//podcastplus.net/feed/podcast~18a09f2562db25d721e208a87673b495772ff28d286cbc5879cedd49e15aa688 Welcome to the Big Year Podcast, a show devoted to birders who do Big Years. A Big Year is a 365 day commitment to see as many birds as possible in a defined area, including the ABA Area, states, provinces or counties in the US and Canada. Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:35:05 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ixi4mh/TiffanyKerstenPart2.mp3 We are back. Welcome once again to the show about birders and their Big Years. I had the pleasure of speaking with Tiffany a while back and in a previous episode we were discussing the life changing events that accidentally pushed her into doing a Big Year in the Lower 48 states.  And today as we continue with our discussion we shall see how life changing doing a Big Year was for Tiffany.  At a crossroads in her life, during the pandemic  and as a single, unemployed new home owner, she threw caution to the wind, and set out on an adventure that in the end, took her life into new directions that she may never have foreseen.  Join me once again as we talk about her amazing 2021, record breaking Lower 48 Big Year. Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:10:37 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ixi4mh/TiffanyKerstenPart2.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/usqibb/TiffanyKirstenPart1.mp3 Welcome to Episode 12 of The Big Year Podcast.   For those of you here for the first time, my name is Robert Baumander, but I spent 41 years as Captain Video for the Toronto Blue Jays.  Along the way I performed as a magician and Escape Artist, managed the computer system for Pizza Pizza, volunteered in elementary schools and The Hospital for Sick children doing magic and story telling and science classes.  I have done a variety of Big Years in North America since I became a birder in 2012, and now spend my time, since my Canada Big Year in 2022, hosting this podcast and writing about my adventures in birding and my travels across Canada and North America. This is part one of my chat with Tiffany Kersten, who’s resume sounds like that of the Dos Equis guy. I’ll let her tell you about her many accomplishments and some of the other, shall we say, more eclectic endeavours that have kept her busy over the years.  Suffice it to say, my resume doesn’t even come close to stacking up against hers and ... Tue, 31 Oct 2023 15:12:51 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/usqibb/TiffanyKirstenPart1.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4935yj/KiahJasperEpisode11BigYearPodcast.mp3 And a hearty welcome to episode 11 of the Big Year Podcast. I'm Robert. Baumander, and I'm your guide to the life of the big year birding experience. Late in the year 2011, which seems like a lifetime ago, I saw a little movie called, not surprisingly, The Big Year.      One of my favorite actors, Steve Martin, was starring in it. I was also a fan of Jack Black and remembered him from way back when I saw High Fidelity. And who doesn't love Owen Wilson? So I told Sue that I'd like to see it and from the previews I just thought it was a buddy movie.      Sue didn't let on that it was actually about birding or I may not have gone. But we did go, and I, like my guest, Kiah Jasper, was drawn into the prospect of doing a Big Year. Keep in mind, at the time, I was not a birder and had only ever used binoculars at the racetrack.  By the time the credits rolled with photos of all the birds and the Guster song, “This could all be yours someday,” I was pretty much hooked. I remembered that Sue had the b... Fri, 06 Oct 2023 17:08:35 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4935yj/KiahJasperEpisode11BigYearPodcast.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7zzde2/EpisodedXEzraCampanelli.mp3 Welcome to Part 4 of my 5 part series on the Birders of the Ontario 2022 Big Year. Today I will be talking to Ezra Campanelli who was one of the 3 birders that broke the all time record for species in an Ontario Big Year with 357 species seen.  He is one of a crop of young birders who are taking Ontario and the birding world by storm.  These young birders are so knowledgeable that they are teaching some of the veteran birders a thing or two along the way.  I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed talking to Ezra.  We became friends over the course of 2022 meeting often at different rare bird sightings and more often at Point Peele in the spring of that year. But now I have to run off because a Roseate Spoonbill has been seen along the Grand River in Brant County and what an exciting bird to chase, especially for anyone doing a Big Year in 2023. Fri, 18 Aug 2023 15:57:59 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7zzde2/EpisodedXEzraCampanelli.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/2ks3sd/Episode9WillamKonze.mp3 Welcome to Part 3 of my 5 episode series on the birders of the 2022 Ontario Big Year.  Three birders broke the all time record, including William Konze, who didn't even set out to do a Big Year, let alone break the record.  Though he didn't end up on top, his accomplishment is still a testament to his dedication and hard work. Travel in Ontario, which is even bigger than Texas, can be exhausting, sometimes chasing birds hundreds of miles away, driving 6 to 8 hours and in severe winer weather.  If you're planning on doing an Ontario Big Year in the coming years, hearing the stories of Susan, Andy, William, Ezra and Kiah will give you a sense of what it takes and how much you can learn while competing to be the top birder in the province. So, sit back, relax and enjoy another episode of The Big Year Podcast.  Unless you're driving.  In that case, pay attention to the road and enjoy the show. Wed, 02 Aug 2023 16:29:30 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/2ks3sd/Episode9WillamKonze.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ge7je5/TheBigYearPodcastEpisode8.mp3 A long time ago in an era known as the Covid-19 Lockdowns, I met Andy Nguyen on a berm above the Grand River in Brantford, Ontario.  We were looking or a California Gull and before finding it, I ran off to look for a Yellow-browed Warbler in Oakville.  Because Andy was wearing a mask, as it was back in Covid times, I did not recognize him the next time we met.   But after a while, we got to know each other and became good birding buddies here in Southwestern Ontario.  We birded many weekends and even drove out together to see a Grove-billed Ani in Perth County, Ontario in the fall of 2021. Since then we have both completed our own Big Years.  Andy took the opportunity in 2022 to do his own Ontario Big Year and learned a lot about, not just birding, but himself in the process.  Big Years are, of course, an adventure, but they also are a learning experience and can teach you a thing or two about yourself, in the process. So join me as we step back in time, to late 2021 and the Andy's adventures as... Tue, 18 Jul 2023 22:35:18 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ge7je5/TheBigYearPodcastEpisode8.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/nrsn7h/TheBigYearPodCastSusanNagy.mp3 Welcome to another episode of the Big Year Podcast!  My journey across North America to talk to and see what makes Big Year Birders Tick.  It’s July 2, 2023 as I broadcast from my Secret Big Year recording location, deep in the basement of my Brantford home.  It’s a rainy day so I am stuck indoors, not willing to brave the elements for anything but the rarest birds sighting.  A far cry from what I or anyone else doing a big Year would do.  Big Year birders brave the weather and more in quest of their goals.    This is Episode 7, if I am doing my math correctly and in previous episodes we have talked to ABA Big Year Birders, but beginning with this episode, we are going to focus on my home province of Ontario, Canada.  In 2022, while I was galavanting all across Canada, a group of 5 intrepid birders had dedicated themselves to an Ontario Big Year.   Three of the top five birders, Ezra Campanelli, William Konze and Kiah Jasper each broke the all time Ontario Record.  Two other birders, S... Sun, 02 Jul 2023 18:56:03 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/nrsn7h/TheBigYearPodCastSusanNagy.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/a5atwk/TheBigYearPodcastOnTheRoad.mp3 The month of May in Southwestern Ontario is all about songbird migration and seeing as many warblers as possible.  I knew I wasn't going to have time to edit previous podcasts and, naturally, no birders were going to have time to do sit down interviews that may cost them a Big Year Bird or Lifer, or just a skulking Mourning or Worm Eating Warbler. So, instead, I took my recording device on the road to Point Pelee National Park, Long Point and Rondeau Provincial Parks and City View Park in Burlington, Ontario.  I walked up to birders I have never met and birders I have known or at least seen on the trails and asked them what lit the fuse that sparked their burning passion into birding. For me, the event For some it was seeing the movie "The Big Year" and the spark birds were the Nutting's Flycatcher and The Pink-footed Goose that bookended the movie.  I saw both over the next 12 months in 2012. For some people, it was an event and for others it was a specific bird. Join me for this special episode, ... Fri, 02 Jun 2023 22:21:01 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/a5atwk/TheBigYearPodcastOnTheRoad.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/pie8zb/Episode5LauraKeene.mp3 Today is May 1, 2023 and it is the official start of Spring Migration here in Southern Ontario.  Birders from far and wide, some doing their own Big Years, are beginning their own migration to Canada’s spring birding hotspot, Point Pelee National Park to welcome the songbirds home.  Down in Ohio, many birders will be making their way to The Biggest Week in American Birding.  Sue and I had to cancel our last trip there, as the Covid Pandemic Lockdowns were just being felt in the spring of 2020.   Down in Texas, the “winged” migration begins a little earlier, and in fact, my guest today, Laura Keene, had just seen her first Golden-cheeked Warbler of the year just before we spoke in early April , a beautiful song bird that sadly will likely never make it’s way up north.  Of course, who knows during migration season.  We just had White Wagtail here in Ontario, we can always hope. In 2016, inspired by a close friends battle with cancer, Laura began her own journey across North America, doing a ... Mon, 01 May 2023 21:40:32 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/pie8zb/Episode5LauraKeene.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4wekti/Episode4KarenMiller2017.mp3 I met Karen Miller on Canada Day in 2022.  I was running out of options to get close enough to Bill's Island, off of Grand Manan, New Brunswick, so I could see American Oystercatchers.  If the ferry had not been late, I'd have never met Karen and her husband Bill, who had been ferrying birders out to the island all day, to see these rare visitors to Canada. Then, on December 21 I was given an early Christmas present, in the form of a Green-tailed Towhee, another crazy-rare bird to show up in New Brunswick,(all that on top of the Stellar's Sea Eagle, just three weeks earlier).  It was there in Sackville, that I ran into Karen and Bill again, at first not realizing they were the friendly birders who took me out on their boat. Another friend, Mitch Doucet, told me she had the record for New Brunswick Big Years.  We chatted a bit that December afternoon, after seeing the towhee, and I wanted to get to know more about her life in birding and her amazing, record setting New Brunswick Big Year. Recently ... Mon, 03 Apr 2023 16:35:54 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4wekti/Episode4KarenMiller2017.mp3