I am excited to share that I completed my first virtual Michigan Big Year through the Fantasy Birding platform — and it won’t be my last! I really enjoyed participating in Fantasy Birding and learning about hotspots around the state.
Throughout my 2021 virtual Michigan Big Year experience, I added 306 species to my list! When I started this journey, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but nabbing over 300 species didn’t seem possible. A total of 20 people participated in a virtual Michigan Big Year. I’m excited to report I came in third! The 2021 winner recorded 334 species, and second place recorded 312 species.
Of my 306 species, 27 are considered rarities. I added one or more species to my list 102 days out of the year. There were 29 species seen by other participants that I didn’t add to my list. Fantasy Birding reported my best bird seen throughout the year to be the Nelson’s Sparrow because only one other person besides myself recorded it. The easiest bird I didn’t see was the American Avocet. Of the 20 participants, 11 saw this shorebird.
As might be expected, I added the most species to my list on my first day out. I started my big year on January 16, 2021, at Fenner Nature Center, adding 29 species and starting the year reasonably strong. My second-largest day for adding species was a tie between January 17 at Kensington Metropark and May 15 at Tawas Point State Park. Each day I added 21 new species.
May was my biggest month for species per day and for adding species. I went nine consecutive days of adding new species at the beginning of May. In those nine days alone, I added 42 species, which contributed to a total of 96 species for the month!
I marvel at how many species on my list I have yet to see in person and how this experience helped me feel connected with the birds of Michigan without even going outdoors. Don’t get me wrong — I’m looking forward to getting out and seeing some of these species in person over the next year. But I also plan to keep using Fantasy Birding to learn more bird identifications, explore hotspots, and stay connected to the birds when I can’t get outside! I encourage everyone to consider and examine this virtual birding opportunity.
Featured photo: Nelson’s Sparrow. Photo by Rick Bohn | USFWS Flickr CC
Species Highlight:
Nelson’s Sparrow
Fantasy Birding reported my best bird seen throughout the year to be the Nelson’s Sparrow because only one other person besides myself recorded it.
Photo: Nelson’s Sparrow by Rick Bohn | USFWS Flickr CC
Biggest Day
As might be expected, I added the most species to my list on my first day out. I started my big year on January 16, 2021, at Fenner Nature Center, adding 29 species and starting the year reasonably strong.
Thank You!
Thank you to anyone who made suggestions on places to go throughout the year. I wouldn’t have been able to add any species if no one was reporting to eBird in the location I picked on that given day.
Hotspot Highlight
There were too many great hotspots throughout the year to be able to get to them all! You can explore hotspots via eBird to help you plan your next birding adventure.
Lindsay Cain is Michigan Audubon’s education coordinator. If you are interested in learning more about our events, workshops, presentations, or event sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lindsay at 517.580.7364 or [email protected].
You can follow Lindsay’s virtual big year journey through her monthly blog posts or start your Fantasy Birding adventure and look for her on the scoreboards. You can find her under the username “lcain” with a Turkey Vulture as her avatar.