My Biggest Year in American Birding – Dead of Winter Knowledge Quest with Nick Komar

My Biggest Year in American Birding: A Quest for 900 Species in the USA and its Territories during 2023

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Nick Komar retired from his biologist position at the end of 2022 and the next day began a year-long quest for 900 species of birds without leaving the USA. To accomplish this record-setting feat, he would visit over 20 USA states, including Alaska, Hawaii, and four territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). 

During the course of the year, he added 100 species to his life list, spent parts of 17 days birding at sea, and observed more than 60 ABA Code 3+ rarities. He finished the year in fourth place in the ABA area competition with 796 species observed in the USA and Canada, while he established a new world record for the USA and Territories!

Nick will discuss these rarities and the birdlife he encountered in the USA territories, focusing on threatened and endemic species. Attend the talk to find out if he achieved his goal of 900 species. He is currently working on a book describing his adventures during his 2023 Biggest Year in American Birding.

Nicholas (Nick) Komar, recipient of the CFO 2024 Director’s Award, was CFO President 2019-2023.  He has also served on the Board of Directors of CFO, Fort Collins Audubon Society, and the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (now Bird Conservancy of the Rockies). 

Nick Komar’s motto is “work hard – play hard”.  Nick was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s Disease more than 20 years ago. This illness slowed him down and eventually caused his early retirement at age 57 prematurely ending his 25-year career as a biologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where he served as an expert on viruses maintained in nature by birds and mosquitoes.

Nick had a dream of competing in a Big Year ever since he was a kid. Nick began birding at age 7 and soon thereafter began studying birds and publishing articles on birding and birds.  After moving to Fort Collins in 1997 with a doctor of science degree from Harvard University, he became involved in the local birding community. He led many field trips and field identification workshops. He also created Quetzal Tours, a birding tourism company.

After retiring, he jumped at the opportunity to compete in a Big Year in 2023. Nick likes to be a trendsetter rather than a follower. Hence the twist of including the territories and creating the opportunity for establishing a new world record.  He documented as many of his birds as possible using digital photography and audio recording and tracked his observations in eBird. Photos of 810 species of birds from his biggest year project are displayed on his PBASE gallery.