Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
6:30 - 9:30 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA

Well, it didn't snow. Sixty members and visitors, eager to hear Greg Miller talk about his Big Year, braved the torrential rains and flooded streets to attend the meeting. Birding stories were shared with friends and acquaintances during the social hour. Vice President Jim Valimont called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM in the absence of President Jack, who is currently winter birding in Texas and Arizona. Jim reminded everyone to help themselves to the free magazines, and he also asked the generous donors to take home any which remained at the end of the meeting. Very few remained! He also thanked the members who provided refreshments.

Bird Reports Editor Mike Fialkovich began the short business agenda by asking for a treasurer's report from Bob Machesney. Bob stated that 3RBC has about $4000 in the treasury, and the membership list has reached an all time high of 245 individuals and families. Program Director Neil Nodelman said that the next meeting is scheduled for April 2 and will feature Bob Mulvihill from Powdermill Nature Reserve. (His topic will address reaching the goals of the second breeding bird atlas in 2008.) The meeting on June 4 will be a members' slide slam. Outings Director Steve Thomas promised many outings in the spring. Bob VanNewkirk will lead an outing to Sewickley Heights Park on February 16 in connection with the Backyard Bird Count.

Mike mentioned that the latest issue of Birding magazine, January/February 2008, is richly illustrated with ink and colored pencil drawings done by Steve Carbol, formerly of the Pittsburgh area and a recent guest speaker at 3RBC. Also, Don Gibbon has an article, "In Praise of Lenses," in this same issue. Don wrote the article based on his experience with hand lenses in his vocation as a geologist and his experience with binoculars in his avocation as a birder. Don investigated lenses thoroughly during his three-year search for the right pair of binoculars. When questioned about the results of his search, he said that he chose a pair from Eagle Optics.

The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology Annual Meeting is scheduled for May 16-18, and 3RBC is co-hosting the event with ASWP. Mike suggested that we should look for more information on the PSO website (www.pabirds.org). Mike had BBA materials available for anyone who wanted them. He will be scheduling a block-busting outing to survey the Boyce Park area.

Although birding in the Pittsburgh area at this time of the year may seem as dull as the winter sky, Mike cited many birding highlights ranging from frequent Peregrine Falcons and huge roosts of American Robins to leucistic European Starlings, Carolina Chickadees, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Some birders have Common Redpolls in their backyards, but Jim Valimont had a Northern Goshawk in his. There was some discussion about whether one of the redpolls at Bushy Run Battlefield is a Hoary Redpoll. Three Ross's Geese are still hanging around in Hampton Township and North Park. A question arose about access to Imperial since the highway construction. The answer was that you can get in and bird as long as you stay on the roads and not in the fields. There is little traffic noise on the little used highway, so it won't be a distraction.

Jim Valimont introduced the evening's guest speaker, Greg Miller. Greg is one of the three men whose birding tales are told in The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik. He is a contract programmer and the owner of Ohio Birds Listserv. Although he lived in Maryland in 1998 when he did his Big Year, he currently resides in Sugarcreek, Ohio, near Canton.

Greg began his interesting presentation by stating that he was recovering from leukemia in 2002 when he received a call from a reporter inquiring about his Big Year. Greg's information, as well as that from Sandy Komito and Al Levinton, provided the basis of the acclaimed book. Mark himself had believed that the public would not be interested in such a book about birders. Obviously he was wrong, as the book has sold well in many countries, especially in New Zealand.

Doing a Big Year, seeing how many bird species one can identify within a region during the year, according to Greg is challenging, costly, time consuming, logistically difficult, and requires a great deal of both skill and stamina. There are no financial rewards, but the birder gets a sense of achievement and bragging rights. Before Gregg started his big year in 1998, only three other birders had broken the 700 species mark. All three, Gregg, Sandy, and Al, successfully reached that magic number. What was particularly amazing about Greg's accomplishment was that he was working for much of the year. Modestly, our speaker originally hoped to reach 600 bird species.

Greg humorously led us through his big year by providing charts, maps, and photos to illustrate his journeys across North America as defined by the ABA. He birded around Maryland and then took his first trip to Arizona and had some excellent finds. Next were Texas, then Minnesota and Oklahoma. California, Ohio, South Florida, and Texas again were successful destinations before May. As his talk proceeded, the audience could watch his yearly total increase, marvel at spectacular finds, and empathize with his misses.

Gregg had great success with 89 new birds in Alaska. Attu had the coldest weather in 22 years but the best recorded birding ever. Pictures of the "Attu Hilton" drew laughs. Birding on a very limited budget, Gregg learned the difference between "water-resistant" and "water proof." He was voted the least prepared birder (clothing-wise) on Attu and then faced the colder climate of Gambell. This intrepid birder managed to squeeze in a side trip from Minnesota to North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming before returning home. During that trip he lived on a small jar of peanut butter and pretzels for three days.

When he reached home, Gregg had surpassed his original goal with 611 birds by June 15. Exhausted, feeling ill, vacation days and money depleted, Gregg was ready to end his big year, but a friend convinced him to go for 700. By early September he was reduced to chasing target birds. We watched as Gregg illustrated and discussed his successes and misses. This was his most trying time as the numbers slowly increased one by one.

Gregg finished his big year with 715 birds. Aside from his skill and determination, he indicated that luck often played a factor. For instance, recognizing that a storm front was approaching, he made it to High Island in time for an incredible fallout of birds. He also indicates that the strongest El Niņo in years was probably a factor. Gregg provided some "geek" calculations at the end of his talk: each species seen cost an average of $43.58; the cost per day was $174; and the total cost was $31,159. He then thrilled the audience by indicating that DreamWorks might make a movie about the three birders and their quests during the Big Year of 1998.

His enthralled listeners then asked questions. Gregg answered that he greatly enjoyed the helicopter ride while searching for the Himalayan Snowcock, that he was first inspired to do a big year in about 1980 or 1981 while reading Roger Tory Peterson's book about 12 birding hotspots, and that he has no regrets that he didn't win the competition for the biggest Big Year. Gregg provided advice to birders who want to increase their life lists: go to the Big 4 locations of South Florida, South Texas, Southeast Arizona, and Southern California. Gregg stayed a long time to talk with individuals and autograph copies of the book following the conclusion of the meeting.

Submitted by Pat and Sherron Lynch
Co-secretaries of Three Rivers Birding Club