Announcing the 2012 Big Year

the 2012 Big Year

It is with great excitement and anticipation that I announce my 2012 BIG YEAR. I have been planning for and thinking about this effort for months, spurred on by my reading of the Big Year and the movie of the same name. Back in 2009 Larry, Rob, and I competed in our 'Big Year Challenge.' This was a time-intensive monthly competition between the three of us as well as a year-long contest. The unintended result of the competition was that I recorded my first comprehensive year-effort. Then in 2010 I made my first serious attempt at a personal-best Big Year. After two years of chasing, driving, and birding in general I decided to take 2011 off and just keep my birding local. My plan always was to come back in 2012 with another attempt at my personal bests and now that time has finally come.

the Plans

Central to my Big Year is the intention to chase as many NJ rarities as work and home life allow. In addition I hope to travel to contribute to my avidiversity. I'll be visitng a friend in Tuscon who recently moved there. I'll be able to afford four solid days of birding on the trip and have already contacted some locals about birding. In addition my wife and I hope to go to England over the summer and possibly Maine for a short time as well. Last but not least, I should be attending a friend's graduation party in California in October; not a birding trip but still an opportunity for local species.

the Goals

My goals are threefold--All three are pursuits of a personal best only, rather than an attempt at a public record. This is simply because the scope of an all-time record is beyond my budget for time and money; the NJ record presently being 361 and the ABA record 745. First, I will be making my third attempt at seeing 300 species in New Jersey in a single year. This is a difficult accomplishment because of the time commitment involved and one that I personally have never completed. A good handful of people achieve each year and at least seventeen did so in 2011. My previous best attempt (2010) fell short by just a bit with 294 species.

Next is my ABA goal. The ABA Area includes basically all of the continental USA, Alaska, and Canada. My previous ABA high-year was 2009 when I visited the same friend in California that I may visit this October. The 137 species I saw in Los Angeles County that year helped my ABA total reach 371 species. This year I hope to reach 400.

Lastly I have a world goal. In 2010 I achieved my highest ever one-year total with 426 species including birds from Canada, Guatemala, Japan, the Dominican Republic, and of course, the United States. This year my lofty goal is 500 species but at a minimum I just hope to break my old record of 426.

Each of these goals will 'activate' as soon as I see birds exclusive to that category. In other words my first bird in a state other than New Jersey will activate my ABA goal and my first international bird will activate my world goal. Those goals will remain inactive if for some reason circumstances prevent me from traveling. I'll be keeping track of my goals in my post this year much the same way as I did last year for my county-based 'LGA Year' of county-based goals. At the top of the right column is an image that will display my progress thermometer-style. The empty image appears here.

the 'Nemesis Targets'

One of the main goals for the year is to see all of the birds I consider to be 'overdue' for my Life List or for a particular region. Some of them are nemeses in the truest sense and some are just recurring species that I have never really put in the effort to chase. I'll be keeping a visual checklist of the Nemesis Targets in the sidebar at right as these are highlight species of the year. Here's the list:

Life Nemeses

This list represent thirteen of the most-likely life species I could still get in NJ. Many of them I have missed because of how far I live from Cape May County. Others are just frustrating nemeses or near-nemeses that I have tried for and missed.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (nemesis)

Sandhill Crane (nemesis)

Curlew Sandpiper (near-nemesis)

Arctic Tern (near-nemesis)

Bohemian Waxwing (near-nemesis)

Yellow-headed Blackbird (chased twice in Jersey, missed in MN and AZ)

Bicknell's Thrush (a difficult but overdue ID)

Red Phalarope (overdue)

Ruff (overdue)

Evening Grosbeak (overdue)

Sedge Wren (overdue)

Painted Bunting (one very disappointing NJ chase)

Brown-headed Nuthatch (overdue due to range in SE)

Jersey Nemeses

These are birds that I have seen before elsewhere, but just not in New Jersey. Note that five are typically Cape May exclusive.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

White-winged Dove

Eurasian Collared Dove

Cave Swallow

Golden-winged Warbler (chased many times in NJ but only seen in NY)

Rufous Hummingbird

Western Kingbird

Summer Tanager

the Kick-Off

I'll be starting off strong with a big push in January. During the BYC two years ago Larry put up 117 species in a solid January effort. Based on that I'll be setting the goal of seeing 115-125 species this month due to the mild weather and rarities already available (Western Kingbird, Snowy Owl, and others). First and foremost I will be checking off those continuing rarities and local specialties with trips to Barnegat Inlet and other locations. I want to go into spring having nearly finished all of the possible winter birds. This has been a poor winter for finches so far and I expect to spend next November and December looking for them. February will be focused on my Arizona trip and recovery. By March 1 I hope to have a NJ total near 150 and an ABA total over 200. Go for broke. Fly or Die. Birds!