Big Days: Why?

Many birders of a more "traditional" nature tend to scoff upon the idea of a "Big Day", a 24-hour calendar day period in which one sets out to find as many species as birds as possible in a specified area, usually a county or state. Their argument normally centers around the amount of resources consumed on a Big Day, namely gasoline, and many dismiss it as a silly, pointless pursuit...a game. Yes indeed, it is a game, a way to help rid birding of it's widespread passive stereotype. In my view, the way each birder thinks of the act of birding can fit into one of three categories- an art, a science, or a sport, or any combination of the three.  Big Days are a way to bring a competive aspect to the activity of birding, whether the competition is against yourself or against others who have previously set Big Day records.  It is a change of pace from the mundane, from the covering of the same small, general area day after day. It is a motivator to get out there, bird and learn. Lastly, a Big Day is not pointless at all. It is a tremendous learning tool, in many ways moreso than the more thorough or casual forms of birding. For me, my first official Big Day was in February of this year. I had done many informal "Big Days" on my own before, but those were mainly a competition against myself to see whether I could find 75...90..100 species in a given area in a day. Official Big Days comply by American Birding Association (ABA) rules, and are submitted to them once a year for inclusion in their record books. I have now done 5 official Big Days this year, four in North Carolina and one in Washington. I have learned a tremendous amount from each and every one of them.

In order to successfully plan a Big Day route, one must have an in-depth knowledge of exactly where to find each expected species. Ok, no big deal right? Wrong. Think about it for a minute. When running a Big Day, the phrase "plenty of time" are alien words. This means that you are forced to find as many species as possible in as few and quick of stops as possible. Okay, so just hit the major hotspots along your planned route and you'll get a good enough tally. Wrong again. In a Big Day, no tally is "good enough". Even if it is close to dusk and you have already broken the previous monthly/state record, you don't stop. You try for owls and rails after dusk, giving your absolute 100% until you just absolutely can't bird any more. Caffiene is essential. And if you only bird at hotspots along the Big Day route, a surprising number of common birds will be missed, even if most of the more uncommon species are found. Thus, it is essential to integrate short stops for specific target birds in with several hotspots during the day. This is where an inherent knowledge of bird distribution and abundance comes in. You have to have locations planned where you can find Blue Jay, Tree Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, and other common species, as well as backup locations for each one. House Sparrow can be surprisingly tricky to find along some Big Day routes in NC. Many times, the common birds dissappear when you really need to find them on a Big Day. This is why you need backup, even multiple backup locations for as many of these as possible. From doing four Big Days in NC this year, I have learned a surprising amount about reliable locations for common and uncommnon species that I never thought about before. Sometimes you need to make spur-of-the-moment stops to pick up species that you missed elsewhere, and this is where deep knowledge of habitat preferences comes in. This patch of habitat is too small, too wet, too dry, too youg, etc. for species X, lets not waste time here and instead travel on down the road to find some better looking habitat. Ali Iyoob and I did a Big Day earlier this month, ending with 130 species, which was a new NC November record (more on that Big Day in a following post). Some of our big misses that day were- American Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, and Sora, all common birds in November in the right habitat in eastern NC.

Big Days also require a keen ear, since most species of landbirds are checked off for the day's tally by sound alone- whether it be a Kentucky Warbler's song, a Downy Woodpecker's whinny, the crisp call note of a Swamp Sparrow, of the flight call of a Bobolink. To end with a respectable total for the day, it is absolutely essential to know at least all the usual vocalizations of the expected landbirds on your route. This serves as a motivating tool to study up on vocalizations before hand, especially if you are not one to bird by ear often. Also, upon hearing an unknown vocalization on a Big Day, the potential addition of a species to the day's tally drives you to track down the bird as quickly as possible. For me, this has proven to be the most effective way to learn a new "chip" note. Many birders are resistent to birding by ear though, whether the reason is failing hearing, an overwhelming sensation of "I can never learn all these songs!", or something else entirely. I have birded primarily by ear for years, and can attest to it's effectiveness. Upon looking back on past daily checklists, especially from forested settings, I would estimate that in certain circumstances, 75% or more of these species were ID'd by ear first, many of which I never ended up actually laying eyes upon. Thus, you can see why birding by ear is essential to the success of a Big Day. 

Conducting a Big Day also causes you to he hyper-vigilant. In normal circumstances, such as casually birding with a friend or while on a field trip, birders tend to get lost in conversation instead of actually birding. I have observed this phenomenon especially while driving between birding spots. Yes, I am guilty of this myself (many times over) and have probably missed many noteworthy birds this way. On a Big Day though, there is no room for error here...every bird counts. Thus, you are just as alert while driving, looking for distant raptors soaring or for a different looking sparrow flushing out of that roadside ditch, as you are while actually birding. A good example- back to when Ali and I did a Big Day earlier this month. Super alert while driving, always scanning the marsh edges, the distant horizons, and the telephone wires, we spotted a Glossy Ibis in the marsh by the north end of the Oregon Inlet bridge along route 12. Glossy Ibises are very hard to find on the Outer Banks that late in the season, and was an exceptional bonus bird for us on the Big Day. If we weren't extra-alert and constantly lokoing, then we most likely would have missed the bird entirely.

A unique aspect of a Big Day is that every bird is equally important. Okay, you say, all birds are always important, not just on a Big Day. Entirely correct, chickadees are just as important as condors in all circumstances. But these common birds, chickadees, titmice, cardinals, grackles, doves, tend to get passed over on a daily basis by msot active birders. A North Carolina birder will pay much more attention to a Masked Duck than to a Mallard, at least in NC. The reason is clear- there is only one state record for Masked Duck, but Mallards can be seen virtually anywhere. On a Big Day though, a Masked Duck and a Mallard are treated as equals- each will add one species to your list for the day.

While talking to non-birders, mentioning that you have just done, or are about to do a Big Day is a great way to spark interest immediately. Many are turned off from the idea of birding if they think it is purely a passive hobby for the rich elderly (which is still the widespread stereotype, although The Big Year helped). If introduced to the competitive aspect however, many view it as a sport, a break from the mundane, and even view it as "cool". I have observed this personally on several occasions. On one occasion in particular, I stopped at a gas station in Raleigh, NC about 9PM the day before a Big Day to buy two 5-hour energy shots to keep me going the next day. The cashier was in his late twenties, and made a remark along the lines of "lot of partying tonight"? I said no, early morning tomorrow...getting up at 2AM to drive halfway across the state in order to see as many species of birds as possible. His response was "Dude, thats totally cool". I ended up telling him about it for the next 5 minutes or so, and he was captivated. Similar responses have been evoked from fellow students at WCU to whom I have mentioned my Big Days.

Many Big Day birders have pledged charitible donations for every species recorded on a Big Day, or have gotten sponsors to do so. If you have the means, this is a great way of helping to publicize exactly what it is that you are doing and also serves as a way to offset the impact you have on resources while doing it.

Big Days= extreme birding. They are not for the faint of heart. In summary, Big Days are not just a silly, wasteful game. They are a way to further your avian knowledge, break away from the usual birding stereotypes, perhaps help spark interest in non-birders, and most of all, see a lot of birds and have fun!!!!! So get out there and bird, bird, bird, and go ahead, try a Big Day! You won't regret it.