by Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Recently, Massachusetts native Gino Ellison visited The Center at Medfield to share his experiences during his 2023 quest to identify as many birds as possible in the ABA Area Big Year competition.
According to Wikipedia, “A big year is a personal challenge or an informal competition among birders who attempt to identify as many species of birds as possible by sight or sound, within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area.” There are no trophies or prizes for this competition. There is only the reward of setting a goal and working toward it.
At Ellison’s talk at The Center, the enthusiastic speaker shared the details of his year with adventurous stories, beautiful photographs, and carefully recorded bird calls, making his quest come alive for the attendees.
Ellison chose the large ABA Big Year area which includes the US and Canada and its 840 bird species. He studied for two years before his Big Year, by reading and viewing information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology about identifying birds and listening to their calls. He also studied destinations and bird migration patterns to choose the best regions to visit so he would encounter as many species as possible.
Before starting out on his quest, Ellison determined that his criteria for identifying a bird species would include photographing the bird in its natural habitat, showing its distinctive markings, and recording audio of its distinctive call.
During 2023, Ellison logged approximately 20,000 miles in plane and automobile trips to Florida, Maine, California, Colorado, and many other areas. During his travels, he collaborated with other famous birders to learn tips about finding specific species. He searched in many different locations, including mountains, deserts, warm climates, cold climates, forests, private ranches, military zones, and even on the ocean.
At the end of the Big Year, Ellison was able to identify and record 801 species of birds, placing him among the elite of the birders attempting this competition. As he travels around the country sharing his adventures, he is often asked if he would do it again, and his answer is “I probably will.”
See the ABA’s website at aba.org for more information about birding clubs, checklists, and the Big Year.
