Big Year Reflection: The Journey to 500

Deciding to do a big year, or even a “little” big year, is a huge commitment. It’s a journey that will make you tired and leave your bank account a little lighter, but we can tell you from experience that it is absolutely worth every bit of effort. We feel incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity. Because we both work full-time, we weren’t sure we could reach our goal of 500 species in a single year, but we were inspired by Greg Miller’s effort in 1998, and that kept us going.

For anyone who decides to take on this challenge, you will find yourself in beautiful places and meet wonderful people. And you will learn that with careful planning, you can accomplish a lot of birding on weekends alone.

Tips, Guides, and Our Top Birds

Here are our top tips for planning a trip to a new birding area:

• eBird: Check eBird and sign up for “needs alerts” in the area you plan to visit.
• Local Experts: Sign up for local bird group email services and ask for suggestions.
• Join a Tour: Check the local Audubon site to see if they are leading tours while you are there.
• Plan Ahead: Map out a plan before booking hotels to maximize your birding time.
• Rent a 4WD: Rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle; there’s a good chance you’ll need it.

We covered a lot of ground in 2015. Here are the must-visit places for any big year, along with the number of species we saw:

• Florida (224)
• Southeast Arizona (196)
• Texas (179)
• California (133)
• Ohio – The Biggest Week (101)

We were also fortunate to bird with some of the best guides in the business:

• Jeff Babson – Arizona
• Joan Collins – Adirondacks, NY
• Doug Kibbe – Colorado
• Jake Mohlmann – Texas and Arizona
• Ron Smith – Florida (go birding with him if you get the chance!)

Every bird is a good bird, but some truly stand out. Here are a few that should go on your bucket list:

• Elegant Trogon
• Hummingbirds of Southeast Arizona (the sheer number of species is mind-boggling)
• American Dipper
• Northern Saw-whet Owl
• Williamson’s Sapsucker

And, of course, there were some misses. Here are the ones that required the most effort, even if they weren’t the biggest disappointments:

• Pectoral Sandpiper (numerous tries in multiple states)
• California Condor (Arizona and California)
• Green Kingfisher (Rio Grande, Texas)
• White-crowned Pigeon (Florida Keys and Southeast Florida)
• White-tailed Ptarmigan (Colorado)

The Final Tally

It would have been fun to go birding on the last day of the year, but we both had to work. Instead, we spent our New Year’s Eve at home with champagne and popcorn, watching The Big Year and reflecting on what a great year it had been.

In January, we submitted our results to the American Birding Association Listing website. While we waited for the official word, we submitted our first entry to Birding Magazine. We were thrilled to be published in the August 2016 edition:

Sharon Pratt and Mike Pratt of St. Petersburg, Florida, completed a “Little” Big Year (weekendwarbler.com) in 2015, locating 519 species in the Lower 48 states. The last bird of the year was a Williamson’s Sapsucker at Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California on Sunday, December 27, 2015. This was also Lower 48 life bird #562 for Sharon and #557 for Mike.

We patiently waited for the ABA’s Birder’s Guide to Listing & Taxonomy that came out in October 2016. Here is how we finished for 2015:

Region	Rank	Count	Name
Lower 48	9	519	Sharon Pratt
Lower 48	11	511	Michael Pratt
North America	4	527	Sharon Pratt
North America	5	519	Michael Pratt

We cannot possibly list all of the people who helped us with our big year. To everyone we birded with, who helped with identification, shared a photo, or met along the way, we want you to know you are truly appreciated. We also want to thank our non-birder family and friends for cheering us on. We plan to continue to post about our birding and travel adventures, so we hope you’ll check back soon.

2015 Summary:

2015 Bird List

Year Birds: 519

Life Birds: 85

Next up: Birdapalooza