Nick Komar’s “Biggest Year” in USA Birding - 2023

The Rio Grande Valley of Texas is one of the most exciting birding destinations in the USA and a Mecca for USA birders (and especially Big Year birders). Why? Because of its proximity to the subtropics of Mexico (only a few hours are required to drive to the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas, Mexico), the prospect of finding a Mexican vagrant is tangible. In recent years such strays have included Social Flycatcher, Bat Falcon, Stygian Owl, White-throated Thrush, Mangrove Swallow, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Black-vented Oriole, and Amazon Kingfisher. Some tropical species are becoming regular visitors to “the Valley” as it is known locally. For example, Mexican Violetear, Tamaulipas Crow, Brown Jay, Blue Bunting, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Roadside Hawk, Rose-throated Becard, Tropical Parula and Golden-crowned Warbler have each occurred multiple times in recent decades. Some tropical species have actually expanded their populations

I chose southern California to visit first because I knew that San Diego County traditionally hosts over 250 species in winter months, which represents twice the number of species recorded during January where I live in Larimer County, Colorado. Furthermore, the Salton Sea in neighboring Imperial County usually harbors a rarity or two during winter. Indeed, earlier this winter birders reported two Mexican vagrants around the massive inland lake: Yellow-footed Gull and Rufous-backed Robin, two species I may not find elsewhere this year. Rarities reported during the first week of Janaury, 2023, in San Diego County included a bunch of pelagic species blown on-shore during strong winds on Jan 1 (Buller's Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Northern Fulmar, Red Phalarope, Nazca Booby, Leach's Storm Petrel) at the Point La Jolla Sea Watch, plus Snow Goose, Long-tailed Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Yellow-billed Loon, Little Stint, Greater Pewee, Tropical Kingbird, Swamp and Nelson's

Success for my Biggest Year will require skill, time and financial resources (and perhaps a little luck). Skill in bird finding and bird identification I have. These are skills I have honed over fifty years of avidly birding. A great way to learn bird identification is to teach it, and I have been teaching others through leading bird walks for local bird clubs since I was 12 years old (Brookline Bird Club, Needham Bird Club, Fort Collins Audubon Society, Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO), Western Field Ornithologists). More recently I have taught gull identification workshops for CFO, Denver Field Ornithologists and Denver Audubon Society. I will also need skill in logistics and planning. These skills I have developed through my side business operating birding tours through Quetzal Tours. I have time to dedicate to this venture as I recently retired from my job as a biologist. Parental duties are minimal now that my kids are in their late twenties/early thirties. Spousal duties ar

In the year 1900 Frank Chapman initiated the tradition of counting birds during the Christmas season. This was an act of conservation value, as it intentionally challenged the popular practice of the Christmas Hunt, a popular competition to kill the most birds using shotguns. Today marks the last day of the 123rd annual Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the National Audubon Society. The counts are held over a 3-week period, and account for a significant portion of December and January birding, which is generally depressed in the cold gray winter months of the Northern Hemisphere. I have been participating in these counts for the last 45 years or so, and for many years I served as compiler for the counts in Fort Collins and Loveland, Colorado. While the birds tallied during these counts seem mundane, on occasion rarities appear and are subsequently sought by birders and listers as well as by Big Year competitors. This Christmas Season, I participated in four local counts: Fort Collins

You might be wondering, Who is Nicholas Komar? And why does he think he can be the first to observe 900 species in the US and its territories? I became a birder 50 years ago, when I was 7 years old. My twin brother (Oliver) and I were introduced to birds in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, by our birdwatching parents. Birders and birdwatchers are not the same thing. Birdwatchers appreciate birds as part of nature. Birders are birdwatchers who are driven to see as many birds as possible and learn as much as they can about birds. Many birders are competitive. Birders often keep meticulous lists of bird species found in certain geographic regions. Life lists, day lists, county lists, state lists, etc. Young birders like me and my brother often become ornithologists, and that is what we did. My path to becoming an ornithologist was indirect. Before graduating from Newton South High School, I applied to Cornell University where many aspiring ornithologists study. However, my B-leve