Episode 7: Susan Nagy’s Ontario Big Year

The Big Year Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Big Year Podcast! My journey across North America to talk to and see what makes Big Year Birders Tick. It’s July 2, 2023 as I broadcast from my Secret Big Year recording location, deep in the basement of my Brantford home. It’s a rainy day so I am stuck indoors, not willing to brave the elements for anything but the rarest birds sighting. A far cry from what I or anyone else doing a big Year would do. Big Year birders brave the weather and more in quest of their goals.

This is Episode 7, if I am doing my math correctly and in previous episodes we have talked to ABA Big Year Birders, but beginning with this episode, we are going to focus on my home province of Ontario, Canada. In 2022, while I was galavanting all across Canada, a group of 5 intrepid birders had dedicated themselves to an Ontario Big Year.

Three of the top five birders, Ezra Campanelli, William Konze and Kiah Jasper each broke the all time Ontario Record. Two other birders, Susan Nagy and my local birding buddy Andy Nguyen were not that far behind. Though they did not break any records, their stories are just as interesting, as Big Years come in all shapes and sizes and are often as much a personal journey as they are attempts to break records.

Over the next 5 episodes, we’ll all get to know Kiah, William, Ezra and Andy. But today we have Susan Nagy from London, Ontario who recorded 335 species in Ontario, who’s Big Year began with a challenge from a friend to see which of them could see the most birds back in 2021. But rarities and the fun of competition turned what was just a friendly competition into her own 2022 Ontario Big Year and helped her finish in the top 5 in Ontario during what was one of the greatest provincial Big Years ever.

So enjoy Part One of my salute to the birders of the 2022 Ontario Big Year!