Blue Jay Home US-MA 18-Jan-25
10 Downy Woodpecker Home US-MA 18-Jan-25
11 American Herring Gull Home US-MA 18-Jan-25
12 Northern Mockingbird Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 19-Jan-25
13 Tufted Titmouse Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 19-Jan-25
14 Black-capped Chickadee Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 19-Jan-25
15 Red-bellied Woodpecker Highland Park – Fort Hill US-MA 19-Jan-25
16 American Crow Marcella Playground US-MA 21-Jan-25
17 Red-tailed Hawk Home US-MA 21-Jan-25
18 Rock Pigeon Back Bay Station US-MA 23-Jan-25
19 Great Horned Owl Owl Observations at Arnold Arboretum US-MA 25-Jan-25
20 White-breasted Nuthatch Arnold Arboretum–Bussey Meadow US-MA 25-Jan-25
21 Common Merganser Anderson Memorial Bridge US-MA 31-Jan-25
22 Hooded Merganser Anderson Memorial Bridge US-MA 31-Jan-25
23 Mallard Anderson Memorial Bridge US-MA 31-Jan-25
24 Canada Goose Anderson Memorial Bridge US-MA 31-Jan-25
25 Common Raven Marcella Playground US-MA 10-Feb-25
26 Golden-crowned Kinglet Roxbury Highlands US-MA 11-Feb-25
27 Red-winged Blackbird Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
28 Song Sparrow Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
29 White-throated Sparrow Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
30 Dark-eyed Junco Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
31 American Goldfinch Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
32 Brown Creeper Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
33 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
34 Great Black-backed Gull Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
35 Mute Swan Anderson Memorial Bridge US-MA 5-Mar-25
36 Killdeer Roxbury Highlands US-MA 10-Mar-25
37 Common Loon Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
38 Dunlin Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
39 Purple Sandpiper Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
40 Bufflehead Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
41 Surf Scoter Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
42 Common Eider Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
43 Brant Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
44 Ring-billed Gull Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
45 White-winged Scoter Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
46 Common Grackle Home US-MA 15-Mar-25
47 Ruby-crowned Kinglet Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 23-Mar-25
48 Turkey Vulture Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 23-Mar-25
49 Wood Duck Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 23-Mar-25
50 Eastern Bluebird Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
51 Fish Crow Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
52 Red-shouldered Hawk Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
53 Great Blue Heron Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
54 Green-winged Teal Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
55 Brown-headed Cowbird Millennium Park US-MA 26-Mar-25
56 Tree Swallow Franklin Park–Scarboro Pond US-MA 26-Mar-25
57 Ring-necked Duck Olmsted Park–Ward Pond US-MA 29-Mar-25
58 Double-crested Cormorant Long Wharf US-MA 4-Apr-25
59 American Black Duck Long Wharf US-MA 4-Apr-25
60 Peregrine Falcon Wharf District Park, Boston US-MA 4-Apr-25
61 Chipping Sparrow Marcella Playground US-MA 14-Apr-25
62 Great Egret Marsh by West Roxbury HS US-MA 27-Apr-25
63 Swamp Sparrow Brook Farm and Gethsemane Cemetery US-MA 27-Apr-25
64 Yellow-rumped Warbler Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
65 Palm Warbler Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
66 Northern Yellow Warbler Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
67 Black-and-white Warbler Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
68 Gray Catbird Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
69 Barn Swallow Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
70 Eastern Warbling Vireo Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
71 Hairy Woodpecker Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
72 Bald Eagle Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
73 Cooper’s Hawk Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
74 Osprey Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
75 Northern House Wren Boston Public Garden US-MA 2-May-25
76 Chimney Swift Boston Common US-MA 2-May-25
77 Northern Parula Home US-MA 4-May-25
78 Blackpoll Warbler Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 10-May-25
79 American Redstart Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 10-May-25
80 Ovenbird Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 10-May-25
81 Baltimore Oriole Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 10-May-25
82 Black-throated Green Warbler Home US-MA 11-May-25
83 Black-crowned Night Heron Charles River Esplanade US-MA 14-May-25
84 Savannah Sparrow Magazine Beach Park US-MA 15-May-25
85 Northern Rough-winged Swallow Magazine Beach Park US-MA 15-May-25
86 Common Yellowthroat Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
87 Northern Waterthrush Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
88 Cedar Waxwing Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
89 Red-eyed Vireo Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
90 Eastern Kingbird Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
91 Great Crested Flycatcher Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
92 Eastern Wood-Pewee Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
93 Indigo Bunting Franklin Park US-MA 18-May-25
94 Black-throated Blue Warbler Franklin Park US-MA 18-May-25
95 Saltmarsh Sparrow Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
96 Willow Flycatcher Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
97 Least Tern Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
98 Least Sandpiper Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
99 Greater Yellowlegs Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
100 Lesser Yellowlegs Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
101 Short-billed Dowitcher Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
102 American Oystercatcher Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
103 Snowy Egret Winthrop Greenway US-MA 27-Jul-25
104 Semipalmated Sandpiper Winthrop Greenway US-MA 27-Jul-25
105 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Franklin Park–Scarboro Pond US-MA 10-Aug-25
106 Eastern Phoebe Franklin Park US-MA 17-Aug-25
107 Anna’s Hummingbird University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
108 House Finch University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
109 Red-breasted Nuthatch University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
110 Chestnut-backed Chickadee University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
111 Bewick’s Wren University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
112 Glaucous-winged Gull University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
113 Vaux’s Swift Mt. Rainier NP–Longmire US-WA 26-Aug-25
114 Pelagic Cormorant Bainbridge I.– Winslow Waterfront Park and Trail US-WA 27-Aug-25
115 Caspian Tern Bainbridge I.– Winslow Waterfront Park and Trail US-WA 27-Aug-25
116 White-crowned Sparrow Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
117 Brown Pelican Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
118 California Gull Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
119 Marbled Murrelet Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
120 Black Oystercatcher Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
121 Belted Kingfisher Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 29-Aug-25
122 Steller’s Jay Odell Lake–Hwy 58 pullout US-OR 29-Aug-25
123 Black Phoebe Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 30-Aug-25
124 Spotted Sandpiper Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 30-Aug-25
125 Western Tanager Crater Lake NP–Cloudcap viewpoint and picnic area US-OR 30-Aug-25
126 Eurasian Collared-Dove Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 30-Aug-25
127 Acorn Woodpecker Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 31-Aug-25
128 Lincoln’s Sparrow Danehy Park, Cambridge US-MA 19-Oct-25
129 Ruddy Duck Jamaica Pond US-MA 1-Nov-25
130 Hermit Thrush Olmsted Park–Ward Pond US-MA 1-Nov-25

New Lifers

Finally here are the new birds on my life list with the place and date that I first saw them.

 # Common Name Location S/P Date
1 Common Merganser Anderson Memorial Bridge US-MA 31-Jan-25
2 Brown Creeper Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
3 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
4 Great Black-backed Gull Arnold Arboretum US-MA 2-Mar-25
5 Common Loon Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
6 Dunlin Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
7 Purple Sandpiper Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
8 Surf Scoter Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
9 Common Eider Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
10 Brant Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
11 White-winged Scoter Castle Island and Pleasure Bay US-MA 15-Mar-25
12 Red-shouldered Hawk Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
13 Green-winged Teal Millennium Park US-MA 25-Mar-25
14 Peregrine Falcon Wharf District Park, Boston US-MA 4-Apr-25
15 Palm Warbler Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
16 Barn Swallow Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
17 Eastern Warbling Vireo Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
18 Bald Eagle Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
19 Cooper’s Hawk Millennium Park US-MA 27-Apr-25
20 American Redstart Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 10-May-25
21 Ovenbird Boston Nature Center Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon) US-MA 10-May-25
22 Black-throated Green Warbler Pocket Patio US-MA 11-May-25
23 Savannah Sparrow Magazine Beach Park US-MA 15-May-25
24 Common Yellowthroat Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
25 Northern Waterthrush Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
26 Eastern Kingbird Arnold Arboretum US-MA 17-May-25
27 Indigo Bunting Franklin Park US-MA 18-May-25
28 Saltmarsh Sparrow Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
29 Willow Flycatcher Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
30 Least Tern Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
31 Least Sandpiper Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
32 Greater Yellowlegs Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
33 Lesser Yellowlegs Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
34 Short-billed Dowitcher Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
35 American Oystercatcher Belle Isle Marsh Reservation US-MA 19-Jul-25
36 Semipalmated Sandpiper Winthrop Greenway US-MA 27-Jul-25
37 Anna’s Hummingbird University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
38 House Finch University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
39 Chestnut-backed Chickadee University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
40 Bewick’s Wren University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
41 Glaucous-winged Gull University of Washington Seattle Campus US-WA 25-Aug-25
42 Vaux’s Swift Mt. Rainier NP–Longmire US-WA 26-Aug-25
43 Pelagic Cormorant Bainbridge I.– Winslow Waterfront Park and Trail US-WA 27-Aug-25
44 Caspian Tern Bainbridge I.– Winslow Waterfront Park and Trail US-WA 27-Aug-25
45 White-crowned Sparrow Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
46 California Gull Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
47 Marbled Murrelet Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
48 Black Oystercatcher Rocky Creek State Park US-OR 28-Aug-25
49 Belted Kingfisher Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 29-Aug-25
50 Steller’s Jay Odell Lake–Hwy 58 pullout US-OR 29-Aug-25
51 Black Phoebe Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 30-Aug-25
52 Western Tanager Crater Lake NP–Cloudcap viewpoint and picnic area US-OR 30-Aug-25
53 Eurasian Collared-Dove Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 30-Aug-25
54 Acorn Woodpecker Shady Cove US-Rogue River US-OR 31-Aug-25
55 Lincoln’s Sparrow Danehy Park, Cambridge US-MA 19-Oct-25

 

Here’s to great birding in 2026!!!!

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