Hi everyone,

I decided that this year I'm going to be doing a Cook County Big Year. What is a Big Year? In a nutshell, a Big Year is attempting to see as many species of birds as you can in a given area in a calendar year. I think I'm experienced enough to attempt one this year, and I would like to get a total of at least 275 species. It's an incredibly high goal, I know, but I believe I can do it. Last year Isoo O'Brien (@ieobrien) broke the Cook County Big Year record with a jaw-dropping total of 288 species. Simon Tolzmann (@brdnrdr) also had an amazing total of 283! The main thing I've done to prepare for this is I've studied Isoo's Big Year A TON. I've read his blog posts over and over, and pretty much memorized his rarity list. I also got a Celestron Ultima 80 spotting scope for Christmas, which will be a HUGE help. I've been birding a lot this year, and I've looked through my field guides every day whenever I have free time just to improve my bird ID skills. I’ve also memorized the songs and calls of many birds, which will certainly help. I’ve really gotten so much more into birding this year. I got on all the local Rarity Chats on GroupMe (thanks Simon!), I became an active ebirder, and I’ve also met so many people who have taught me so much about birds, especially Simon. So overall, I think I’m ready for this. It’s gonna be a lot of rushing around, chasing rarities and year birds 24/7, but it’s going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to get started on the 1st. My goal for January is to break the month record with 90+ species (Isoo had 86). I’ll post updates every month about my birding adventures. See you in a month!

-Owen
(owenbirder13)

Posted on December 28, 2021 02:11 PM by owenbirder13