2025 - Looking Back

1/1/2026

The end of a year and another recap. Here is what I think of when I look back on 2025.

2025, in some ways, was a very fortunate year. I was able to do a lot of travel. Unfortunately, it was a very sedentary year around home. I did not get out to bird as much as I should. At least a few of the trips around home were going to bird with my niece. I hope to do some more of that this year. I had a good year of birding with my brother. We had already planned a trip to Texas - a place I had not been birding since I was a teen, but a Boreal Owl irruption found the two of us in northern Minnesota for a few days in January. In September, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron showed at a park not far from his house for a couple months. It was fun to meet up a few times and wade the creek together looking for the bird.

2025 was also a year of some dreams come true. I look at photos of birds from around the world - a lot, really. There are always some that catch my attention. I suppose you would call them "bucket list" birds, but I just think of them as birds I would love to see some day. A small part of me is just happy to know they exist. These are birds like: the Western Capercaillie (described to me as a large chicken) and the Lammergeier (or Bearded Vulture). This was the year that I got to see and photograph both; one with a trip to Finland, and the other with a return trip to South Africa. While in South Africa, I made a different dream come true. I also spend a bit of time looking at maps. You would think I would be better at geography. Every since I was young, I have been fascinated by the country-within-a-country that is Lesotho. This mountain kingdom is home to a few special birds, and I had the privilege of birding there for a day while in South Africa. For Carmen and I, it was also a chance to finally see a White Rhinoceros. Every since our first trip to Africa, we have talked about how we would like to see one some day. It was an incredible (and incredibly sad) experience. The way these animals are mutilated to protect them from being poached is heartbreaking.

The biggest dream come true was not even wildlife related, though. Carmen and I have always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights. The end of 2025 was kind of hectic, and the whole event caught me off guard. It must have been a massive solar flare that kicked of the Aurora in mid-November. For the lights to be this strong this far south is quite a legendary occurrence. We had just raced home from errands and, luckily, live right around the corner from a spot that provided a great view. There we people in better places with a better show, but it does not matter. It was such an impressive sight. The memory of the columns blossoming in the sky will be with me for a long time. I cannot wait to see them again.

Not surprisingly, there are pictures. I went through and narrowed shots down to 30 favorites. If I had to re-do it, I am sure I would pick different ones next time. These pretty well sum up my year, though.

I am not quite sure what 2026 brings, yet. All my plans are still a bit fluid. We will just have to see where the year takes us.

Thanks for reading,

Mike