Hello! I am Thomas O'Connor, and this blog is where I will record my birding adventures. Starting in September 2020, I am doing a little Big Year. A "Big Year" is a birding term meaning that a birder is going to try to see as many bird species as possible in a given year. People like Kenn Kaufman, Neil Hayward and Christian Hagenlocher have done really inspiring Big Years. There is even a movie about Sandy Komito, Greg Miller, and Al Levantin's very interesting Big Years. The movie is called (drumroll please....) The Big Year, and stars Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin. I have no pretensions of coming close to them, and I would never pretend to be a skilled enough birder to pull off a Big Year yet. However, as we are all in isolation and, thus, have few challenges except for staying healthy and sane, I thought it would be okay for me to try to do a "very modest," let's call it a "little" Big Year. This will help me strive to do something fun and healthy and to get out into nature. Thankfully, it is relatively easy to bird while six feet apart! So, with more than a dollop of modesty, I hereby declare that I am doing a little 2020-21 academic year Big Year. Let it be so!
September 2020 -September 2021
2020-21 Species Count: 97
September 11, 2021
Jackson Park


89. Philadelphia Vireo
90. Warbling Vireo
91. Red-eyed vireo
92. Gray-cheeked Thrush
93. Northern waterthrush
94. Bay-breasted warbler
95. Blackpoll warbler
96. Red-shouldered hawk
97. Rose-breasted grosbeak
August 28, 2021
Lake George


88. Bald eagle
June 28, 2021
Pomona College


82. White-throated swift
83. Anna's hummingbird
84. Acorn woodpecker
85. Black phobe
86. Common raven
87. California towhee
June 26, 2021
Jackson Park


75. Eastern kingbird
76. Cliff swallow
77. Purple martin
78. Cedar waxwing
79. Orchard oriole
80. Baltimore oriole
81. Common yellowthroat
May 22, 2021
Kroc Field


74. Monk parakeet
April 18, 2021
Jackson Park


59. Blue-winged teal
60. Caspian tern
61. Red-tailed hawk
62. Brown Creeper
63. Brown Thrasher
64. Chipping Sparrow
65. Dark-eyed Junco
66. Brown-headed cowbird
May 15, 2021
Jackson Park


69. Blue-gray gnatcatcher
70. Red-breasted nuthatch
71. Wood thrush
72. Palm warbler
73. Indigo bunting
May 14, 2021
Jackson Park


67. Spotted Sandpiper
68. Green heron
April 10, 2021
Jackson Park


53. Red-Breasted Mergaser
54. Mourning Dove
55. American Coot
56. Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
57. Swamp Sparrow
58. Yellow-Rumped Warbler
March 22, 2021
Galien River County Park


51. Tree Swallow
52. Eastern Phoebe