This Blog is for the Birds

"Big Year" can mean a lot of things...making popcorn every other nite  or seeing a super moon or meeting that goal ( place it here)...being married to the one you love is a "Big Year" but I'm talking about Birding! Sherry gave me the book "Big Year" to read and ding-ding-ding it was great! To summarize a "big year' is how many different species  of birds you can see in 1 year. It can be just your town or state but the book was based on a North American big year. See what Dene' is reading. (I'm sure it's deeper than birds...I should take lessons from her.)

The book goes into some detail of the history of birding and talks about a number people who have done a "big year" over the years. Those doing a big year may travel/fly thousands of miles and be gone 250 days total doing it. There are places and times you have to be to see certain birds and it's not unusual for them to travel  halfway across the states to see 1 bird if it is rare. At the time the book was written I think only 10 people where in the 700 (species) club. It does focus on 3 birders who where trying to break the big year record and the competition that followed. There was a movie made staring Steve Martin that followed the book well enough...but for the hard core birders read the book.

Since reading the book...twice and buying the movie ( good but not as good as the book surprise-surprise) I have been birding each weekend. I haven't found any rare birds but have enjoyed the time spent in our Lord's great out doors. My life list is 27 (life list is number of species seen so far...not just in one year). The big year record is 733 and that is in just one year. There is some work left for me.

Here are a few pictures of the birds I have seen. Some are injured and are in captivity (rule is they have to be alive-wild-and free) so I have not included them in my count for the big year.

 

 

 

 

 

This one is not alive or wild or free but is "rare" so I included him anyway.



Happy Birding.