A Big Green Big Year

So far, using my own physical energy to transport myself (and the help of a bicycle), I have seen 174 species of birds this year. That's pretty much a one sentence summary of what a Big Green Big Year or BIGBY is. It's a birding big year without using fossil fuels to get you to the next bird.

Birders in search of a Big Year have set some pretty admirable records in the past. But at what cost? Literally thousands of dollars spent on gas and airline tickets and tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. In this new century, let's try something different, let's find birds closer to home, and get there by different means. Let's reduce the impact that a big year has on the environment that supports the very birds we love to seek. But let's not forsake the car and jet solely out of guilt: let's go green because a BIGBY is a whole new way to bird, a more fun way and a more challenging way. Check out my links to other BIGBY birders, and see the original BIGBY page <http://www.sparroworks.ca/bigby.html>.

So far a pretty good first quarter of the year--you can check out my list on the right. I've gotten to know the birdy spots around San Francisco a lot better, I've added two new life birds: Harlequin Duck and Glaucous Gull. And spring is just beginning to bring more birds to the Bay Area!