Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year

Accounts of “big years” (trying to find as many birds as possible within set geographic boundaries in a single calendar year) are prominent in birding literature. Wild America, written by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher in the ‘50s, changed how many looked at birding. Kenn Kaufman’s Kingbird Highway, though written much more recently, is no less of a classic. The Big Year, Mark Obmasick’s account of three birders’ big years, has been adapted as a Major Motion Picture. And now we have Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year.

In this book, Lynn Barber tells the story of her 2008 ABA big year (a big year confined by the boundaries and rules of the American Birding Association). Even though her results, as judged by number of bird species seen, can be found right on the book’s flap and even in the product description on book-selling websites, I’m not going to reveal them here. Suffice it to say that it was much more successful than Barber was expecting (and it’s hard to conceive that in five months she had seen more birds in the ABA area than I have in eight years of birding). From the Everglades of Florida to Gambell, Alaska, it was quite a journey, and one filled with great birds.

But it wasn’t easy. The birds didn’t always cooperate, of course, but the hardest thing seemed to be the grind of it all. An entire year of birding all over the continent sounds like a dream-come-true, but it is physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially draining. I applaud Barber for not glossing over this aspect of a big year. Toward the end she came close to sounding whiny, especially in the poems (poems? Yes, I’ll get into that in a minute), but she was honest. Her portrayal of a big year’s toll may be more helpful to prospective big year birders than anything else in the book. I was also pleased to find that she mentions, but does not dwell on or beat herself up over, the carbon footprint necessary in her undertaking.

The appeal of books such as this is being able to bird vicariously through the author, in most cases in a manner that the reader isn’t able to do in real life. Most birders will never have the time, money, and/or inclination to attempt an ABA big year, but we can still experience it through the accounts of those who have. Barber makes this especially easy as she presents her year in a day-by-day, diary-style manner. This structure differentiates Extreme Birder from similar books and makes Barber’s progress easier to track. This should also make it easier to use this book to prepare for your own big year.

However, this format is not without drawbacks. The day-by-day accounting makes it very hard for the author to avoid the trip-report feel of “I went here and saw such-and-such” repeated over and over again. As far as trip reports go, this is a well-written and interesting one, but it still hindered my engagement with the story. Instead of a single, unified narrative, at times it felt like reading a series of blog posts.

Contributing to the blog-like feel (in a good way) of Extreme Birder are the many extra touches that the author includes, such as photographs, a few paintings, and even poems – all by Barber. The photos depict some of the locations and birds the author saw during the year. Many of these pictures are nice, but not art-book worthy. Others are out of focus, partially obscured, or excessively grainy. However, I don’t see that as a shortcoming; I prefer these documentary shots, as these are the actual birds the author saw during her big year. The paintings are great; I only wish there were more of them! I even enjoyed the poems for a bit of levity and, especially, the insight they provide into the author’s frame of mind.

While most birders seem to enjoy the big-year subgenera, it’s not something that many non-birders can get into. The Big Year, along with select others, has risen above this, but I don’t think Extreme Birder has joined them. The main reason is that there is very little in the way of context. For instance, I turned a page to see one of the many photographs and thought, “Wow, Aztec Thrush!” In the text, Barber describes waking up and immediately hiking to the spot where it had been reported, where she finds a couple of other birders who have the bird. She reveals that it was a lifer for her, but otherwise does not explain what is so special about the bird (other than the fact that it’s one more for her year list, of course).

Recommendation

Anyone planning, or even (especially?) considering, an ABA big year should study Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year. Barber provides many tips and resources, in addition to what can be gleaned from the narrative, that should prove extremely helpful in planning a big year. But for those of us not undertaking such an endeavor I’m more cautious in my recommendation. Personally, I greatly enjoy birding vicariously through others’ big year tales. Extreme Birder is no exception, although I didn’t find it as entertaining or engrossing as the other books mentioned at the beginning of this review. Try one of them first if you don’t already know if you like such books. But if you tend to find birding travelogues to be insufferable, this one will likely prove no different.