After enjoying the movie "The Big Year" www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCBAP2wId5M I decided that 2012 would be a "Big Year" for me. The premise of the movie is that the three main characters (Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black), all avid "birders", are competing to see who can identify the most individual bird species in a year.

My older brother Dave became a birder when he was introduced to it by his 9th grade biology teacher. Dave then infected the rest of the family...first my parents, then me, and as a "mature" woman my sister Sally.

Growing up we would often take family vacations to bird refuges to watch birds, collect arrowheads, and spend time together in nature. It seemed like Sally always found a reason not to go and Dave (being much older) was doing his own thing so I went with my parents and some of their similarly infected friends.

On this blog I intend to document my adventures during my Big Year. I will post about birds I have seen, along with pictures and other interesting information about not only the birds but where I saw them.

We will be going to Hawaii in February and we make frequent trips to our home in St. George. We will also be going to Virginia to visit our son Ryan and his family so this will be a bit of a travelogue.

Your comments and observations about birds you have seen are welcome.