In This Section:

Introduction	January
February	March
April	May
June	July
August	September
October	November
December	Conclusion

CONCLUSION

While there is much that is reassuring in the predictable phenomena of the seasons, and it is a great pleasure to learn how to anticipate the cycles of life in the outdoors, no wildlife observer is immune to the excitement of finding the exceptions to the rule. Occurrences of birds that test the limits of accepted knowledge, and even of understanding, are stimulating and sought-after experiences: a horned grebe in breeding plumage in Ohio in July, a Louisiana waterthrush in Summit County a few days after Christmas, a yellow warbler gleaning spiders on a Holmes County porch in December. These are the sports, the quirky extravagant anomalies that add extra spice to birding, and they may even be the steps of evolution in action. We must study what is known, and learn first-hand what is knowable among our birds; the result will be the twin accomplishments of confirmation of the familiar and learning from the odd.

- Bill Whan

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