Here’s the view out my living room window this morning. We got 4 inches last Saturday and now 3-4 more today. I went to the San Pedro House for our weekly bird walk but John and Socks were the only ones there. On my way to Ramsey Canyon I remembered they are closed Wednesdays. I’ll have to chase the Williamson’s Sapsucker there some other time. On the way home I stopped at the Korean Church but could not locate the Harris’s Hawk. The day was a bust. I only added Gambel’s Quail, Northern Mockingbird, and Verdin. The list now stands at 55.
All Big Year birders must take inspiration from the many who have gone before. In fact, you might even want to emulate them. 1998 was the year of “The Big Year” when 3 birders set forth to break the North American Big Year record of 726 set in 1987. Like many momentous occasions, that Big Year spawned a book and even a movie. Here is the opening paragraph from the book, “The Big Year”:
“Sandy Komito was ready. It was an hour before sunrise, New Year’s day, and he sat alone in an all-night Denny’s in Nogales, Arizona. He ordered ham and eggs. He stared into the black outside the window.”
The first bird he saw was a pigeon.
Flash forward 21 years to January 1, 2019:
Rob Woodward was ready. It was well before sunrise, New Year’s day, and he sat alone in an all-night Denny’s in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He ordered a Grand Slam. He stared into the black outside the window.
Luckily my first bird was not a pigeon. At midnight last night I put on my shoes and walked outside. I was greeted by the dazzling flashes and loud booms of many fireworks displays. “Gee, all this for ME?!” They shouldn’t have gone to all that bother. I went back inside and slept until 5:30 am. At 6:32, while working a crossword puzzle, I heard an unexpected (it was raining) but hoped-for sound: “HOO, hoo-hoo.” Great Horned Owl! My first bird of the year. From the living room!
After that ritual breakfast at Denny’s, I ran my weekly bird survey at the San Pedro House. Plans for the Santa Cruz Valley were cancelled by bad weather. So I plodded along the trails at San Pedro House in the snow. I scrounged up 38 species. The Fox Sparrow saves me the trouble of searching for it in San Diego in December.
I ended the day at sunset in the fields south of Sierra Vista with a staked-out Short-eared Owl – an owl to start the day and an owl to finish the first day. I returned home in a driving snow squall. And so I end Day 1 with 53 species.
It’s now the day before. I’m dying to get unleashed, there are a world of birds out there waiting to be added to the list. All I can do is watch the clock – hour by hour.
I start tomorrow in the Santa Cruz Valley with the able assistance of an eminent local birder. The mission is to find me a Lawrence’s Goldfinch, since they are scarce around here. What will be my first bird? I can’t wait for the year to begin!
Wait! Hold on a sec. I think someone’s at the door.
Let’s see if I can set this Blog up and get it running. If so, you can follow my progress, day by day, of my North American Big Year. Can I see 500 native species of birds in North America in one calendar year starting January 1, 2019? Living in Arizona will give me a strong tail wind. Then I will visit Texas and Florida in the spring, New Hampshire in the summer, then Colorado, back to Arizona, and finish in southern California in December. For some context, this year, without trying, I ended up with 355 after visiting Florida in April, spending the summer in New Hampshire, and a few days in Colorado. My total for 2017 was almost the same – 354. I can think of one other year I also hit 350 something. Now I’m ready to break out of the 300 ranks and hit 500. If only New Year’s Day would arrive….
robsbigyear2019.com 