Big Year 2016: It’s On

Which birder will see the most species in North America this year?

TK INTRODUCTION - What is Big Year? ANd What's at stake?

Meet the Players

COLUMN ONE: JOHN WEIGEL BIO and PICTURE

 

BIRDS SIGHTED: 776 SPECIES

(updated 11/25/16)

COLUMN TWO: OLAF DANIELSON BIO and PICTURE

 

BIRDS SIGHTED: 772 SPECIES

(updated 11/26/16)

Close behind are Laura Keene and Christian Hagenlocher. Full-width brief introduction to them and their current status

John Weigel's states are blue; Olaf Danielson's states are red; shared states are purple.

Not featured: Canadian sightings.

The Big List

John and Olaf's species lists are remarkably similar. Full list below, with those birds unique to John in blue and those birds unique to Olaf in green.

 

Abert's Towhee Emperor Goose Pinyon Jay
Acadian Flycatcher Eurasian Collared-Dove Piping Plover
Acorn Woodpecker Eurasian Skylark Plain Chachalaca
Alder Flycatcher Eurasian Tree Sparrow Plain-capped Starthroat
Aleutian Tern Eurasian Wigeon Plumbeous Vireo
Allen's Hummingbird European Starling Pomarine Jaeger
Altamira Oriole Evening Grosbeak Prairie Falcon
Amazon Kingfisher Eyebrowed Thrush Prairie Warbler
American Avocet Far Eastern Curlew Prothonotary Warbler
American Bittern Fea's Petrel Purple Finch
American Black Duck Ferruginous Hawk Purple Gallinule
American Coot Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Purple Martin
American Crow Field Sparrow Purple Sandpiper
American Dipper Fieldfare Pygmy Nuthatch
American Flamingo Fish Crow Pyrrhuloxia
American Golden-Plover Five-striped Sparrow Razorbill
American Goldfinch Flame-colored Tanager Red Crossbill
American Kestrel Flammulated Owl Red Knot
American Oystercatcher Flesh-footed Shearwater Red Phalarope
American Pipit Florida Scrub-Jay Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Redstart Fork-tailed Flycatcher Red-billed Pigeon
American Robin Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Red-billed Tropicbird
American Three-toed Woodpecker Forster's Tern Red-breasted Merganser
American Tree Sparrow Fox Sparrow Red-breasted Nuthatch
American White Pelican Franklin's Gull Red-breasted Sapsucker
American Wigeon Fulvous Whistling-Duck Red-cockaded Woodpecker
American Woodcock Gadwall Red-crowned Parrot
Ancient Murrelet Gambel's Quail Red-eyed Vireo
Anhinga Garganey Red-faced Cormorant
Anna's Hummingbird Gila Woodpecker Red-faced Warbler
Antillean Nighthawk Gilded Flicker Red-flanked Bluetail
Aplomado Falcon Glaucous Gull Red-footed Booby
Arctic Loon Glaucous-winged Gull Red-headed Woodpecker
Arctic Tern Glossy Ibis Red-legged Kittiwake
Arctic Warbler Golden Eagle Red-naped Sapsucker
Arizona Woodpecker Golden-cheeked Warbler Red-necked Grebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher Golden-crowned Kinglet Red-necked Phalarope
Ashy Storm-Petrel Golden-crowned Sparrow Red-necked Stint
Atlantic Puffin Golden-crowned Warbler Red-shouldered Hawk
Audubon's Oriole Golden-fronted Woodpecker Red-tailed Hawk
Audubon's Shearwater Golden-winged Warbler Red-throated Loon
Bachman's Sparrow Grace's Warbler Red-throated Pipit
Bahama Mockingbird Grasshopper Sparrow Red-whiskered Bulbul
Baird's Sandpiper Gray Catbird Red-winged Blackbird
Baird's Sparrow Gray Flycatcher Reddish Egret
Bald Eagle Gray Hawk Redhead
Baltimore Oriole Gray Jay Redwing
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Gray Kingbird Rhinoceros Auklet
Band-tailed Pigeon Gray Partridge Ridgway's Rail
Bank Swallow Gray Vireo Ring-billed Gull
Bar-tailed Godwit Gray-cheeked Thrush Ring-necked Duck
Barn Owl Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Ring-necked Pheasant
Barn Swallow Gray-headed Chickadee Ringed Kingfisher
Barnacle Goose Gray-headed Swamphen Rock Pigeon
Barred Owl Gray-tailed Tattler Rock Ptarmigan
Barrow's Goldeneye Great Black-backed Gull Rock Sandpiper
Bay-breasted Warbler Great Blue Heron Rock Wren
Bell's Sparrow Great Cormorant Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bell's Vireo Great Crested Flycatcher Rose-throated Becard
Belted Kingfisher Great Egret Roseate Spoonbill
Bendire's Thrasher Great Gray Owl Roseate Tern
Berylline Hummingbird Great Horned Owl Ross's Goose
Bewick's Wren Great Kiskadee Ross's Gull
Bicknell's Thrush Great Knot Rosy-faced Lovebird
Black Guillemot Great Shearwater Rough-legged Hawk
Black Noddy Great Skua Royal Tern
Black Oystercatcher Great-tailed Grackle Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Black Phoebe Greater Pewee Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black Rail Greater Prairie-Chicken Ruddy Duck
Black Rosy-Finch Greater Roadrunner Ruddy Ground-Dove
Black Scoter Greater Sage-Grouse Ruddy Turnstone
Black Skimmer Greater Scaup Ruff
Black Storm-Petrel Greater White-fronted Goose Ruffed Grouse
Black Swift Greater Yellowlegs Rufous Hummingbird
Black Tern Green Heron Rufous-backed Robin
Black Turnstone Green Jay Rufous-capped Warbler
Black Vulture Green Kingfisher Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Black-and-white Warbler Green Parakeet Rufous-winged Sparrow
Black-backed Woodpecker Green-tailed Towhee Rustic Bunting
Black-bellied Plover Green-winged Teal Rusty Blackbird
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Groove-billed Ani Sabine's Gull
Black-billed Cuckoo Gull-billed Tern Sage Thrasher
Black-billed Magpie Gunnison Sage-Grouse Sagebrush Sparrow
Black-capped Chickadee Gyrfalcon Saltmarsh Sparrow
Black-capped Gnatcatcher Hairy Woodpecker Sanderling
Black-capped Petrel Hammond's Flycatcher Sandhill Crane
Black-capped Vireo Harlequin Duck Sandwich Tern
Black-chinned Hummingbird Harris's Hawk Savannah Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow Harris's Sparrow Say's Phoebe
Black-crested Titmouse Hawaiian Petrel Scaled Quail
Black-crowned Night-Heron Hawfinch Scaly-breasted Munia
Black-faced Grassquit Heermann's Gull Scarlet Tanager
Black-footed Albatross Henslow's Sparrow Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Black-headed Grosbeak Hepatic Tanager Scott's Oriole
Black-headed Gull Hermit Thrush Scripps's Murrelet
Black-legged Kittiwake Hermit Warbler Seaside Sparrow
Black-necked Stilt Herring Gull Sedge Wren
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Himalayan Snowcock Semipalmated Plover
Black-tailed Gull Hoary Redpoll Semipalmated Sandpiper
Black-throated Blue Warbler Hooded Merganser Sharp-shinned Hawk
Black-throated Gray Warbler Hooded Oriole Sharp-tailed Grouse
Black-throated Green Warbler Hooded Warbler Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Black-throated Sparrow Hook-billed Kite Shiny Cowbird
Black-vented Shearwater Horned Grebe Short-billed Dowitcher
Black-whiskered Vireo Horned Lark Short-eared Owl
Blackburnian Warbler Horned Puffin Short-tailed Albatross
Blackpoll Warbler House Finch Short-tailed Hawk
Blue Bunting House Sparrow Short-tailed Shearwater
Blue Grosbeak House Wren Siberian Accentor
Blue Jay Hudsonian Godwit Siberian Rubythroat
Blue-footed Booby Hutton's Vireo Sinaloa Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Iceland Gull Slate-throated Redstart
Blue-headed Vireo Inca Dove Slaty-backed Gull
Blue-throated Hummingbird Indigo Bunting Smew
Blue-winged Teal Island Scrub-Jay Smith's Longspur
Blue-winged Warbler Ivory Gull Smooth-billed Ani
Bluethroat Jack Snipe Snail Kite
Boat-tailed Grackle Juniper Titmouse Snow Bunting
Bobolink Kelp Gull Snow Goose
Bohemian Waxwing Kentucky Warbler Snowy Egret
Bonaparte's Gull Killdeer Snowy Owl
Boreal Chickadee King Eider Snowy Plover
Boreal Owl King Rail Solitary Sandpiper
Botteri's Sparrow Kirtland's Warbler Song Sparrow
Brambling Kittlitz's Murrelet Sooty Grouse
Brandt's Cormorant Ladder-backed Woodpecker Sooty Shearwater
Brant Lapland Longspur Sooty Tern
Brewer's Blackbird Lark Bunting Sora
Brewer's Sparrow Lark Sparrow South Polar Skua
Bridled Tern Laughing Gull Spectacled Eider
Bridled Titmouse Lawrence's Goldfinch Spot-breasted Oriole
Bristle-thighed Curlew Laysan Albatross Spotted Dove
Broad-billed Hummingbird Lazuli Bunting Spotted Owl
Broad-tailed Hummingbird Le Conte's Sparrow Spotted Sandpiper
Broad-winged Hawk Le Conte's Thrasher Spotted Towhee
Bronzed Cowbird Leach's Storm-Petrel Sprague's Pipit
Brown Booby Least Auklet Spruce Grouse
Brown Creeper Least Bittern Steller's Eider
Brown Noddy Least Flycatcher Steller's Jay
Brown Pelican Least Grebe Stilt Sandpiper
Brown Thrasher Least Sandpiper Streak-backed Oriole
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Least Storm-Petrel Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher Least Tern Summer Tanager
Brown-headed Cowbird Lesser Black-backed Gull Surf Scoter
Brown-headed Nuthatch Lesser Goldfinch Surfbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Lesser Nighthawk Swainson's Hawk
Buff-breasted Flycatcher Lesser Prairie-Chicken Swainson's Thrush
Buff-breasted Sandpiper Lesser Sand-Plover Swainson's Warbler
Buff-collared Nightjar Lesser Scaup Swallow-tailed Kite
Bufflehead Lesser Yellowlegs Swamp Sparrow
Buller's Shearwater Lewis's Woodpecker Tennessee Warbler
Bullock's Oriole Limpkin Terek Sandpiper
Burrowing Owl Lincoln's Sparrow Thayer's Gull
Bushtit Little Blue Heron Thick-billed Kingbird
Cackling Goose Little Egret Thick-billed Murre
Cactus Wren Little Gull Thick-billed Vireo
California Condor Little Stint Townsend's Solitaire
California Gnatcatcher Loggerhead Shrike Townsend's Warbler
California Gull Long-billed Curlew Tree Swallow
California Quail Long-billed Dowitcher Tricolored Blackbird
California Scrub-Jay Long-billed Thrasher Tricolored Heron
California Thrasher Long-eared Owl Trindade Petrel
California Towhee Long-tailed Duck Tropical Kingbird
Calliope Hummingbird Long-tailed Jaeger Tropical Parula
Canada Goose Long-toed Stint Trumpeter Swan
Canada Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Tufted Duck
Canvasback Lucifer Hummingbird Tufted Flycatcher
Canyon Towhee Lucy's Warbler Tufted Puffin
Canyon Wren MacGillivray's Warbler Tufted Titmouse
Cape May Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird Tundra Swan
Carolina Chickadee Magnificent Hummingbird Turkey Vulture
Carolina Wren Magnolia Warbler Upland Sandpiper
Caspian Tern Mallard Varied Bunting
Cassin's Auklet Mangrove Cuckoo Varied Thrush
Cassin's Finch Manx Shearwater Variegated Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird Marbled Godwit Vaux's Swift
Cassin's Sparrow Marbled Murrelet Veery
Cassin's Vireo Marsh Sandpiper Verdin
Cattle Egret Marsh Wren Vermilion Flycatcher
Cave Swallow Masked Booby Vesper Sparrow
Cedar Waxwing McCown's Longspur Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Cerulean Warbler McKay's Bunting Violet-green Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee Merlin Virginia Rail
Chestnut-collared Longspur Mew Gull Virginia's Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler Mexican Chickadee Wandering Tattler
Chihuahuan Raven Mexican Jay Warbling Vireo
Chimney Swift Mexican Violetear Western Bluebird
Chipping Sparrow Mexican Whip-poor-will Western Grebe
Chuck-will's-widow Mississippi Kite Western Gull
Chukar Monk Parakeet Western Kingbird
Cinnamon Teal Montezuma Quail Western Meadowlark
Clapper Rail Mottled Duck Western Sandpiper
Clark's Grebe Mottled Petrel Western Screech-Owl
Clark's Nutcracker Mountain Bluebird Western Spindalis
Clay-colored Sparrow Mountain Chickadee Western Tanager
Clay-colored Thrush Mountain Plover Western Wood-Pewee
Cliff Swallow Mountain Quail Whimbrel
Colima Warbler Mourning Dove Whiskered Auklet
Common Black Hawk Mourning Warbler Whiskered Screech-Owl
Common Chiffchaff Murphy's Petrel White Ibis
Common Crane Muscovy Duck White Wagtail
Common Eider Mute Swan White-breasted Nuthatch
Common Gallinule Nanday Parakeet White-collared Seedeater
Common Goldeneye Nashville Warbler White-crowned Pigeon
Common Grackle Nelson's Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow
Common Greenshank Neotropic Cormorant White-eared Hummingbird
Common Ground-Dove Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet White-eyed Vireo
Common Loon Northern Bobwhite White-faced Ibis
Common Merganser Northern Cardinal White-headed Woodpecker
Common Murre Northern Flicker White-rumped Sandpiper
Common Myna Northern Fulmar White-tailed Hawk
Common Nighthawk Northern Gannet White-tailed Kite
Common Pauraque Northern Goshawk White-tailed Ptarmigan
Common Pochard Northern Harrier White-tailed Tropicbird
Common Poorwill Northern Hawk Owl White-throated Sparrow
Common Raven Northern Jacana White-throated Swift
Common Redpoll Northern Mockingbird White-throated Thrush
Common Ringed Plover Northern Parula White-tipped Dove
Common Sandpiper Northern Pintail White-winged Crossbill
Common Scoter Northern Pygmy-Owl White-winged Dove
Common Snipe Northern Rough-winged Swallow White-winged Parakeet
Common Tern Northern Saw-whet Owl White-winged Scoter
Common Yellowthroat Northern Shoveler Whooping Crane
Connecticut Warbler Northern Shrike Wild Turkey
Cook's Petrel Northern Waterthrush Willet
Cooper's Hawk Northern Wheatear Williamson's Sapsucker
Cordilleran Flycatcher Northwestern Crow Willow Flycatcher
Cory's Shearwater Nuttall's Woodpecker Willow Ptarmigan
Costa's Hummingbird Nutting's Flycatcher Wilson's Phalarope
Couch's Kingbird Oak Titmouse Wilson's Plover
Craveri's Murrelet Olive Sparrow Wilson's Snipe
Crested Auklet Olive Warbler Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Crested Caracara Olive-sided Flycatcher Wilson's Warbler
Crimson-collared Grosbeak Orange-crowned Warbler Winter Wren
Crissal Thrasher Orchard Oriole Wood Duck
Curlew Sandpiper Osprey Wood Sandpiper
Curve-billed Thrasher Ovenbird Wood Stork
Dark-eyed Junco Pacific Golden-Plover Wood Thrush
Dickcissel Pacific Loon Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
Double-crested Cormorant Pacific Wren Worm-eating Warbler
Dovekie Pacific-slope Flycatcher Wrentit
Downy Woodpecker Painted Bunting Yellow Grosbeak
Dunlin Painted Redstart Yellow Rail
Dusky Flycatcher Palm Warbler Yellow Warbler
Dusky Grouse Parakeet Auklet Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Dusky Warbler Parasitic Jaeger Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Dusky-capped Flycatcher Pectoral Sandpiper Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eared Grebe Pelagic Cormorant Yellow-billed Loon
Eastern Bluebird Peregrine Falcon Yellow-billed Magpie
Eastern Kingbird Phainopepla Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Meadowlark Philadelphia Vireo Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Eastern Phoebe Pied-billed Grebe Yellow-eyed Junco
Eastern Screech-Owl Pigeon Guillemot Yellow-footed Gull
Eastern Towhee Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-green Vireo
Eastern Whip-poor-will Pin-tailed Snipe Yellow-headed Blackbird
Eastern Wood-Pewee Pine Bunting Yellow-legged Gull
Eastern Yellow Wagtail Pine Grosbeak Yellow-rumped Warbler
Egyptian Goose Pine Siskin Yellow-throated Vireo
Elegant Tern Pine Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler
Elegant Trogon Pink-footed Goose Zenaida Dove
Elf Owl Pink-footed Shearwater Zone-tailed Hawk