Few enthusiasts will ever immerse themselves into their hobby of choice as fully as the bird lovers that undertake a Big Year. This 365-day-long ode to all things avian is the ultimate expression of one’s devotion to the art of birdwatching. To birders, embarking on a Big Year is a rare and cherished experience. Birders approach the project with an intensity similar to the effort that would be shown by a soccer fan if he were asked to join Manchester United in the World Cup. Each year in North America several hundred people attempt to complete a Big Year, and the majority of those fail – a single winner is chosen by the American Birding Association. What is the goal of a Big Year? To observe as many bird species as possible in the United States, Canada, and Alaska. The current record? 745 species.

With the advent of the pocket-sized field guide, birders in North America began to compete to find as many bird species as they could. In 1939, five years after Roger Tory Peterson published his comprehensive field guide, the first Big Year record was set by Guy Emerson, who timed his business trips to coincide with peak bird seasons throughout North America. Emerson’s record was 497 species.

In the years following the first Big Year, the record was broken repeatedly. In 1998, three men attempted to top the then-record count of 721 species. Chronicled in the book The Big Year by Mark Obmascik, birders Al Levantin, Greg Miller, and record-holder Sandy Komito embarked upon the year-long search. Each person independently financed their endeavor and took a leave of absence from work to complete the project. The men came from different backgrounds and employed different techniques to locate bird species. The incredible effort required to complete the arduous, expensive undertaking is evident in Obmascik’s book – by the end of the year, one of the men ran out of money and took to sleeping in his car and eating only pretzels to conserve cash. Once the men had racked up all the bird species native to North America (a feat that involved helicopter flights through mountain passes, airboat trips through the Everglades, and countless miles of hiking), the birders focused on attaining rare or accidental species on the fringes of the continent. In one memorable scene, one of the birders joined a bevy of birders in biking out across a stretch of tundra on rusty Soviet-era bicycles to view a rare Asian bird blown over to the Aleutian island of Attu. Upon arriving at the location, the birders silently formed a line to view the bird, pausing only long enough to confirm its identity at the viewing scope before handing it off to the next anxious birder. In the end, Sandy Komito emerged victorious, checking off an astonishing 745 species in 365 days, nearly 70 species more than are native to North America. Experts believe that Komito’s record may never be broken because of the fact that 1998 was an El Nino year and unprecedented weather patterns blew birds from all parts of the world to North America.

Birders seeking to repeat Komito’s Big Year can find resources online, but for those looking to merely re-live the adventure, pick up a copy of The Big Year!

Just for Fun I thought I would include a link to the trailer for the movie. Click here and enjoy!