It's official: I'm doing a 2014 Santa Clara County Junior Big Year.
The definition of a Big Year, according to Wikipedia, is: an informal competition among birders to see who can see or hear the largest number of species of birds within a single calendar year and within a specific geographical area.
I'm definitely doing this, but to win a Big Year, you must never give up, have lots of time (and preferably money for a large-scale one), and be very skilled at identifying birds. Most Big Year birders do a Big Year to set a record for some place, whether it be a county, the ABA area, or the entire world. The record for Santa Clara County is an amazing 291 species, set in 1994 by Steve Rottenborn, and I know I will not come anywhere close to this number. I have set my first goal for the year as 200 species, but am not sure whether I will even achieve this. I don't think I am very determined or persistent, don't have the best identification skills because I am still young, and definitely do not have lots of time, which will probably be the decisive factor in me reaching (or not reaching) my goal. In 8th Grade, I will have lots of schoolwork, a science fair, and getting into high schools, but I'll try to squeeze in birding trips to hotspots around the county to see new birds, or for rarities.
On a side note, I just wanted to note that today, December 31st, Neil Hayward broke the ABA Area Big Year record. He saw just one more bird (746 + 3 provisionals) than Sandy Komito in 1998 (745 + 3 provisionals), whose record was thought to be unbeatable. A very big congratulations to him!
Another note: I will not be counting heard only birds (birds that are heard but not seen) during my Big Year. I will not be birding to break the record, but to become a better birder, and most importantly, have fun. You can follow my 2014 Junior Santa Clara County Big Year on this blog.
Good birding,
Sergey
The definition of a Big Year, according to Wikipedia, is: an informal competition among birders to see who can see or hear the largest number of species of birds within a single calendar year and within a specific geographical area.
I'm definitely doing this, but to win a Big Year, you must never give up, have lots of time (and preferably money for a large-scale one), and be very skilled at identifying birds. Most Big Year birders do a Big Year to set a record for some place, whether it be a county, the ABA area, or the entire world. The record for Santa Clara County is an amazing 291 species, set in 1994 by Steve Rottenborn, and I know I will not come anywhere close to this number. I have set my first goal for the year as 200 species, but am not sure whether I will even achieve this. I don't think I am very determined or persistent, don't have the best identification skills because I am still young, and definitely do not have lots of time, which will probably be the decisive factor in me reaching (or not reaching) my goal. In 8th Grade, I will have lots of schoolwork, a science fair, and getting into high schools, but I'll try to squeeze in birding trips to hotspots around the county to see new birds, or for rarities.
On a side note, I just wanted to note that today, December 31st, Neil Hayward broke the ABA Area Big Year record. He saw just one more bird (746 + 3 provisionals) than Sandy Komito in 1998 (745 + 3 provisionals), whose record was thought to be unbeatable. A very big congratulations to him!
Another note: I will not be counting heard only birds (birds that are heard but not seen) during my Big Year. I will not be birding to break the record, but to become a better birder, and most importantly, have fun. You can follow my 2014 Junior Santa Clara County Big Year on this blog.
Good birding,
Sergey
