A Big Year of Birding: Lessons from Amateurs

Amateur birders and FCPL employees, Lola Nichols and Brooke Rose, will recount their 2024 Big Year of birding. On January 1, 2024, Lola and Brooke embarked on a friendly competition to see who could definitively identify the most bird species throughout the year. They will discuss the places they traveled, the birds they identified, and all the techniques, lessons, tips, and tricks they learned along the way to become better, more knowledgeable birders. Enjoy some great and some blurry photographs and discover some surprising, unique species that you may not have known are local!

About the presenters

Lola is an Information Specialist at the Sharon Forks Library and became aware of the existence of birds when experiencing a close fly-by of a hummingbird in her backyard. Fascinated by the tiny birds, she researched, purchased, and installed a hummingbird feeder which, seasonally, she continues to do. Besides hummingbirds, her favorite birds are the Roseate Spoonbill and the Double-crested Cormorant.

Brooke is the Branch Manager of the Sharon Forks Library. Her interest in birds started 5 years ago when she spotted a Black-crowned Night Heron and had no idea what it was or that birds that weird looking live in Georgia! Her favorite bird since childhood has been the Common Loon, but it wasn't until she was in her 30s that she learned they stop in Georgia every year on their migration route.

Event image credit: MikeCherim from Getty Images Signature via Canva.com

Bird collage provided by Brooke Rose

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