By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The most bird species observed by a single individual in a single year is 6,852. John Weigel set the American Birding Association (ABA) Big Year record after spotting 840 species in the United States and Canada in 2019. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks recently announced the winners of its 2024 Kansas Birding Big Year. Kansas Wetlands Education Center Director Curtis Wolf said prizes for the winners from around the state are sourced locally.
"Great Bend Convention and Visitor's Bureau, they are the real sponsors of the prizes for it," Wolf said. "They've just chosen to work through us, providing gift certificates to our gift store. For most of the bird-watching community, they really like that. It's a nice way of keeping those funds for the state-wide competition local."
Franklin Miller won the youth division and the overall competition with 341 species spotted in Kansas in 2024. Topeka's Debby McKee led the senior division with 299 species. There are also divisions for adult novice, adult intermediate, and adult advanced. Registration for the 2025 contest ends April 1.
"People will start documenting the bird species they see," said Wolf. "They have to document them in eBird, which is an electronic way of keeping track of birds that we see and report. Your birding list for the year is what is used for the people who put their names into the contest."
The competition is largely honor-based but birders are expected to follow the ABA Recording Rules and Interpretations and follow the Code of Birding Ethics. Reviewers may investigate any suspicious claims like the 2023 American Flamingo that was spotted - and verified as a wild bird- in Chase County.
"You can't document seeing a penguin in Kansas or something like that," Wolf said. "There are reviewers who will go in and verify certain species that might not look exactly right. There's a little bit of that to it but the idea is really to get people out looking at birds."
KDWP's Mike Rader handles much of the contest and has worked with the KWEC for its obvious ties to birdwatching.
"We've worked with him for years just to provide a little incentive to get people into bird watching and to give them a little fun and friendly competition," Wolf said.
Great Bend CVB provided 20 $25 gift certificates to KWEC this year. Other organizations and individuals also donated prizes, including Acorn Naturalists, the Kansas Ornithological Society, the Nature Conservancy - Kansas Chapter, Dr. Robert Penner and KDWP.
CLICK HERE for more information about the 2025 Kansas Birding Big Year or to sign up for this year's contest.