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Chasing 100 birds in 1 day in America's Birdiest County: Inside the birding boom

Author
KPBS Public Media
Published
Thu 26 Jun 2025
Episode Link
None

San Diego is one of the most biodiverse birding regions in North America, with more than 500 recorded species — and its annual Bird Festival draws crowds from around the country. One of its most popular (and ambitious) events is the "100 or More" challenge: a daylong sprint to identify at least 100 different birds.


Photos: Meet the birds (and the birders) from the "100 Birds or More" field trip


In this episode, producer Anthony Wallace follows the action across scenic lakes, rugged foothills, city reservoirs and coastal wetlands to see how this classic hobby has taken on new energy.


Map: San Diego 100+ Birding Route


Along the way, we meet passionate birders — both seasoned listers and recent enthusiasts — learn many mind-blowing bird facts and explore how birds inspire everything from healing to obsession to joy.


Anthony's top 4 reasons to love birding:

  1. Every bird has a story.
  2. Bird migration is mind-blowing.
  3. It opens up your ears — you'll start noticing sounds you never paid attention to.
  4. Bird behavior is entertaining and mesmerizing: bizarre, dramatic and constantly unfolding.


Watch: Anthony's "A day in the life of a birder" video diary


Guests:


Bird species (in order of mention throughout the episode):

  1. Lilac-crowned amazon (Audubon)
  2. Tricolored blackbird (Audubon / All About Birds)
  3. Great-tailed grackle (Audubon / All About Birds)
  4. Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon / All About Birds)
  5. Song sparrow (Audubon / All About Birds)
  6. Black phoebe (Audubon / All About Birds)
  7. Phainopepla (Audubon / All About Birds)
  8. Neotropic cormorant (Audubon / All About Birds)
  9. Woodpecker (Audubon / All About Birds)
  10. Townsend's warbler (Audubon / All About Birds)
  11. Orange-crowned warbler (Audubon / All About Birds)
  12. Wilson's warbler (Audubon / All About Birds)
  13. Red-shouldered hawk (Audubon / All About Birds)
  14. Allen's hummingbird (Audubon / All About Birds)

  16. Black-crowned night heron (Audubon / All About Birds)
  17. California towhee (Audubon / All About Birds)
  18. Cooper's hawk (Audubon / All About Birds)
  19. California scrub-jay (Audubon / All About Birds)
  20. Oak titmouse (Audubon / All About Birds)
  21. Gadwall (Audubon / All About Birds)
  22. Western grebe (Audubon / All About Birds)
  23. Say's phoebe (Audubon / All About Birds)
  24. Parakeet (Britannica)
  25. Cliff swallow (Audubon / All About Birds)
  26. Hooded oriole (Audubon / All About Birds)
  27. Eastern phoebe (Audubon / All About Birds)
  28. Common swift (Audubon / Birds of the World)
  29. Iceland gull (Audubon / All About Birds)
  30. Thick-billed kingbird (Audubon / All About Birds)
  31. Yellow-crowned night heron (Audubon / All About Birds)
  32. Little blue heron (Audubon / All About Birds)
  33. Reddish egret (Audubon / All About Birds)
  34. Tricolored heron (Audubon / All About Birds)
  35. Anna's hummingbird (Audubon / All About Birds)
  36. Lark sparrow (Audubon / All About Birds)
  37. American crow (Audubon / All About Birds)
  38. Common raven (Audubon / All About Birds)
  39. Clark's grebe (Audubon / All About Birds)
  40. Laughing falcon (Birds of the World)
  41. American coot (Audubon / All About Birds)
  42. Least sandpiper (Audubon / All About Birds)
  43. Whimbrel (Audubon / All About Birds)
  44. Elegant tern (Audubon / All About Birds)


Birding terms to know:

  • Listers - Birders who keep track of every species they've seen.
  • Big Year - A challenge to spot as many bird species as possible in a single year.
  • Vagrants - Birds spotted outside the regions where they're typically found.
  • Rushing - A synchronized mating dance where birds like Western or Clark's grebes run side by side across the water's surface.


Also mentioned in this episode:

  • eBird | One of the top birding apps to log sightings, find birding locations and track trends across regions
  • Merlin Bird ID | Go-to app for birders to identify species by photo or sound, powered by Cornell Lab experts
  • "The Residence" | Netflix murder mystery where the detective uses birding skills to spot clues others miss
  • Michael Jordan | NBA legend and six-time champion — his name's become shorthand for being the best
  • Honda Accord and Ford Mustang | One's an everyday car, the other a head-turner — a way to explain the gap between something common and something extraordinary
  • Nancy Christensen | Local birder and one of California's top listers
  • Pokémon Go | Popular mobile game that gets players outside to collect virtual creatures — similar to how birders track species
  • "The Big Year" | 2011 comedy starring Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Jack Black as birders racing across North America to spot the most species in a calendar year — the movie's big year record is 750 species and you could get over halfway there just in San Diego
  • Tijuana River Estuary | Cross-border birding hotspot with incredible biodiversity
  • Shih Tzu | A toy breed whose name means "lion dog" — small but spirited


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