Big Year is a collaborative page between a group of family and friends who have long admired birds, specifically, the birds of the Sonoran Desert. Since 2015, have we taken on the challenge of identifying the myriad birds that come through our areas, and with one of us living on the East coast, the flickr page provided a quick and easy way for us to check in on each other.

Our first passion was reptiles and amphibians but we were always fascinated by the birds we would see while roaming about Avra Valley, Madera Canyon, or wherever our adventures took us. Whether it was a Peregrine falcon doing spectacular aerial acrobatics, a Turkey vulture wheeling languidly in the thermals, or the scruffy little birds that bounced about the thorny brush and bramble on the desert floor, they caught our eye and earned our admiration. We knew a handful of them, but often we would just lump them into a general group: sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, hawks. I must admit, the movie Big Year helped nudge us into our current level of interest. I had never heard of a “big year” before that, and the idea gave focus to our effort. Now as a challenge to ourselves we see how many species we can ID each year as an informal group, consisting of five main members but with contributions every year of several other interested family and friends. As such, we have birds on our life list from as far away as Hong Kong and Ireland. Our life list album is every bird we have been able to get a lens on, even a bad shot, if it is identifiable, it goes in until a better shot is taken. We are still very new at this and are continually trying to improve both our ID and photography skills. If you ever notice a bird that is identified incorrectly, we always welcome a comment. We enjoy the photography of others we have found in this pursuit, and appreciate everyone who has decided to follow, fav, or comment on our page.

All the best, and good luck out there!

-BigYear