Unofficial Big Days
The first two decades of the 21st century were a golden age of Big Days in Howard County. Not only were official Big Days being conducted during many of those years, but Howard County Bird Club (HCBC) was innovatively scheduling a variety of unofficial Big Days. Under Field Trip Chair Bonnie Ott and, from 2010 on, with Co-chair, later Chair Joe Hanfman, the following were run: 15 Big Day field trips (1999-2013), three Little Big Days (2011-2013), ten Sparrow Big Days (2003-2012), and a single Half Day Big Day (2016). The highest unofficial Big Day field trip total of 119 species in 16.0 hours on May 3, 2003 was established by a nine-member group of Bonnie Ott, Ralph Cullison, Karen Darcy (Heffernan), Kevin Heffernan, Emy Holdridge, Nancy Magnusson, Daryl Olson, Jo Solem, and Helen Zeichner. The three Little Big Day field trips, organized by Kevin Heffernan, were held on the same days as the Big Day field trips, but were designed to be less intense and more flexible. The Sparrow Big Day field trips were under the enthusiastic leadership of Bonnie Ott and were an extension of numerous half day Sparrow Searches dating to a 1989 trip led by Scott Atkinson at the University of Maryland Central Farm(UMDCF). Sparrow trips in the 1990s were led by David Holmes, Nancy Magnusson, Bonnie Ott, and Jim Wilkinson. The Half Day Big Day, May 7, 2016, was designed as a leaderless field trip, providing a group of birders the opportunity to enjoy a half day of birding at multiple sites at the peak of spring migration.