Global Big Day 2026

Patrick and I woke up at 4:30am on May 9th, sleepy but eager to start our two-hour drive down to Aguilar, CO to check out a hotspot that had been productive for warblers earlier in the week.

I opened the eBird app on my phone and saw a popup that it was Global Big Day. Suddenly, I had aspirations of 75 species in the day, 100 as a stretch goal, and why not spend all day birding instead of just the morning?

As it turns out, if you want to really do a Big Day, you kind of need to go to hotspots you know well and optimize for the most possible species. I was pretty bummed out by the afternoon when we were at something like 35 species, despite having birded four or five different locations in Southern Colorado. None of which I had ever been to, of course.

Luckily, the final stop of the day was the best. 😊 We ended up with 57 total species (and four lifers for me!) after closing out the day at a park in Pueblo that ended up being incredibly productive. We had stopped by to look for a vagrant Common Black Hawk that had been seen there. We didn't find the hawk, but some exciting highlights there included a pair of Mississippi Kites, two Osprey nests (including my first-ever time seeing an Osprey nest on a natural structure), and one Osprey dive-bombing a Double-Crested Cormorant over and over for the crime of being in the same section of river as its nest. Also a raccoon (not a bird).

Overall, the day taught me a lesson about optimizing for only one thing: new place OR most species, not both. It also taught me that I need to work on enjoying a day even if I'm not seeing everything I hope to see. I'm not sure how much progress I'm making on that second one.

Other highlights

Photo lifer: Greater Roadrunner

I had my first opportunity to photograph a Greater Roadrunner! The first time I saw a Greater Roadrunner was back in February. I looked up from pitching my tent at my campsite in Death Valley National Park and one of these goofy guys was just watching me from a few feet away. My camera was still in the car and it scampered off.

This time, we had two by the side of the road. There were very few other drivers around so we pulled over and I shot from the passenger seat.

Lifer Evening Grosbeak

There is a fairly reliable spot much closer to where I live for Evening Grosbeak, but I have only been there once and didn't hear or see them that day.

I heard some in Aguilar, though! And eventually, one came into view. What a cool bird! What a huge beak!

Kingbird paradise at the rest stop

We stopped at the Cuerno Verde Rest Area for a bathroom break. I stayed in the car. Patrick texted me "kingbirds in the trees," but still I stayed in the car. Then he came back and told me Merlin had heard a Cassin's Kingbird, which would be a lifer for me.

So I got out of the car and we spent a bunch of time at this rest area. Seriously, there were SO MANY kingbirds, both Western and Cassin's. I logged 20 kingbirds as an estimate, most likely on the low end. I also saw my first-of-the-year (FOY) Bullock's Orioles and Brewer's Blackbirds while there.

My other two lifers were Wilson's Phalarope and a vagrant Glossy Ibis, both at a spot in Trinidad, CO.

Other favorite photos

Finally, some of my other favorite photos from the day!