What is a BIGBY?

Several Montreal-area birders started doing a Big Green Big Year (BIGBY) in 2008. While the definition of a BIGBY can be rather fluid, it focuses on birders reducing their carbon footprint while familiarizing themselves with the birds on their own local patch of land.

In my case, I am doing what is called a "walking BIGBY", keeping track of the birds I see while walking from home. This year (2010) is the third year I've done this. For the first seven months of this year, home was in southern Indiana (Bloomington). I've continued the walking BIGBY after moving to Milwaukee in August. I recorded 152 species in Indiana, and as of today I have 186 walking BIGBY species in Milwaukee. Combining my Indiana and Wisconsin species, I know have 225 walking BIGBY species in 2010.

I also have an Illinois walking BIGBY life list from when I lived in Urbana. That list stands at 190 species. Not bad for walking in central Illinois.

Here are a couple of informational items about BIGBYing:

BIGBY informational web page: http://bit.ly/bGUVxi
BIGBY newsletter: http://bit.ly/aXrd7e
BIGBY e-mail list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bigbybirding/

And here are four brief articles I've written about my BIGBY experiences for the newsletter of the local Audubon Society chapter in southern Indiana. Note: the URL takes you to the newsletter issue as a whole. You will need to scroll down to the applicable page number.

In My Backyard: Big Green Big Year Satisfies. The Leaflet (newsletter). January/February 2009. ARTICLE ON PAGE 5.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-01.pdf

Big Green Big Year — 2008 Summary of Four Experiences. The Leaflet (newsletter). March/April 2009. ARTICLE ON PAGE 6.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-03.pdf

Big Green Big Year 2009: It’s All About Location, Location, Location. The Leaflet (newsletter). July/August 2009. ARTICLE ON PAGE 8.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-07.pdf

Green Birding 2009. The Leaflet (newsletter). January/February 2010. ARTICLE ON PAGE 8.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2010/Leaflet2010-01.pdf