New year resolution

There is no doubt that work has kept me away from blogging on The Badger's Eye over the last year. More than that, it has prevented me from getting out and about, watching and photographing birds and wildlife - the thing I love to do most. Now, I don't want you to think I have been living like a hermit, chained to my desk all night. I haven't. But when you add my football team management responsibilities in as well, then time for wildlife exploration and blogging has been severely limited.
I've decided this is going to change in 2012. For sure, my new business still has to have top priority and the football team too, especially as the girls just can't seem to stop winning, but a bit of effort and good time management should see me out and about and blogging a bit more often too.
To add an objective to help me along the way, I decided before Christmas that I would keep a bird list in 2012. I won't be turning into a twitcher overnight, but my competitive nature will no doubt drive me to see as many birds as practically possible in my spare time, which in turn should see a bit more photography and blogging too.
To help me along, I asked for and received the The Birdwatcher's Yearbook & Diary 2012 for Christmas.

It's going to be really useful too. Now in it's 32nd year of publication, aside from full lists of all UK birds it has useful information county by county, on organisations, reserves, and all manor of other invaluable nuggets, which should help me get the most out of visits I make to places near and far. I'll be noting my sightings on the blog too, on the 2012 Bird Diary page. If you fancy doing something similar and want a copy of the handbook, clicking on the picture will take you to The Natural History Bookshop website which is a mine of information, books and equipment for all budding wildlife watchers.
So there, we are - my first blog post of 2012. I hope there will be many more to come this year, including a couple of catch-ups from last year on the Ospreys we saw back in May and the wonderful Kate Tempest who performed at Standon Calling last summer, which I of course attended as usual..... see, I told you I hadn't been chained to my desk all the time.

Best wishes everyone for a fantastic 2012 and let's hope we all get the time and opportunity to get out there and enjoy this wonderful planet of ours.