My "spark bird" was the American Goldfinch. During the spring and summer of 2020 while working outside in my backyard, I would occasionally see glimpses of this bright (in the summer) yellow bird. It got me interested in seeing if I could get that bird to a backyard feeder. From there--off to the races. While I get dozens of American Goldfinches a day visiting the feeder, I realized that I had all kinds of bird pictures from around the country in my photo catalog and after gathering them up, I started to try to identify what they were. That lead me to bird id books and apps, better long distances lenses and with that help, beginning to take more bird pictures locally and from my trips around the country. I am now up to 274 species, 33 of which I have seen or heard from the backyard. With that behind me, it is getting harder to find new species. While there are still a few "easier" local birds which I do not have yet, most of the 700 or so species left in the US, I have to see while traveling or during Spring and Fall migration. So, lots of species to go. On to the next....
