A birder’s big year sets a record for Gwinnett

Soon after Chris O’Neal awoke last New Year’s Day in his Gwinnett County home, he heard a blue jay calling — bird species No. 1.

Earlier this week, he saw a flock of migrating sandhill cranes flying overhead — species No. 255.

Since Jan. 1, O’Neal, 28, has been pursuing a birding “Big Year,” trying to beat the statewide record for the number of bird species seen or heard in Georgia for a calendar year. With only a few days left in 2013, it’s unlikely that he’ll beat the state record of 331 species.

He has, however, achieved another goal — setting a Big Year record for Gwinnett with 158 species.

“I never expected to locate the number I found, so I am overjoyed,” said O’Neal, a statistician.

A Big Year, sanctioned by the American Birding Association, is an informal competition among birders to see or hear the largest number of bird species within a calendar year and within a specific geographical area — county, state or entire nation.

The Big Year achieved fame a couple of years ago when a Hollywood movie by that name portrayed three men on a quest to see who could identify the most species of birds in North America during the year.

“After seeing the movie (and reading the book on which it was based), I thought, ‘I can do that,’” O’Neal said during a chat this week.

He also said:

• "(Some of) my most prized species included a scissor-tailed flycatcher near Cartersville, a Ross's goose in Suwanee, a long-billed curlew in Altamaha Sound and a red crossbill in Dawsonville."
• "Of all the birds I found, 54 were first-time sightings."
• "One of several adventures: On a boat trip on the Altamaha Sound with the Georgia Ornithological Society, we stopped at Egg Spit to search for shorebirds. … I was the first to disembark. The water was supposed to have been shallow, but I happened to find the one deep spot and plunged into the water up to my chin. Unfortunately, I was (carrying) my camera; it was damaged beyond repair from the water."

He’ll be looking for more birds this weekend. “My Big Year is not over until 11:59:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve,” he said.

IN THE SKY: The first major meteor shower of 2014, the Quadrantid, will be visible Wednesday through Saturday nights, with a peak of 120 meteors per hour on Friday night. Look north after dark, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer.