I decided to start my Empty Nester's Big Year in August instead of waiting until January 1st as most Big Year birder's do. Why you ask? Well, in case you haven't noticed, nothing is certain right now - who knows when we will be quarantined again because of COVID, smoke, or? Also, we were spending 20 days on the eastcoast during the fall warbler migration. AND, I had the opportunity to see a Wandering Tattler on Aug. 8 - a bird that has only been seen in Seattle 3 times in the last 30 years (they hang out in Alaska mostly).
My goal for my Big Year is to see 500 birds in the continental US in 365 days. The current Big Year record is held by John Weigel at 784 species so I feel 500 is feasible with a limited amount of craziness. I may also restart my Big Year in January if the current state of affairs drastically changes. As of yesterday, 9/20/20, I am currently at 119 species. My goal is 50 species each month and with 10 days to go in September I will be well above that.
If you are curious about what I've gotten myself into, watch the movie "The Big Year" with Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson. It is not ornithologically accurate, nor geographically, but it is a fun movie that gives you the sense of birding personalities (for the record, I am NOT the Owen Wilson personality).
In the last 51 days, I birded in 4 states - the Seattle area of Washington state, the Hartford area of Connecticut, the New York City area and Hudson Valley in New York, and the Cape May area in New Jersey.
Here we go - 10.33 months, the remainder of the fall migration, all of the spring migration, and hopefully many trips around the US still ahead! I will post photos in batches from the last 51 days, then will probably post by trip.
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