Date: 1/4/26 11:30 pm From: Mark McShane <00001c91b59d7b85-dmarc-request...> Subject: [GABO-L] Some Big Year Thoughts and Ideas!
Hi John/All,
A BIRDING BIG YEAR (generally finding and listing as many wild bird species as one can in a given area in a given year) can be as large or as small as one would like based on available time, resources, and many other factors, it can be just for one’s yard, a local park (or eBird hotspot), a county, state, country, continent, hemisphere, or for the entire world, though bigger can often be better and more fun, it’s best not to pick one that is too awfully big!
The county big year is a good minimum, starting, or practice size. It can also take a lot of prep and planning to get ready to do any big year, or some even just prep and plan as they go. It’s always best to start on January 1st but people do sometimes start late or even quite late (birds you missed this winter you may be able to see or hear next fall and winter). A big year can also require a lot of work, dedication, and expense of all kinds to complete to one’s satisfaction, and it is never perfectly accomplished by anyone. Breaking an all-time record can be extremely satisfying, but someone will usually come along and later break your new record. However, if you set a record for a specific year then that is yours and cannot be broken later. Personal big year records and milestones are very meaningful as well! Here’s some ideas on how to prep for conducting a birding big year!
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1. RESEARCHING PREVIOUS BIG YEARS to see what is possible, what’s been done before, and what record(s) you might be trying to break is a great way to start. eBird is the best tool for seeing what big years went by previously, and here’s how to check:
In the Explore Regions box enter a desired region (a state or county for example). You can also pick Major Regions (just below and to the right, for the ABA Area for example).
Select the desired region when it pops up
Select Region Navigation
Select Top 100
For Time Period select All Time, the current year, or Other for a previous year (select the previous year)
Then select Ranked by Species or by Complete checklists
Select the green Show Top 100 button
The Top 100 eBirders list will then appear per your selections!
It’s amazing what big years have been accomplished!
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2. Also helpful is to study and learn the REGION ALL-TIME eBIRD LIST for the area in which you are going to do your big year, the county or state for example:
Go to eBird
Click/tap on Explore from the menu icon
In the Explore Regions box enter a desired region (a state or county for example). You can also pick Major Regions (just below and to the right, for the ABA Area for example).
When the desired region pops up, just below the region name, on the left end of the line is a number (for Georgia for example the number is currently 445), this is the number of how many species have been confirmed by eBird to have naturally occurred in that region all-time.
Click or tap on the number to access the all-time species list for the region and sort by the available options.
Learn through your research how rare each species on your region list is, or what rarity code might be applied to each species for your big year target area, such as: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Casual, Accidental, or Cannot be found. Learning rarity will help you determine which birds should be and/or must be chased (if possible) in order not to miss them during your big year.
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3. eBIRD BAR CHARTS are also an extremely useful study and planning tool to help determine when, and how much, the birds on your big year region list might show up:
When starting a big year it’s a good idea to set up your (for North America) eBird ABA Rarities Alert, and also your regional eBird Rare Bird Alert(s) and Needs Alert(s) as desired, and to set them to hourly or daily. Studying Rare Bird Alerts is always very educational both for the present and the future.
Go to eBird, My eBird, Manage, Alerts to subscribe and manage alerts
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5. CHASE NEEDED AND ESPECIALLY RARE BIRDS
Always go, as much as you can, to see all of the unseen by you bird species for the year which show up on the eBird alert emails you receive for the jurisdiction you have chosen to do your big year in! Rare birds especially are the ones that tend to make a big year list bigger, as long as you see all or most of the common and uncommon birds there as well.
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6. RESEARCH (MORE) desired target species overall in field guides, eBird, bird apps, online, and maybe even in Cornell’s BIRDS OF THE WORLD (awesome resource, constantly updating, free samples, and all for the price of buying a great bird book each year) for range maps, life history specifics, when and where they may best show up in your desired big year area, etc, to learn as much about your sought after big year targets as possible:
Please Remember (and from my own experience) Birding and Big Year Birding are not controlled substances but can be quite addicting. Always Bird and Big Year Responsibly.
Be Especially Careful when Driving and when Birding While Driving (BWD)!
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These are some thoughts, ideas, methods, and steps to consider to begin to plan and accomplish a birding big year! A small start can end with a big finish!
Good and Safe Big Year Birding All,
Mark
Mark McShane
Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia
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