On The Bird Banter Podcast #109 Jason Vassallo and I talk about his 2021 Continental ABA Big Year, his birding story, and more.
For me hearing and talking about places I’ve been birding as well as places I hope to go birding that Jason has visited during his year made for terrific fun.
Check out and follow Jason on his Instagram feed Jason2021BigYear

Jason started his big year with the Snowy Owl that spent much of the winter roosting on the rooftops of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. That bird was the first Snowy Owl that my girlfriend Marian had seen. Last year we was a SNOW that was maybe 1.5 miles away through a scope near Atkin’s Lake in eastern WA. This bird was much more obliging.

We talk about the Red-billed Tropicbird that has spent it’s summers on Vinylhaven Island off the coast of Maine. This is a remarkable bird. I think this may be the 17th consecutive summer it’s been seen there.

We also talk about his hike to see the Himalayan Snowcock in the Ruby Mountains. This photo is pretty much how the bird looks to most ABA birders who get to see it high on the mountain ridges. This is digiscoped on our visit in

Many of you may share the feeling that the memories, experiences, and people that bless our lives doing the things we love to do are really what it’s all about.

Here are links to some of the episodes I talk about in the introduction to this episode

Episode # 5 with Dorian Anderson of Biking for the Birds fame.

Hear more about birding Neah Bay on Episode # 34 with Brad Waggoner and Episode # 53 with Ryan Merrill

Here is a link to my episode with Will Brooks who has a great Washington State list going so far this year.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, and please subscribe to hear future conversations with great guests. Until next time. Good birding and Good Day!