I began my birding journey in 2012 having never picked up a pair of binoculars. I decided to learn by doing an ABA,(American Birding Association), Big Year and finished with 600 species. 10 years later, in 2022 I did a Canada Big Year, and counted 456 species.
Now I get to talk to the birders of the Big Year, from Sandy Komito who was the first birder to do two Big Years, to Eve Morrell who was only the second woman to see more than 760 species in the continental ABA Area and provincial Big Year Birder, Karen Miller, who still holds the New Brunswick, Canada provincial record of 303 species.
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I began my birding journey in 2012 having never picked up a pair of binoculars. I decided to learn by doing an ABA,(American Birding Association), Big Year and finished with 600 species. 10 years later, in 2022 I did a Canada Big Year, and counted 456 species.
Now I get to talk to the birders of the Big Year, from Sandy Komito who was the first birder to do two Big Years, to Eve Morrell who was only the second woman to see more than 760 species in the continental ABA Area and provincial Big Year Birder, Karen Miller, who still holds the New Brunswick, Canada provincial record of 303 species.
Season 3, Episode 2: Natasza Fontaine and Robert Gundy Florida Big Year and Artist of the
The Big Year Podcast
59 minutes 23 seconds
7 months ago
Season 3, Episode 2: Natasza Fontaine and Robert Gundy Florida Big Year and Artist of the
Happy Podcast day, one and all! Welcome to back to The Big Year Podcast. Thank you once again for joining me. It’s April 15, 2025 and spring migration is well underway here in southwestern Ontario. It’s actually a bit of a miracle that I finished this episode on time because the last 2 weeks have been very busy for me and my fellow birders. It started with a Western Grebe in Port Credit, a Black-headed Gull, at Port Colborne, followed by a Long-billed Dowitcher right here in Brant County. The fun continued with over 50 American White Pelicans at Holiday Beach and a female Harlequin Duck down in Chatham-Kent. I also go my first Ruffed Grouse and Common Loon for Brant County, but the real excitement was the chase for a Crested Caracara in Essex County, not too far from the Ontario/Michigan boarder, on April 7.
Dozens of birders flocked to the small town of Amherstburg for a once in a lifetime look at this large falcon that lost its way. This bird should have been in Texas, and after a long day of searching seemed to have returned home. I had then tried for a Yellow-headed Blackbird back in Chatham, but near blizzard conditions sent me home to contemplate missed opportunities. However, on Wednesday the weather was nice again, so I decided to go back and look for the Yellow-headed Blackbird. To my complete surprise, before I even arrived at McGeachy Pond, I was alerted to the return of the caracara, not in Amherstburg, but right there in Chatham, only 15 minutes from where I was parked at the side of the road.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. I drove, I saw, I counted a new Canada Lifer! And I got to spend time with some of my favourite birding friends, including Kelly Sue, who you met on season one of the podcast. She lived only 5 minutes away. And yesterday we had another rare bird party as dozens of us migrated to Stoney Creek for a rare spring sighting of a Loggerhead Shrike. And all through that I was trying to find time to finish this podcast. Not only that, it’s the onset of allergy season and my head feels like it’s full of teddy bear stuffing.
Today’s episode features Robert Gundy and Natasza Fontaine. Robert is a biologist and Natasza was the 2024 ABA Bird of the Year Artist, painting the Golden-winged Warbler. And they both completed a record setting (Covid)Florida Big Year in 2020.
The Big Year Podcast
I began my birding journey in 2012 having never picked up a pair of binoculars. I decided to learn by doing an ABA,(American Birding Association), Big Year and finished with 600 species. 10 years later, in 2022 I did a Canada Big Year, and counted 456 species.
Now I get to talk to the birders of the Big Year, from Sandy Komito who was the first birder to do two Big Years, to Eve Morrell who was only the second woman to see more than 760 species in the continental ABA Area and provincial Big Year Birder, Karen Miller, who still holds the New Brunswick, Canada provincial record of 303 species.
